Kyle Anderson's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

Thursday came slow, then all at once. Kyle worked a morning shift with the charm in his pocket and the folded receipt beside it. He checked the app between fares. At two o'clock the ping came. Sebastian Ashford. Pickup at the balconies. Drop-off address: Budget Haven Apartments. Kyle read it twice. That was his building. Sebastian had booked a ride to Kyle's place. Kyle pulled to the curb under the balconies and Sebastian slid in wearing a jacket Kyle had not seen before. He had a small bag on his lap. Kyle held out the charm on his palm. Sebastian looked at it, then closed Kyle's fingers back around it. "Keep holding," he said. "You said Budget Haven," Kyle said. Sebastian nodded once. "You said Thursday. I figured Thursday could be something." Kyle put the car in drive. He did not trust his voice yet. Three blocks in he found it. "One thing you used to be good at that you miss," he said. Sebastian looked over. He thought about it a long time. "Swimming," he said. "I was fast. I stopped when it stopped being fun." Kyle nodded like the answer was new to him. It was. He had read a roster. He had not heard a man say that. He parked in his spot and walked Sebastian up. His kitchen was clean because he had cleaned it twice. Sebastian set the bag on the counter and pulled out a small pink CD player with a heart-covered disc already loaded. "Housewarming," Sebastian said. "It's ridiculous. I saw it and thought of you." Kyle laughed. He pressed play. Soft strings filled the kitchen. Sebastian leaned against the counter and watched him. "You're the second-best thing in this room," Kyle said. Sebastian smiled. "What's first?" "The music," Kyle said. Sebastian laughed, and it was the laugh from the photo, the one Kyle had not earned in the car. They ended up on the couch. Sebastian kissed him once, careful, then again, not. At some point Sebastian's bag tipped and a small foil square slid onto the cushion between them. Kyle looked at it. Sebastian looked at him. "I wasn't assuming," Sebastian said. "I was hoping." Kyle picked up the square and set it on the coffee table, flat, in plain view. "Not tonight," he said. "But I want you to leave it there." Sebastian's face did something Kyle wanted to memorize. He stayed another hour. He kissed Kyle at the door and said Saturday. Kyle closed the door and stood in his kitchen with the music still playing and a foil square on his coffee table and a charm in his pocket he had forgotten to give back. Sebastian had asked for a ride to Kyle's place, and Kyle had let him in.