ALTON STEPS inside the flat and looks around. He carries this ridiculous backpack with him all the time, which is falling apart. He whistles with appreciation before he looks at me.
“Hey, little brother,” he says. I walk over to him and hug him.
“Hey,” I say.
“I smell,” he replies.
“Yeah,” I let go of him and smile. “I noticed. And you look like a hobo.”
He touches his beard. “You don’t like this?”
“No,” I say. “It doesn’t suit you at all and you obviously have no idea how to keep it properly groomed. So please shave it or you’re probably getting disowned.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine,” he says. “I was just trying something new anyway. Is this your new place? It’s swanky.”
I shake my head and I can feel my heart start going faster. I guess I’m nervous too. I want him to like Levi. I want him to approve of this. I need him to, actually, because he can make my life a living hell if he doesn’t. I don’t think he would, I just know that he could, that the possibility exists.
I clear my throat before speaking. “It’s so good to see you,” I say. “This isn’t my new place, no, it belongs to my boyfriend, Levi, whom you haven’t met.”
Alton raises his eyebrows and smirks. Levi is standing next to me in a second and they’re shaking hands and introducing themselves to each other and smiling warmly at each other.
“Would you like a drink? Sit down,” Levi says after the introduction.
“Water, please,” Alton says. “Actually I know this is kind of an imposition, but would you mind if I had a shower? I have clothes in my bag and—”
“No,” Levi replies. “I mean, of course not. Go ahead, please. You must be exhausted.”
“Thanks, dude,” Alton replies, then winks at me. He turns to look at Levi.
“Second door to the right,” Levi says before he can open his mouth. “I just changed the towels this morning.”
“Thank you,” Alton says.
IT’S NOT even been an hour before we’re all sitting around the living room and Levi and Alton are cracking jokes with each other. It helps they’ve both been around the world, and the way they talk about places they’ve seen is fascinating and endearing. They’re talking with their hands and interrupting each other to tell stories, but in this congenial way, which is something I’ve never seen Levi do before. Alton always manages to put everyone at ease, but I know when he doesn’t truly want to be around someone, and I’m grateful that doesn’t seem to be the case with Levi. In fact it actually seems to me like they could become friends.
“I don’t miss planes,” Levi says. “Heights give me crazy anxiety.”
Alton laughs. “I like heights. Planes not so much. Loads of people in a crowded space are not my thing, especially when those people are middle-aged women who want to tell me their life story. I’ve been practicing my resting bitch face, but people have said I just look adorable.”
He demonstrates, widening his eyes and pouting, and we laugh.
The kettle whistles, so Levi excuses himself to make us tea.
Alton looks at me. “So,” he says. “He’s nice. How come you haven’t told me about him yet?”
I exhale. “It’s complicated. He’s older and—”
“Yeah, but he’s nice,” he replies. “Like, really nice. Way nicer than the losers you usually go out with.”
I laugh. “Thanks. It’s just—it’s complicated, okay?”
He nods. “Because of the age gap.”
“No,” I say. “I mean, not just because of the age gap. It’s complicated because he could lose his job. He’s my art history professor.”
His eyes widen and he looks towards the kitchen. “Fuck, okay,” he says. “But you started going out when you weren’t in his class anymore, right?”
“Dating, yes,” I reply.
He raises his eyebrows.
“I mean, we hooked up when I was in his class,” I say. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
He cocks his head. “And you’re smitten, I assume?”
I shake my head. “No. Well, yes, but it’s not like that. I pursued him. He turned me down for, like, months.”
“Oh,” he says. “How old is he?”
“I don’t know, like, thirty-four?”
“He’s older than me?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “A couple of years older.”
“Wow, alright,” Alton says. “But you like him? And he treats you well?”
I nod. “Yeah,” I say. I can see Levi coming from the kitchen with a tray full of mugs, so I meet his eyes when I speak. “He’s pretty much the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Someone knocks on the door. Levi smiles at me as he puts the tray down on the coffee table.
“That’ll be Ziggy,” he says. “I invited her over.”