“Walk with me?” I ask, tilting my head and smiling sweetly at him.
I watch the way his eyes change, from nervous to something else.
“Yes.”
We walk deeper into the Village, moving up and down the paths. Other people are out tonight too, just mingling, not ready to say goodnight either.
“What does home life look like for you, Roman Blake Callahan?”
He huffs a laugh, I assume at his name.
“I’m not home a lot,” he begins. “Travel a lot for games between the states and Canada. When I am home, it’s pretty quiet. Television. Reading. Cooking. Spending time with Taco.”
“So, you’re just a regular domesticated old man then?” I ask, smiling.
He smiles too. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” I say. “What else?”
Roman scratches his head, then shoves his hands into his pockets.
“Not much else. I visit my parents when I can. Go for walks with Taco. I like to sleep late. Work out. Every now and then the team will have a meet up, and I try to go to get out of the house. McVoy, that’s my buddy, he invites me out to clubs and bars sometimes, but that’s not really my scene.”
“No? I mean, I can see a club not being your thing, but a bar? You look like the poster child for a dive bar.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says carefully.
“It’s a compliment, Big Guy. Promise.”
We move through the buildings and go around the dining hall. There are streetlights everywhere, lighting up our path. It’s so bright it almost feels like daytime. We passed my building awhile back, but I have no idea how to get back that way if I needed to.
“Which building is yours?” I ask.
He points to the left. “E.”
“What floor?”
“Fourth.”
“Are you rooming with someone?”
He nods. “McVoy.”
“Just one? Good for you. I have two roommates.”
“Bummer. Tell me about your home life.”
I sniffle and pull my hood a little tighter.
“Unless you’re too cold and want to go back…” he adds quickly.
I look up at him. “I’m from Canada, I’m fine.”
“If you’re not, you can tell me. I won’t be mad.”
“Good. Because I’m all about things being consensual.” I wink, and he holds my gaze for just a moment but then looks away. “Home life… hm, where to start? Well, I live with my parents because… well, just because. We have a big family house. My grandparents live there too, which makes it easier to help take care of them.”
“It must be nice seeing your family all the time.”
