Before I leave, I knock on Devon’s door. He’s one of my roommates, and he’s pretty much always with Levi, my other roommate.
Sometimes I’m sure they sleep in the same bed, but I can’t prove it. And honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me either way. There’s no answer, so I try Levi’s door instead.
After a second, he opens it, peering at me with sleepy blue eyes. “Yeah?”
“Damn, sorry if I woke you up.”
He shakes his head. “It’s fine. What’s up?”
“I’m going out. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
He blinks at me slowly. “Okay. Have fun.”
Before I have a chance to respond, he’s closing the door in my face. Okay, then. With a shake of my head, I head out.
I decide to make a quick stop for some snacks, and when I’ve got my arms loaded down with candy, I make the quick walk to Parker’s apartment.
Adjusting the stuff in my hands, I rap on their door with the backs of my knuckles. It swings open, and a flushed and mussed-up Parker stands in the doorway. They’re wearing an oversized t-shirt that hangs off their shoulder and sits right above their mid-thigh. It’s covered in paint, and so faded I can’t even make out the words written across the top.
“Hey, Cotton Candy.” They narrow their eyes at me, baring their teeth in a way that looks far more adorable than terrifying. “Can I come in?”
“Not if you keep calling me Cotton Candy.”
I hold a hand up. “Okay, fine. I’ll stop.” I flash them a smile, grinning broader when they roll their eyes and smile back.
“So,” I say, stepping through the front door when Parker moves to the left. “Do I get to see your art tonight?”
Parker shakes their head. “Not a chance, but get this: some asshole ran into me in the hallway the other day. All my stuff went flying, and as we were picking it up, he was ogling my drawing of you.”
I stick my lower lip out in a pout, and Parker’s eyes go wide. “I took it away from him. I didn’t mean for him to see it.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Park—can I call you Park? Anyway, I stood naked in front of a whole class and let y’all draw me. I’m not concerned about people seeing me naked.”
Parker blinks at me, then wordlessly leads me to the couch. I set all the candy down on the cushion between us. Last time I was here, I didn’t give much thought to anything but finding out if Parker’s lips tasted as sweet as I figured they would.
Our failed hookup ended with us binging something on TV and eating our weight in cookies in their bed. Until they fell asleep in the middle of an episode, and I got up and left. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was trying to take advantage.
It was dark when I left, so I didn’t really get a good look at the apartment, but now I let my eyes linger. There are art supplies everywhere. In fact, I’ve never seen so many blank canvases in one place before.
“What’s your process?” I ask, gesturing to the pile in the furthest corner.
Parker studies me for a second, then shrugs. “It depends. I have this project I’m working on now where I’m painting human emotions. For that, I have to really channel certain things. With others, it’s just whatever’s inside me that feels like it needs to come out.”
“What’s your favorite medium?”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” I glance at them again to find them watching me with distrust in their gaze.
I shrug. “I’m not trying to be intrusive. I just find you fascinating, and I’d like to know you better. You said your art is like your soul.”
Parker scoffs, and I fight back a smile. “What? So you wanna see into my soul? Fucking weirdo behavior.”
“You’re sassy,” I say, chuckling a bit when they give me an indignant stare. “You are. Or maybe feisty would be a better way of describing it, butyour eyes go all soft when you’re drawing. You’re quite the enigma, you know?”
“Am I?” Parker plops down on the couch. “Well, are you gonna sit or are you just gonna stand around talking about me and all my hidden depth?”
I sit down. “Why can’t it be both?”
They turn their nose up. “Trust me, you don’t want to know who I really am.”
