"You made the food."
I walked him to the door. He stepped into the hallway and turned back once.
"Goodnight, Sully. Thank you for the coffee."
"You—you forgot something." I reached out for his hand, and he let me pull him back inside.
I kissed him. He kissed back. I smiled like I was half-drunk.
"Goodnight."
He left, and the door closed behind him.
Usually, when my friends left, something in the condo would reset. Their energy went with them, and the space contracted back down to my exact shape.
It didn't happen when Pratt left. There was a hole.
I wiped the table. The clock above the stove said nine forty-seven. It had been three hours. I pulled out a chair and sat at the cleared table.
Once, as he watched me get my dorm room ready for visitors, Bryan said,Sul, sometimes you move so fast nobody can follow you.
It wasn't a criticism. Just an observation from someone who'd known me long enough to see the shape of me clearly. I'd laughed.
At midnight, I was brushing my teeth when my phone lit up on the bathroom counter.
Pratt:Thank you again.
Sully:The wine was a good call, for the record.
His reply came while I was putting the toothbrush back.
Pratt:It had your name on it.
I laughed out loud into the bathroom mirror; the sound bounced off the tile. I looked at my face and then turned off the light. I lay on my bed in the dark.
Pratt's side of the wall was quiet. I thought about doing something but didn't think too long, or I would think myself out of doing it.
I found a shirt on the floor and pulled it on. Next, a pair of jeans. I opened my door and stepped into the hallway.
At Pratt's door, I knocked. Not two. Only one.
From the other side, I heard a sound. I stood and waited.
