But Davis came to beach clean. And the sky is turning a gorgeous blue, and I remember that Rafael spent the night before with someone else.
Davis actually casts a glance at Rafael. Maybe I see him wondering about the two of us, like people do sometimes. Maybe he can see the thing I’m always hiding. So before I know it, I just blurt out, “Coffee,” like that’s an answer to his question.
“You need a coffee?” he asks, confused.
“Let’s get coffee,” I say quickly, grasping for a safe exit. “I’m swamped this week, but maybe next?”
Davis smiles, apparently satisfied enough with that. “Cool.” He squats, then scoops up a plastic bottle top at our feet. “Want to tell me what’s new at the library?”
Behind him, I see Rafael gleefully toss the rest of his stones into the lake. Another cool breeze hits us, and I resolve to give Davis a chance and pretend I’m not in love with the man in the waves behind him.
CHAPTERFOUR
RAFAEL
“Ooohhhh,”Alexander says softly. “Is the new one a water world?”
I turn, startled. I have one earbud in, playing a science podcast, and I’m sitting at the big drafting table that takes up half my bedroom. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
All of my illustrations show futuristic cities, which I spend endless hours imagining in obsessive detail. I try to read a bunch of science news and stuff like that and then design cities that people could actually build in the future. Like skyscrapers covered with trees and glowing solar transit lines, brilliant tunnels of light that lift people into space, and endless public art. Services roam on floating free clinics, billboards flash poetry, and I map out a complex network of helper bots.
I just shamelessly geek out on it, basically.
To top it off, I fill each city with tiny people, all telling their own stories for anyone who wants to pay attention.
I finish drawing the tiny picket line that protests one of the high-rises in the city and put my pen aside. It’s a weird art project, and I’ve been hung up on it for years. But people honestly seem to like looking at the illustrations as much as I like making them. It’s my way of trying to build a better future, giving people a chance to imagine us all fixing our problems instead of making new ones.
“I already found your spot,” I say to Alexander, then point at the very small version of him, like I place in some of the biggest cities. “Future Alexander is distributing food from a community garden to neighbors.”
Alexander lifts his arms and turns his palms up. “I love to help,” he says with a laugh. He’s totally sincere when he says it, and I love that about him.
I grin. “I know you do.”
“I saw you were up,” he says and extends the travel coffee mug that he’s holding, the silver one with a screw-on top. “Do you want this coffee? I’m not going to finish it.”
I take it with a grin. “You even put it in the mug that I can’t spill. Thanks.”
He shrugs softly. He’s dressed for work, which this time of year means a short-sleeved, collared shirt and a thin tie. He’s hunched over a tiny bit, which is his usual posture. It makes him look shy, but I know it’s actually just an effect of all the time he spends reading and sitting at desks.
Damn it, he’s so cute sometimes. No wonder Davis is into him. I’m actually surprised Alexander doesn’t have guys going after him all the time. His smile is something else, and there’s just a couple tiny flecks of emerald in the dark brown of his eyes. He’s got a really cute butt, nice and round, and he’s bright and fun to be around.
I can be moody, but just seeing Alexander usually lifts me up again.
My thoughts catch on Davis, and like when Alexander’s ex appeared at the beach, I’m thrown out of sorts a little, although I don’t know why. It’s actually so perfect that Davis showed up to beach clean. And when I encourage Alexander, he seems like he might actually be open to the idea of dating someone for once, which is great.
It’s great, I tell myself. Davis is great. And Alexander will have fun and hopefully even get laid. It’s about time.
I’m just a little thrown, I guess, because no date has ever shown up for beach clean.
“So why are you up so early?” he asks. “I thought you’d sleep in now that your week of breakfasts is over.”
“I’m just doodling out that water filtration system I was telling you about.” I toss the pencil down, then lean back. “I realized I’m going to be too busy this week to draw.”
“Right, because you’re going to visit the tattoo shop today.”
I push my fingers into my beard, which is getting a little overgrown. “And you just have a regular week?” I ask Alexander. “Anything special going on?”
I’m fishing a little bit because he hasn’t said when he’s scheduled the coffee with Davis, and I’m eager to know his plan.
