Do I Know You, Baby?
Excerpt
The Maplewood Apartment Complex picnic at Building B got rained out mid-barbecue. As the first few drops polka-dotted the paper tablecloth, lightning struck a tree far across the broad, grassy courtyard, making children startle and cry. Their parents snatched them up along with their dish-to-pass, rushing inside. After the crack and flash, Pepper laughed hysterically, choking on his own saliva and slapping Tina’s knee repeatedly. The two roommates stayed at the picnic table, drops pelting their scalps, watching a fat lady grab the last brownie tin and use it to cover her head. Like a bull, Neighbor Dan charged out, swiped up the grill utensils and shouted over the storm, “Hey, asshats, get inside!”
His First Bar
Excerpt From Packingtown Review - Vol. 16 - Fall 2021
Leif would have found it hard to say exactly when they got to the club. He felt like his first real dance was with the cab. It didn’t matter that he’d shared the taxi with the Sheridan boys or their best friend, Kate. He leaned back in his own little corner and let his arm lounge over the headrest which felt like the shoulder of some unknown guy: and away they flew, through the Chicago night, past stop-lights and three-flats and neon signs and trees.
“You’ve really never been to a gay bar before, Leif?” shrieked the boys. “God, that is so weird–"
“Our closest neighbor lives fifteen miles away,” Leif said softly, opening and closing his cell phone.
Itch
Ryley's hands reminded me of da Vinci's ideal. I procrastinated late, crammed for exams. He fiddled with clay in the campus studios, losing track of time, then stopped by my apartment above the Korean restaurant on his way home, slipping past the screen door to keep it from creaking. We were willing to be exhausted during classes in exchange for conversations till dawn while Chicago snored. He romanced me with his goodbyes—long handshakes turned to hugs turned to sighs on my neck turned to cheeks brushing turned to kisses against the screen door, creaking loudly against his back.