people, so he was pretty sure this was going to be a disaster.
“In the flesh. Come on in. I came out to see if you were here. Sometimes the buzzer doesn’t work.” Josh held the door open for Nathan.
Stepping into the entryway of the brownstone felt like going back in time. The older building still had all its ornate molding and oak wood floors, past their prime but obviously well taken care of. Nathan took in his surroundings as they walked down the hall. There were two apartment doors on opposite sides of the hallway. At the end of the hallway was a staircase along the left side, and to the right of that, a small elevator. Nathan couldn’t help but observe Josh as well, as he led him down the hallway. He had on a pair of worn low-rise jeans with a studded belt and a T-shirt of some band Nathan had never heard of. His arms were covered in tattoos. Nathan’s palms were instantly sweating again; he was invigorated and nauseous at the same time. This is what it was all about, a chance to meet someone like this. Not that he would ever have the courage to hit on someone, especially not on someone this hot. He didn’t even know if the guy was gay or not, but it was exciting to know he could make a move if he wanted; sadly he had no moves. It was like standing at the fair in front of a Ferris wheel, looking at the enthusiastic faces of the people waiting in line, and for half a second contemplating actually getting on before admitting to himself he couldn’t do it.
“So you from around here?” Josh asked, grinning as he turned around and caught Nathan checking out his ass.
“Um, yeah. Madrona.” Nathan’s voice cracked.
“Ritzy. What are you moving here for?”
“Work, and I thought this would be a good fit.”
Josh considered Nathan for a minute before responding. “Understandable,” he finally said, nodding as if acknowledging all the things Nathan wasn’t saying.
Nathan started to get nervous again. As the moment passed between them, he wondered if Josh was gay. His inability to read social cues made it just about impossible for him to pick up on these things. He had heard you could tell if a guy was interested by how long they looked at you, but people stared at Nathan all the time, mostly because he was usually doing something unintentionally awkward. Nathan adjusted his glasses and tried to focus on what Josh was saying.
“You would really like it here. The community is great. Pretty much everything is within walking distance. And everyone in the building is cool. The building is kind of old, and the one person elevator is only used as a dumbwaiter at this point, so you have to take the stairs if you want to hang out on the roof. It’s amazing up there so it’s totally worth it. You have to check it out.”
Nathan wasn’t put off by the stairs since he hadn’t been able to get in an elevator in years without having a panic attack.
“There are only four units,” Josh continued. “Sharon—she’s an older gal, has her book club over a lot. She’s in the upper-right unit, and the gamers are on the left. They moved in a few months ago.”
“The gamers?”
“Oh yeah, you know, video games. The couple upstairs is heavy into the online role-playing scene. Dress up for Comic-Con and PAX, the local gamer conventions. They’re pretty laid-back. You don’t see them much, though. They’re like mythical creatures around here. You hear about them but no one ever actually sees them. They don’t stray too far away from their game consoles. I live across the hall here.” He gestured to the door on the right. “And this—” He paused, slapping his hand on the door marked B2. “—is the one for rent.”
He unlocked the door but paused looking alarmed at the sound of someone coming in the main entrance. Nathan was about to turn around and see what was so distracting when Josh threw the apartment door open, grabbed Nathan by the arm, and propelled him forward into the apartment, then quickly
“In the flesh. Come on in. I came out to see if you were here. Sometimes the buzzer doesn’t work.” Josh held the door open for Nathan.
Stepping into the entryway of the brownstone felt like going back in time. The older building still had all its ornate molding and oak wood floors, past their prime but obviously well taken care of. Nathan took in his surroundings as they walked down the hall. There were two apartment doors on opposite sides of the hallway. At the end of the hallway was a staircase along the left side, and to the right of that, a small elevator. Nathan couldn’t help but observe Josh as well, as he led him down the hallway. He had on a pair of worn low-rise jeans with a studded belt and a T-shirt of some band Nathan had never heard of. His arms were covered in tattoos. Nathan’s palms were instantly sweating again; he was invigorated and nauseous at the same time. This is what it was all about, a chance to meet someone like this. Not that he would ever have the courage to hit on someone, especially not on someone this hot. He didn’t even know if the guy was gay or not, but it was exciting to know he could make a move if he wanted; sadly he had no moves. It was like standing at the fair in front of a Ferris wheel, looking at the enthusiastic faces of the people waiting in line, and for half a second contemplating actually getting on before admitting to himself he couldn’t do it.
“So you from around here?” Josh asked, grinning as he turned around and caught Nathan checking out his ass.
“Um, yeah. Madrona.” Nathan’s voice cracked.
“Ritzy. What are you moving here for?”
“Work, and I thought this would be a good fit.”
Josh considered Nathan for a minute before responding. “Understandable,” he finally said, nodding as if acknowledging all the things Nathan wasn’t saying.
Nathan started to get nervous again. As the moment passed between them, he wondered if Josh was gay. His inability to read social cues made it just about impossible for him to pick up on these things. He had heard you could tell if a guy was interested by how long they looked at you, but people stared at Nathan all the time, mostly because he was usually doing something unintentionally awkward. Nathan adjusted his glasses and tried to focus on what Josh was saying.
“You would really like it here. The community is great. Pretty much everything is within walking distance. And everyone in the building is cool. The building is kind of old, and the one person elevator is only used as a dumbwaiter at this point, so you have to take the stairs if you want to hang out on the roof. It’s amazing up there so it’s totally worth it. You have to check it out.”
Nathan wasn’t put off by the stairs since he hadn’t been able to get in an elevator in years without having a panic attack.
“There are only four units,” Josh continued. “Sharon—she’s an older gal, has her book club over a lot. She’s in the upper-right unit, and the gamers are on the left. They moved in a few months ago.”
“The gamers?”
“Oh yeah, you know, video games. The couple upstairs is heavy into the online role-playing scene. Dress up for Comic-Con and PAX, the local gamer conventions. They’re pretty laid-back. You don’t see them much, though. They’re like mythical creatures around here. You hear about them but no one ever actually sees them. They don’t stray too far away from their game consoles. I live across the hall here.” He gestured to the door on the right. “And this—” He paused, slapping his hand on the door marked B2. “—is the one for rent.”
He unlocked the door but paused looking alarmed at the sound of someone coming in the main entrance. Nathan was about to turn around and see what was so distracting when Josh threw the apartment door open, grabbed Nathan by the arm, and propelled him forward into the apartment, then quickly
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