Page 63 of Puck Shots
“The attic was a shithole last year, trust me. It was the worst room in the house; we slept on mattresses on the floor for the first month.”
“Then how?”
“Luka’s parents came to visit.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, they put in the bathroom first. We got the rest of the furniture from yard sales nearby and sidewalk collections.”
“So it’s not all Luka’s parents doing then?”
“I guess not.”
“Well, this sure does beat the air mattress,” I say, falling back on the bed. Cosmo leaps and lands beside me, immediately hugging my side and kissing me.
“Did you set up a code with your new roomies?” he asks, kissing down my neck and sending a shiver through my body down to my balls.
“What code?”
“You know, like a sock on the door handle so they know not to come in unless they want to see a show.”
I shove him back, shaking my head.
“No, we don’t have a code, and we won’t be putting on a show for anyone either.”
“You say that now, but wait until it’s been three weeks and we haven’t been able to find a single place to be alone together.”
“Remind me why we can’t use your room again?”
“He caught me at a weak moment,” he says, trying to justify why he agreed to Luka having first dibs on their room to “entertain” guests. “He wasn’t even seeing anyone when I made that deal.”
“Well, he is now. But don’t worry, we always have the stacks.” I laugh.
He climbs from the bed, and I follow just as Magnus walks in, lugging his trunk in with him held high on his chest. I needed Cosmo to help carry mine in, and I still struggled with my end.
“I claim the bed by the window,” Magnus says, but Cosmo pipes up.
“Already taken, pick another.”
“Loft one it is,” he replies, dropping his trunk in front of the desk that sits under one of the two loft beds on the left wall. “This is better anyway, more desk space to set up my gaming stuff.
It was good Cosmo suggested I get in first to pick my bed. I never had a bunk bed as a kid, but we always had to sleep in them when we were on vacation with the rest of the extended family. The parents would pick some Cabin Rentals place that has a pool, and I’d lose whatever game it was that John insisted we play for the choice of beds. Somehow, I always ended up on the bottom bunk, then one summer we lucked out and the room had two bunks, I was going to get my first chance at the prized top bunk. I rolled off in the middle of the night and broke my left wrist. First year, I lost the science fair, too. Couldn’t get my rocket built with one hand in a cast. So it’s ground floor beds for me from then on out.
“Is this going to be a regular thing?” Magnus asks looking first at Cosmo and then to me.
“You got a problem with that?” Cosmo asks immediately on the defensive.
“Nope, I just want to work out some kind of system.”
Cosmo laughs and turns my way.
“See, I told you everyone has a system.”
***
I put the finishing touches on the presentation and scroll through the slides one more time.
“I swear I’ll be back in time. They said it’s just a casual meet and greet, nothing serious,” Cosmo says as he pulls on his dress shirt and jacket. The action sends a waft of vanilla, coffee, and his woody scent my way. He’s been invited to lunch this time with a coach and a few players from Chicago that are in town and wanted to make time to meet him.
