Astounding! by Kim Fielding

Author:Kim Fielding [Fielding, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-16T04:00:00+00:00

KEITH LOOKED frowsy and bedheaded. He hadn’t showered yet, and he sat at the dinette table with a bowl of cereal. His T-shirt reminded everyone that Dumbledore was gay. Next to him, Freddy looked more chipper. He’d woken up early to write. He’d probably killed off several characters while John and Carter went for their jog.

“What’s up?” Freddy asked Carter, who stood beside the table, looking down at them.

This morning’s run had been farther and harder than ever, and possibly Carter’s brain was awash in endorphins. He certainly felt buzzed, as if all the colors were brighter and the sounds more melodious. And when he gazed at his friends, he knew some things with such certainty he would have bet his life on them. He knew that Keith really wanted kids but Freddy wasn’t so sure, and it was a source of discord between them. He knew that Keith worried a little about Freddy’s health. Carter knew that sometimes Freddy was certain he’d wake up and discover his success as an author was all a fluke and he’d lose everything—and it was losing Keith that terrified him the most. And Carter knew that these two men loved each other truly and deeply, that they’d work out their differences, that they’d have a goddamn happily ever after.

“Carter? Are you all right?”

Carter realized they were looking at him with concern. He shook his head to clear it and then collapsed into an empty seat. “Sorry. Woolgathering.”

“You were staring at us,” Keith said. “You had a really weird look on your face.”

“I guess I’m a little out of sorts lately.”

Keith waved a dismissive hand. “No big deal. Want me to pour you some coffee?”

What Carter wanted just then was a nice big bottle of whiskey. He hadn’t been drinking much at all in recent weeks—just an occasional beer—and hadn’t really missed the booze. But at the moment, he would have sold his soul for something fiery and strong. “Coffee would be great,” he said with a weak smile.

Keith brought him a big mugful, along with a cellophane bag of little powdered sugar donuts from their convenience store stop. He plopped them on the table. “Not exactly the breakfast of champions. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Carter stuffed one of the donuts into his mouth, but the sweetness was almost too much for him. It was as if he’d spent his life tasting in three dimensions and someone had suddenly added a fourth. He chewed slowly, ignoring the looks his friends sent his way, and then he swallowed. He chased it with a mouthful of coffee, but the bitter heat was as overwhelming as the sugar. He set the mug back on the table.

Freddy opened his mouth to say something, but the RV door swung open as John returned from the shower. His hair was wet and slicked back, and he must not have dried off very well, because his plain white tee was stuck to his chest. He looked delicious, especially when he smiled at them. Carter had to use all his willpower to resist jumping him right then and there, witnesses be damned.

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