Dark City

6.

There was a rattle in the keyhole at the front door. Tom carried a paper bag of groceries inside. His eyes went wide and he grinned when he saw Nathan. "Hey, man! You're up and about! Nice to see you using the new hardware," Tom said, gesturing to his friend's leg.

Lacey pointed to Nathan's arm that was covered in scar tissue. "Have you seen this, Tom?"

"Yeah. IEDs, baby. I told him we'd get it fixed next time we were both in Asbury Park."

Nathan nodded, looking at the mangled image of the sword. "And here we are."

"Yeah. So much for the lives we picked for ourselves when we were eighteen. What's the saying about telling God your plans?" Tom held up his forearm to compare his tattoo to Nathan's. "I'll go with you to show mine to Elena. She'll fix you right up."

Nathan saw no need, and it made sense for Tom to have the prettier tattoo. Tom had always been the pretty one, after all, though he hated to be reminded. He was of an average height, slight in his build, and he had sky blue eyes that melted all the girls' hearts.

Tom tossed his blonde hair out of his eyes and said to Lacey with great dramatic flair, "Lover. You can't wear those shorts in this neighborhood if you want the women here to like you."

"Shut up, Tom," she said. "It's hot as Hades out there."

"It's not like I'm asking you to wear a burkah. Just throw something on so Nathan doesn't have to keep hiding his boner."

Nathan sighed, realizing now how much he had missed Tom and wishing he had come over to see him sooner. Lacey rolled her eyes and retreated upstairs. Tom unloaded his groceries and tossed the vegetables into the crisper.

"How's living with Carl working out?" Nathan asked.

"Not so bad with Lacey here."

"You two getting serious?"

"Not really. We're poly."

"Oh? How's that work?"

"If she wants to be with someone else, she tells me. And likewise, I tell her when I've got someone in mind. We were hooking up with other people a lot more in the beginning, but nowadays not so much."

Lacey returned wearing one of Tom's lacrosse shirts from high school.

"There. Now you have your name on me," she said, pointing to the list of team members printed on the front of the shirt. Nathan suppressed the urge to laugh. Tom's name certainly was on her now, but so were the names of everyone on the lacrosse team.

Tom grabbed an acoustic guitar off the couch and headed out to the porch. "Grab us some brews, babe," he told Lacey.

"We don't have any beer, but there's wine," she said. She reached into the fridge and took out a magnum of chardonnay.

"God. What is this, a ladies' book club?"

The three of them went out on the front porch with their drinks. Tom and Lacey swung gently on a hanging bench and Nathan found a seat across from them in a wicker chair. It was still muggy, but the white wine made it bearable.

"So, do you still remember the codes of Ghost Woods?" Tom asked.

Nathan smiled. "Of course."

"What are the codes of Ghost Woods?" Lacey asked.

"Part of this game we played when we were kids." Tom said.

"What?"

"We used to have Ghost Woods adventures," Tom explained. "Nathan's dad died when we were little and he moved in with me and my family for a while. He brought his books over, stuff like The Hobbit, Robin Hood, Once and Future King. We'd stay up reading them, talking about armor and swords, which heroes we liked."