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shipping depot and was even less tolerant afterward. The long hours left him exhausted and the only thing he wanted to do when he got home from work was sleep. Reece had done his best to be respectful, which for him meant one or two halfhearted attempts to keep the noise level to a minimum, followed by willful ignorance that there was ever a problem in the first place.
    It was getting to the point where Colton was seriously considering moving out and finding his own apartment. There was no way he would find a place anywhere remotely as nice as where they were staying now, but he could see himself in a mid-grade studio apartment with a decent view of the city sometime in the very near future.
    He probably would have moved out a lot sooner, but he and Reece had been friends for almost five years and Colton felt like he owed him a little more time to get his act together. In high school, Reece had jumped on the back of a bully that was standing over Colton and kicking him repeatedly in the stomach. The bully—Kyle Hanoway, the biggest linebacker on the school football team—easily plucked Reece off his back and threw him to the ground. Reece shouted insults at Kyle the whole time the gorilla of a football player was kicking the two skinny kids lying on the ground. Eventually a teacher saw what was happening and ran over to separate the flailing mass of arms and legs.
    Colton and Reece became quick friends and stayed close throughout high school. They had their fights, as all friends do, and when Reece moved to New York City right after graduation, he left an open invitation for Colton to come join him. After things with his own father had deteriorated past the point of repair, Colton took Reece up on his offer and moved to Parkchester, bearing witness to his slow but steady decline into alcoholism and self-loathing.
    Colton was just opening the front door to his apartment building when Reece walked out of the lobby elevator. He was wearing tennis shoes—a rarity, since he almost always wore sandals—and runner’s shorts.
    “Uh-oh,” said Colton as he walked into the building.
    Reece smiled and spread out his arms so Colton could admire his new clothes. His blond, messy hair hung down over his eyes and stuck out in random clumps. “Uh-oh?” he said. “I don’t think that’s what you meant.”
    “You don’t exercise.”
    “It’s never too late to start.” He walked past Colton and slapped him on the back. “Come on, I need your help with something.”
    “Man, I’m tired and I need to eat. I just want to go upstairs and relax.” He tried to keep walking toward the elevator but Reece grabbed his arm and steered him back to the front door.
    “Plenty of time for that later, amigo. This is important. You only live once, right?”
    “The last time you said that you went missing for three days,” said Colton.
    “And I have one of the best stories in the world because of that experience. No regrets!” He pushed Colton through the doorway. “Come on, this way,” he said. He made a laughable attempt to stretch his arms and legs before walking away at a brisk pace.
    Colton sighed and jogged to catch up. “I hope we’re going to get food,” he said.
    “In a bit. First there’s a little project I’ve been working on.”
    “Can you at least tell me what it is?”
    “If I did, you wouldn’t help me.”
    “Probably not,” said Colton. He sniffed the air. “Are you wearing cologne?”
    “Half a bottle. Nice, right?”
    “You smell like gasoline. And your hair looks ridiculous.”
    “It’s called ‘bedhead’, genius. It’s a real thing and chicks love it.”
    They turned onto Third Avenue toward Melrose. Colton had only been to that area once or twice, and he looked around at all the buildings as Reece hurried down the sidewalk.
    “What’s the big rush?” asked Colton, jogging to keep up.
    Reece looked at his watch. “It’s almost shift change and we might miss her.”
    “This is about a girl