Things often went over my head. It was that way in that small apartment when Kathryn talked about animals while Braid played in the background. A slight curl of her long brown hair moved across her face when she turned to the side. Obscuring vision. “I do, I want to hold you” The New Nathan Detroits. That was the song title.
“Are you even listening?” She asked. I looked up, putting down the latest issue of Heart Attack in my hand. Of course I am. Listening, not really paying attention, but really….. I nod.
“Alright, let’s go out.”
T-shirt, cargo pants, exit into the cold night air. Buzz from a few blocks away, the chatter down on 5th st, pulling at our youth, our wonder. There were days when sleep went unanswered, these fall nights. Humidity made pretty. And lust worn on sleeves, filled with so much longing.
We walked into the frenzy, past reason, with hope for all the days to come.

The Single has been spinning without music for minutes.
It’s whir turned into the recess of our hearing.
Someone should flip the damn record but no one moves for the needle.
Cassie walks by with her new girlfriend, a redhead from the mountains.
I see William cringe at the sight, his heart pulling just a bit.
“Hey want a piece of candy?” I offer to no one in particular.
Andrew accepts, joins me in sugar debauchery.
The clock finishes its last minutes till 9pm.
Lights dim, keys locking behind us, four men going our separate ways.
Routine, until one of us leaves for another job, another city, another life.
And worst of all, we never look back.