A Wall Between

Chapter 28

"Were they athletes? You can get away with a lot if they're athletes."

"No, like, actors, musicians..."

"Ah. Maybe they got the message, then. I had a big poster of a shirtless man surfing on the wall across from my bed. Nobody ever questioned it."

"Well, you had a girlfriend, didn't you?"

"True. Bisexuality throws everyone off."

Sasha nodded. He looked tired.

"You want to go to bed?"

Sasha nodded again. "Will you be okay here?"

"I'll be great here. Thanks for letting me stay the night."

"It's okay," Sasha said, the words coming out mumbled together. "Um..."

"Mm?"

Sasha bent his neck and patted the top of his head. It took Cooper a moment to figure out what he wanted, but when he did he leant forward and pressed a kiss to the top of Sasha's head.

"Thank you," Sasha said.

Cooper let out a quiet laugh. "You're welcome."

As Sasha headed off to bed, Cooper let out a sigh and flopped down on the couch. Life was pretty okay.

#

When Cooper's alarm on his phone went off early next morning, he momentarily regretted not cancelling it, but no. With everything else going to hell, he needed to take care of his mental health more than ever. That meant getting up and making himself go out for a jog no matter how much he didn't feel like it.

As usual, though, by the time he was up and dressed and out of the house, he was glad to be moving. This was a nice neighbourhood. The footpaths were clear, flat, and well maintained and there was no random trash thrown about, no graffiti, no abandoned houses that had been left to fall apart on their own. It wasn't like the snooty neighbourhood he'd grown up in, either. The houses were open to the street, not closed off behind tall fences that were plastered with signs warning of security cameras.

Cooper heard someone call out and he looked up to see a brown and white spaniel dash across the road towards him, its lead dragging on the ground behind it as its owner, a moderately overweight elderly man, tried to jog to catch up with it.

"She's friendly!" the man called out, but Cooper could already see that from the way her tail was wagging away.

Cooper bent to pick up her lead and then ended up sitting on the ground when the dog took the opportunity to jump all over him in her excitement.

"Sorry," the man said as he reached them. "She got away from me. She gets so excited when she sees people running because she knows she'll never get me to do it."

Cooper laughed as the dog squirmed around, mouthing at every part of him she should reach. "It's no problem. I love dogs, but I can't have one of my own so I've got to get my pets in where I can. Is she an English Springer Spaniel?"

"She is! You know your dog breeds. Her name's Piper."

"Aw, Piper," Cooper said as he scratched Piper's ears. "You're so friendly."

"She's probably hoping that if she's extra nice, you'll take her with you."

"I wish. I just have to run all by myself."

"Well, if you're looking for a running companion, you have a volunteer right there."

"I mean..." Cooper said, looking up at the man's face to try to figure out if he was joking.