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Rex sighs, but just strokes my hair as I put my head on his shoulder and pat Marilyn’s head. Rex puts his arm around me and flicks on the TV, flipping channels until he gets to the classic movie channel he likes so much.
“Hey, it’s your monster movie,” I say when I see it’s Frankenstein. Rex squeezes my shoulder and I relax against him.
“Poor Frankenstein,” Will says. “Bastard couldn’t catch a break, could he?”
“The doctor is Frankenstein,” I say absently, my eyes fixed on the screen. “That’s his creature.”
“Call him whatever you want,” Will says. “He’s miserable and alone and he’s about to be mobbed by a whole fucking village. Sucks.”
“—SISTER OKAY?” Rex is saying quietly when I wake up. I dozed off during Frankenstein and it looks like now it’s a movie about rats or something. Marilyn is a warm weight on my feet and Rex smells delicious. I’m kind of lying on him now; I must have been out for a while. I decide I’m not in the mood to talk to Will anymore and I close my eyes and relax into Rex again.
“She’s all right,” Will says, and then starts talking about some boyfriend or her boss and I’m not really listening, just thinking about how comfortable I am and how I wish Will would disappear in a puff of magic Halloween smoke and leave me alone with Rex so we could go to bed.
I must have fallen asleep again for a minute. When I drift back awake, Will’s voice sounds different.
“He really likes you a lot.”
My first thought is to sit up and ask Will who the hell likes Rex, but then my sleepy brain catches up and I realize he must mean me. I know I should tell them I’m awake, but I can’t make myself do it. I want to hear what Rex says in response. Also, part of me is curious to hear how he and Will interact when it’s just the two of them. Sure, Will isn’t turning out to be quite the asshole I thought he was, but I haven’t seen much that makes me understand why he and Rex are friends either.
“Yeah, you think so?” Rex asks, his voice vulnerable. He’s stroking my hair, which feels amazing. “Sometimes he’s just so… I dunno. Like he doesn’t want me close.”
“He’s lying on top of you,” Will jokes.
“Ha, smartass. You know what I mean.”
“I do,” Will says, sounding serious. “And I think for a guy like Daniel, what he’s like when he’s drunk or tired says more about how he feels than he’ll say out loud.”
“Yeah?” Rex asks.
“Well, you saw how he went right for me today and the other night. I can tell he’s been fighting his whole life. That shit’s ingrained.”
“Well, you weren’t exactly discouraging it,” Rex says.
“Hey, man, I reacted to him. You know I don’t start fights. I’ll fight back, but I don’t throw the first punch unless I have to. You know that. Daniel… he doesn’t like it, but he’s used to it—you know, like, he throws the first punch to stop whoever from throwing the second and third and the fourth. I get it.”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Rex asks.
“Nah. Stronger than I thought, though. When you said he was an English teacher I thought he’d be a pansy.”
“Funny, he said the same thing about you.”
“Anyway, I saw how he jumped when we startled him at the bar yesterday. He’s either been jumped a bunch of times or he’s been abused. Maybe both. Am I right?”
“It’s not your business, Will,” Rex says gently.
“That’s fine, babe,” Will says, and I resist the urge to jump up and throttle Will for the term of endearment. “All I meant to say is that for someone who’s used to fighting, the fact that he defaults to relaxing around you means something. That’s all. Besides, the way he looks at you….”
“Yeah,” Rex says fondly.
Wait, how do I look at him?
Will changes the subject even though now I’m desperate to hear more. I don’t like that he could tell so much about me, having only known me for a few hours. More than that, though, I’m curious. Because he’s right.
I never relax around people the way I do around Rex. I hadn’t really thought about it because I’ve been anxious about other shit, but I’ve never fallen asleep on anyone except Ginger. I’ve never put my head on someone’s shoulder while we were sitting next to each other. It’s never even crossed my mind. And yet, with Rex, I have. I’ve done those things and not even really thought about them. Maybe Will is right. Not only do I like Rex, but I let my guard down around him in a way I can’t even verbalize. Maybe Will’s not such an idiot after all.
