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Quin and I show up to work separately, because he has to be there earlier and stay a little later, but I spot him strolling through the lobby as I stand in the gift shop listening to a tourist tell me about how much her granddaughter would love all the stuffed animals we have.
“Does she have a favorite animal?” I ask, looking past her head of white hair as I track Quin’s steps.
“Well, she likes them all,” she begins with a laugh.
She continues to rattle on about pets she’s had and has, but I begin to tune her out when I notice a man walk up to Quin.
He’s just a few inches shy of Quin’s six-foot-three frame, and he’s wearing an open jacket over his light blue button up. Quin’s lips pull into a slight grin as he crosses his arms in front of his chest, the black sleeves of his shirt stretching around his muscles.
Quin speaks, saying something to this man who watches him with rapt attention. He hasn’t stopped smiling since he approached. Is this the guy Quin was talking to the other night?
All of a sudden, the man barks out a laugh, leaning forward and playfully nudging Quin’s arm. To my dismay, Quin laughs along with him. I’m not sure what’s so funny, but if this man touches my man one more time, I’ll cut his fucking hand off.
“So, what do you think?” the older woman in front of me asks, holding up a turtle and a seal.
I snap out of my trance and force a smile as I look down at her. “I say the seal. Everyone goes for the turtles. The seals need love, too.”
Wrinkles deepen around her mouth and eyes when she smiles. “Okay. Seal it is,” she replies, putting the turtle back.
On my way to the register, I keep looking through the glass windows, watching Quin and this man whose name I don’t know. Not yet anyway. The fact that I don’t recognize him means he doesn’t work here, but if that’s the case, why would he have been here after hours the other night?
Quin looks at this watch before saying something and parting ways with the man who’s teetering closer to death than he realizes.
I take the money from the woman and put it in the register, counting out her change. “Here you go. I hope she enjoys it,” I say, handing her the bag with the seal in it.
“Oh, she will. Thank you.”
My eyes flicker up and notice when the man turns around and watches Quin walk away.
I fly from behind the counter, rushing to the door in a blind rage.
“Grayson. Grayson!”
I realize someone’s calling me and turn around to find my co-worker, Tiffany, folding T-shirts and placing them on a round table.
“What’s up?”
“Are you going on break?”
I want to break that man’s neck, but I suppose I can’t say that.
“Yeah, just fifteen minutes.”
“Bring me a soda, please?” she asks.
“Sure.”
When I step out into the hall, I spot the man turn the corner, headed toward the bathrooms. I follow him.
While he’s at the urinal, I go straight for the sink, washing my hands as I watch him in the mirror. Me and him are nearly identical in height, he’s got a little more mass on him, but it’s hard to tell his body type through his layers of clothes. I don’t really know Quin’s type or if he has one. I know he’s attracted to both men and women, but I don’t know if he looks for something specific in men.
He turns around and heads for the sink one over from me. He’s decently attractive, I guess. He’s got short brown hair, his face is clean-shaven. Green eyes sit behind dark lashes.
“Ready for spring yet?” I ask, smiling at him.
Weather is always an easy subject here. Most people are ready for winter to be over, considering it seems like it lasts most of the year.
He smiles. “I don’t mind the snow that much, but it’s definitely too cold,” he says with a chuckle.
