Inside the Beltway (Characters)

Living together in the same apartment, sharing the same bed, was a serious commitment for Triston, Darrell, and Bobby.  No one made an advance, touched or grabbed unless it was expected and usually communicated before it was done.  They weren’t there for the sex.  They weren’t in a monogamous relationship, it was something else, a friendship.  They could talk all night long but they were also comfortable with awkward silences.  Each of them were in the bed for his own reason.

For Triston it was his own sense of openness, a sense of family, if not community and friendship, plus it helped him save money to one day own a business, a sex toy shop focused on teaching and resources for a community.

For Bobby it was the warmth of being there amongst the other bodies and saving money for a brand new car, a BMW, which he wanted to pay off in full so that he never had to worry about a monthly payment.  He felt like he could go anywhere if he owned a car.  He could drive anywhere, be anywhere, move on a whim.

For Darrell it was sobriety, dependency, and preoccupation, the little annoyances and distractions that made him fill his day with something else.  It had gotten bad two years ago before he moved in with them.  He had his own apartment in that section of town that sounded like a bachelor’s neighborhood.  Drinking on the weekends became drinking every night until he had a collection of bottles in the cupboards of his kitchen instead of dishes, along the counters, and windowsills.

Read their stories: swishedition.com/?p=9184