“I thought you’d never get here,” Tony said when Carter opened the door. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the murky dim of the room. Carter felt blinded. He stood still for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, the sun nearly blotted out by the room’s cheap vinyl mini-blinds, pulled shut against the glare. Tony always had the room darkened this way, as though he was afraid his wife perhaps might drive by and decide to peek in the window. After a moment, though, the room, the bed with its cheap veneer headboard, the writing desk in one corner, the two worn pleather guest chairs, began to take on form and definition. And so did Tony. As Carter had imagined, he lay sprawled across the white sheets, his dark skin a breathtaking contrast. His thick thighs

