Page 36 of Sight Unseen

The joy I always felt when Cody visited—albeit unannounced—rose unbidden. His being here was instant good mood in a bottle.

“Did you bring coffee? Bear claws? Donuts?” I growled. “If not, get the fuck out.”

Cody punched me in the arm. “Dude, so rude.” He moved around to my side. “Yeah, I brought you coffee, black and sweet just as you like it. And the bakery was out of bear claws, so you got a custard donut instead.”

Something was placed on the table on my left. Cody nudged my shoulder. “Ten o’clock. Coffee’s hot, so careful. The lid’s on though.”

I was already searching out the donut, my sweet tooth craving Benny’s Bakery’s delicious pastry. I took a mouthful, uttering a soft moan as I closed my eyes in pleasure at the taste of pure goodness. “God, this is good. It gets better each time I eat one of these.”

“Uh, yeah.” His voice sounded strange and breathless. “Looks good to me too. I mean, tastes good…” His voice trailed off and there was the sound of paper rustling. It sounded like it was coming from my bin.

“Why’d you throw this away?” I guessed Cody was holding the unfinished bust. “It looks pretty cool.”

I shrugged as I shoved the rest of my donut into my mouth. “It didn’t feel right. I’ll do it again until I’m happy with it.”

I need to get it right. I’ve got something special in mind and I can’t afford a half-cocked sculpture spoiling the surprise. OCD it’s-got-to-be-perfect Nate, that’s my name.

My need for absolute perfection seemed to have gotten worse since I’d lost my sight. Yep, a classic case of overcompensation.

He chuckled. “It’ll double as a hat stand. Maybe I can take it into the gallery and we can market it as such.”

His words struck a chord.

“Don’t you have a family member with alopecia?” I asked as I slid the lid off my coffee. I’d vaguely heard him mention her previously. His family was legion. “Does she wear wigs? Maybe she can keep it for that.”

Cody gasped. “Dude, that’s an awesome idea. Sandstorm Dune will love this.”

I blinked. “Sandstorm Dune? That’s a new one, I don’t think you’ve actually mentioned her name before.”

“Yeah, she’s a distant cousin on my dad’s side. She’ll get a real kick out of this head.”

I sniggered. “Don’t we all. Get a kick out of head I mean. Not that I’d remember, it’s been too damn long since I got any.”

He moved closer and I breathed in his scent, ignoring the stirring in my trousers. I was horny, that was all.

His breath warmed my ear. “Maybe you need to get out more. You’ve become a bit of a hermit, you know.”

I bristled at the comment. “I don’t have a lot of choices, do I? Hello. Blind guy. Action tends to be a little limited when people see that.”

“Don’t talk such shit.” The table shuddered as he leaned against it. “You’re just damned scared to go out and be sociable is all.”

He was right, but measures had already been taken to address that. I sighed and drained my coffee, throwing the cup toward the bin. It hit the floor and I snorted. “You moved the bin, dickwad. Put it back so I can find it later.”

There was the sound of the metal bin being dragged back no doubt to its original position.

“Sorry, I only moved it a bit when I was rummaging.”

“Don’t worry, bud. I forgive you.”

He squeezed my arm. “So, you planning on going out anytime soon, having some fun?”

I nodded, wondering why I wasn’t more excited about the news. “Already in place. Suzanne’s taking me to a club next week.”

Cody’s breath hitched and the air in the room thickened.

“Oh yeah?” He nudged his shoulder with mine. “Way to go, get back on that horse.” The element of forced cheer in his voice didn’t escape me. I wondered whether it was because I hadn’t invited him.

“Suze got tickets for the VIP room, and it just so happens to be the night you have your next big gallery opening. I knew you’d want to be there for that, otherwise I’d have invited you to come with—”