A Little Excerpt

February 2019

It was a Tuesday evening, and Levi Cranston came over to his friend, Kevin Maggliardi’s, apartment in Cambridge, MA. Everyone else was busy, so it was nice for just the two of them.

Kevin was reading a book, and Levi walked in with tears in his eyes and his face all red.

“Hi Levi, what’s wrong?” Kevin greeted his “big brother.” They’re not related; they are so close that they could pass up as being related.
“Bad day at work. A coworker screamed at me,” Levi replied to his “baby brother.”
“Same lady as before?”
“Yeah, same admin lady.”
“Sorry to hear that. Want a hug?”
“That’d be nice.”

Levi climbed onto the couch with his friend and wrapped his arms around him. Not thinking twice about it, he lay his head against Kevin’s chest so that he could hear his heart beating. Kevin wrapped his left arm around Levi’s shoulder.

“This is the first time I’ve heard your heartbeat,” Levi remarked, in between sniffles.

Kevin drew in a deep breath and gave Levi a pat on the back. Their platonic relationship does not mean they don’t have to be this close. In a few minutes, they both fell asleep.