Blinded by You

Excerpt

Evan tapped his foot on the ground nervously as he waited for Danny to show up. It was twelve o’clock in the afternoon, and Danny had been scheduled to come right at noon. As Evan would need Danny to help him with his new book as well as some household chores like deciphering whites from darks, he had decided to have Danny meet him at his house.

It’s the first day, and Danny is already running late, Evan thought darkly. I can’t believe this. He began to pace on his living room carpet. He exhaled a large sigh, crossing his arms in front of his chest. What was Dean playing at? Why would he enlist him for such a terrible thing?

That was when the doorbell rang. A nervous bolt shot through Evan that he quickly ignored. It wasn’t like being in front of a crowd of people or making a presentation for his peers. There was a stranger, some delinquent, who was going to make a move on his personal space. Jane, why did you have to go? he thought as he hustled forward to answer the door.

When he opened it, he wished that he could see the boy standing before him. Instead, he got his first whiff of his new housemate, as his other senses had grown heightened with time in order to make up for his blindness. What he could say so far was that Danny favored a spicy body deodorant that smelled quite nice and that he had very quick breathing. It was possible that Danny was just as nervous about this arrangement as Evan.

“Hello,” Evan said nervously. “Danny, is it?”

“Yo,” Danny said calmly in response, instantly killing all thoughts of He may be nervous, too. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re Evan, the blind guy that my big brother wants me to look after, right?”

Evan felt his stomach clench. This was not the way that he had wanted things to go at all, but he should have known better than to expect even the slightest bit of diplomacy. His whole life, he had tried desperately to fight the phrase “that blind guy.” He was so much more than that. Instantly, Evan’s face fixed into a snarl before he calmed himself down by thinking, Relax. He’s just some immature brat that just lost his parents.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Evan growled more harshly than he meant to. “Come in. I’ll show you around and tell you a bit about what I expect from you.”

“Right,” Danny replied, stepping over the threshold. “This place isn’t too bad. Do you have a cleaning lady too?”

“A cleaning lady?” Evan asked, eyebrows raised. “No, I do my own housework. What makes you say that?”

“Seriously?” Danny asked with such surprise that it was unflattering. “How can you tell how clean it is and stuff? Just like with your appearance. You seem pretty pressed and polished for a blind guy, if you asked me.”

This was not the first time that this comment had been made about his appearance. It was ironic, considering that he had no idea what he looked like in other people’s eyes. Everyone else said that he was quite attractive, though. Jane had told him that he had bright blue eyes—whatever blue was—and blond hair that was naturally curly and fell to his shoulders in thick ringlets. During meetings, he had it pushed back in order to maintain professionalism. When he was at home, he just left it hanging to his shoulders.

“Just because I’m blind doesn’t mean that I’m stupid,” Evan said darkly, shaking his head. “I do my own housework, my own business, and my own cooking.”

“Then why do you need me?” asked Danny crossly.

Because I promised your brother that I would help you stop being such a pain in the ass, he thought. He couldn’t say that, though. Something about the way that Danny spoke told him that he was not to be trifled with. On top of that, Dean had told him about Danny’s temper. The fact that Evan was allowing someone like that into his house was daunting.

“I need you because sometimes I have too much work to do, just like any other person,” he lied. “Now come along with me. I have things to show you.”

After Evan had showed him the laundry piles (“Man. I didn’t know that I was going to be your maid! Shit . . .”), the office (“I have to help with reading? I didn’t think that this was grade school.”), and his files (“I don’t even alphabetize my own stuff. Why should I help you with yours?”), he was more than a little annoyed. Jane had always helped him wordlessly and driven him places. Nickel was a good help when Jane wasn’t around, but it was much faster to drive than to take the public transit system.

As Evan padded around the house, wondering whether there was anything else that he had forgotten while silently hoping that Danny would stop moaning and sulking, he heard the sound of Nickel approaching as if she had heard him when he had thought about her. Evan leaned downward, opening his arms wide to receive Nickel, and grinned as a wet tongue lapped at his face. From behind him, Danny made a thumping noise.

“Oh no,” Danny muttered, making a thudding sound. “A dog. A dog! This is just sick. My brother never told me that you had a dog. Get that thing away from me right now!”

Evan, who felt Nickel’s head cock in curiosity beneath his hand, glanced upward and heard Danny clunk away from him, attempting to get away from his harmless seeing-eye dog. This is not going to work, he thought darkly. This kid can’t even handle Nickel. Nickel wouldn’t hurt anyone, not even a cat.

“Nickel is a seeing-eye dog,” Evan explained as Danny squeaked. “I need her around. She won’t hurt you.”

“Yeah, right,” Danny grumbled. “Please just make her go away.”

Sighing underneath his breath, Evan reached forward and took Danny’s arm and led him back down toward the first floor of the house, where Nickel was least likely to follow. Once they were out of the proximity of Nickel, Danny relaxed underneath his arm and pushed Evan’s hand away. Evan hadn’t even realized that he had still been holding it. He and Jane had held hands all the time, and it had never seemed to bother her. Then again, she had always known that he was gay, and they had such a family-like relationship that it was scarcely uncomfortable between them.

“Okay,” Evan sighed, feeling embarrassed. “That’s about it. Why don’t you get started with the laundry while I work in my office?”

“Laundry,” Danny said weakly, as if it was a foreign word.

“Yes, laundry.”