“You seriously homeless?” asked Danny. “I just got asked to nominate someone for this residency in Rome. You want to do it?”
Cleo didn’t know what she wanted. She was saved from answering by a girl wearing a leather bra and pants running toward Danny and jumping on his back.
“Love you, Danny,” she screeched, kissing the side of his face.
“Love you too, babe,” Danny said. “But I’m going to need you to get off me now.”
The girl fell away from him, laughing, and went to join her friends taking pictures. Danny looked at Cleo and took her hand.
“You want to come with me? I need a break from these people. They gave me my own trailer. It’s crazy.”
The trailer was lined with thick carpet and contained a large velvet sofa and vanity table holding rows of liquor and champagne bottles. Overheard, a chandelier winked at her. She could feel its light like feathers on her skin. She felt as though her blood had been carbonated. Danny looked at her eyes and cracked up.
“You on something?” he asked.
Cleo nodded.
“You want a drink?”
Cleo nodded again. She could feel the glow from the chandelier warming her from the inside. She reached up and touched one of the crystal teardrops. A rainbow of light swung across her face.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
She closed her eyes.
“Groovy,” she said. “We should use that word more. Grooooovy.”
“Here.”
He walked over and unhooked a crystal from its strand on the chandelier. Very gently, he removed the stud from her right earlobe and pushed the crystal’s wire through the hole. She could feel the sudden tug on her lobe as he pulled his hands away, the unfamiliar weight by her cheek.
“Now you look groovy too.” He took a bottle of champagne and drank straight from the neck, then passed it to her. “You hungry?”
They sat on the sofa and Danny passed her the largest bag of potato chips she’d ever seen. He took a handful and crunched on them.
He shrugged. “Sponsors.”
“This is bigger than your ice sculpture,” Cleo said.
They began to laugh, and the laughter gained momentum until they couldn’t stop, helpless tearful peals, pulling all breath from their bodies. Each time one looked at the other, it started up again. Cleo’s stomach hurt from it. It had been so long since she’d laughed like that. Once the last spasms had subsided, Danny wiped his eyes and looked at her seriously.
“So,” he said. “You think I sold out?”
Cleo touched the chandelier pendant hanging from her ear and regarded him. “I think you sold,” she said.
“That’s the same thing, according to them.” He nodded his head to the trailer door, then let it fall back on the couch. “Everyone wants me to be the next fucking Basquiat. Basquiat surrounded himself with white people, then killed himself. God help me if I end up like Basquiat, man.”
“I’d start by avoiding intravenous drugs,” Cleo said. “And white people.”
“Easier said than done,” said Danny, nodding toward her.
“True,” said Cleo.
She took another pull of champagne and passed the bottle back to him. He took a gulp and continued.
“Sometimes it’s like they want you to be high all the time. My agent would shoot me up herself if she thought I’d sell better.”
“At least you have all this,” said Cleo. “Now you just have to decide what to do with it.”
Danny nodded slowly and ate another handful of chips.
“And what about you?” he asked. “You showing anywhere? You know, you were one of the best in our program. All the teachers thought so. I remember your final show. It was … majestic, man.” He took a swig. “Fucking majestic,” he repeated and burped.
Cleo turned her body to face him. He had scattered chip crumbs all down his front. She reached over to brush them off. Danny opened his mouth to say something, then grabbed her wrist. She followed his gaze. It was her scar, protruding from her sleeve like an exclamation point. She saw his eyes widen to absorb its length. Cleo pulled her forearm gently away from his grasp. Danny looked at her, and his eyes were dark and liquid, incredibly tender.
“You want to talk about it?” he asked.
Cleo bowed her head. Very gently, he kissed her forehead. They stayed like that, his lips resting against the line of her hair, for what felt like a long time. He pulled away slowly.
“Come on,” Danny said. “There’s something I want us to do.”