Chapter 3

“Thanks, bro.”

Eli dropped his hand from Joshua’s elbow, as quickly as he put it there in the first place, then moved forward so Joshua could follow him out.

After Eli opened the door, Joshua stopped. Stairs faced him but traffic above buzzed by.

“Whoa!” Joshua looked up. Shocked. “You live in a basement in Florida? I thought no one could have one because of the water table.” As he reached the top of the stairs, Joshua scanned around, checked out the street signs. He noticed the tall buildings and realized where he was. He also noted that Eli stood more than five inches taller.

“The other side of this studio is a bar that’s been here for decades in one form or other. I’ve rented the back space here for a while.”

“Yeah? But where I was—”

“You were west of the city. I know. I had to bring you downtown.”

“Can you point me to the bus stop?”

“I could. Or if you want, my car’s around the corner and I could take you home.”