Danny Masterson is finally getting a place all his own, and he couldn’t be more excited. Since college he’s lived with his best buddy Rob, but when Rob’s pregnant girlfriend moved in, Danny knew it was time to move out. His new apartment has all the amenities, and the sexy neighbor living downstairs named Kyle only sweetens the deal.<br><br>But a heat wave hits when Rob helps Danny move in, and the apartment’s A/C isn’t working right. Maintenance won’t come out because Danny isn’t listed as a tenant yet, so he’s stuck sweating it out over the long, Fourth of July weekend.<br><br>Kyle invites Danny to stay downstairs in his apartment in air conditioned bliss, but he has a pretty roommate named Nadia who may or may not be his girlfriend. Danny thinks Kyle might be interested in him, but so far Kyle hasn’t said or done anything to move things forward between them. Will things ever heat up between them? Or is Danny going to end up getting burned?

Heat Wave: Richmond

“I’m a big boy,” I joke. “I think I can figure it out.”


I drive down the street and pull into the small parking lot between the two garden apartment buildings. Most of the spaces have both a number and a letter painted on the tarmac, which corresponds to the apartments in the buildings. I find the one marked 23G, like it says on the front of my folder, and pull into the spot. For a long moment I just sit behind the wheel of my car, taking it all in—I’m going to be living here from now on, I tell myself. I’ll be coming here after work, not Rob’s place. I’ll have friends over for dinner or to watch movies, maybe throw a Halloween party sometime, maybe…


Chapter 3