He got up almost as quickly as he sat down, realizing that Aria hadn’t ordered anything yet. “Hey, you want somethin’?” he asked. Aria shook her head no. Taylor guessed that she had declined on account of having no money, so he winked at her and walked toward the counter to buy her something anyway.

He sat back down with an iced coffee and put an iced caramel macchiato in front of Aria. “Did you land a part or something?” she asked, having no other explanation for Taylor’s sudden financial upgrade.

“I wish. No, Daddy’s just rich,” he said, referring to Dan. The café employee came over to the table, carrying a small plate with a cinnamon roll. When he placed it down in front of Taylor, the two of them looked at each other like two hissing cats. “What the hell was that?” Aria asked as soon as the man had left.

“Oh he’s just sissyphobic. Some gay men find other gay men like me simply objectionable.” He enunciated the words “simply objectionable” loud enough that the man behind the counter could hear.

“So where are you living?” Aria asked.

“Well, you remember I moved in with Dan, right? It was better than I expected. I mean, I guess it had to be ’cause I’m still living there! We’re up in Laurel Canyon,” he said. Aria didn’t know where Laurel Canyon was, but from the look of Taylor’s makeover, she could imagine the affluence of the place.

“Are you still taking those acting classes?” Aria asked.

“No … I don’t know; it just wasn’t really getting me anywhere. I kind of gave up acting for now,” Taylor said. Aria could feel the shame in the cadence of his voice.

“So what are you doing every day then?” she asked.

Taylor laughed once before admitting, “I’ve been helpin’ Dan with his thingy and redecorating mostly. Dan has this awful old movie fetish. I’ve let him keep a room all to himself so he can put all his collector pieces there. That way they won’t be littering up the house … Oh, and I’ve been learnin’ to cook. He’s lucky I haven’t burned the whole goddamn house down yet … Besides that, I’ve just been loungin’ around the house.” Aria chuckled to imagine Taylor in the new life he had stumbled into.

“Where are you livin’ now?” Taylor asked.

Aria pointed in the direction of the mini market. “Just over there,” she said.

“No shit?” Taylor said, turning around to look.

“Actually, I found a guy too!” Aria confessed.

Taylor grinned as a substitute for congratulating her. “Isn’t it obvious now you’re gonna have to tell me about ’im? … What’s his name, what’s he do, is he sexy?” he asked.