They have a full day of prep with some light shooting, everyone in great spirits, especially Richie, who’s not only in his element leading the shoot but who is absolutely loving learning the ins and outs of how the distillery operates. Eddie has to admit it’s cool, even if he’s not a big whiskey drinker. By the end of the day, the three of them are exhausted, and Eddie couldn’t be happier to settle into their AirBNB. Eddie’d initially set up a stay for himself at a proper hotel downtown, but Richie’d managed to convince him to piggyback onto his reservation in the basement of a beautiful, rustic home in the woods. “I’m paying for two bedrooms, anyway,” he’d explained, showing Eddie every detail of the reservation to seal the deal, including that it was LGBTQ-friendly. Eddie’d had to admit: the place looked gorgeous, and it was way cheaper than the hotel. They’d kept Mark downtown to avoid any potential liability with his college, though.
As they pull into the driveway of the AirBNB, the sky already dark again, Eddie finds himself far too tired to give in to any of the anxiety that would have inevitably reared its ugly head by now. Deep in the woods, staying in a stranger’s home, misrepresentation, blah blah blah. Just point me to the nearest bed.
Their host, Nina, meets them downstairs as soon as they’re in the door, her little French bulldog scrambling awkwardly behind her, panting and snorting. Eddie’s all too grateful that Richie still has the energy to engage with the both of them, chatting animatedly with Nina from where he messes with the dog, Pasha, on the carpet while Eddie yawns and quietly takes in the space.
When Nina and Pasha finally retreat upstairs (the latter with several longing looks back at Richie the whole way there), Eddie turns to Richie with a somewhat confused expression.
Richie finally takes in the room--just one room, albeit a really large one, with a set of four curtains creating two spaces. “Oh.” He raises his eyebrows, looking truly alarmed. “There’s another bed in there, right?” He points to the area beyond the closed curtains.
