Blayne nodded. Although he didn't know who the guy was. The guy was just a guest. But Danny wouldn't help unless he thought it was someone close to Blayne.
Danny took out a cigarette and lit it, his hands covering the flame from the sea side wind.
"Okay well I owe you for life. /you know that. so if they've got your guy, then they might as well got my guy."
Anytime Danny brought up the fact that he owed Blayne for life, memories of college would come swirling back. Danny could've meant that one time, or the other. Countless occassions when apparently Blayne had saved Danny's ass.
When Danny would get high and drunk at the same time he'd swerve and keep saying this.
"You saved me, man. You know that. No I'm serious, Blayno. you saved me."
Blayne never did understand back then what Danny meant. For all he could tell, they were doing things any normal college kid would do. Smoke. Drink. Walk around and stay up late having conversations about everything and nothing. In face Blayne thought it was Danny who had saved him. Without him he may have had a boring ner'ds college experience. Never would've known the casual thrill of getting that next joint or picking up more beer well after 2 am.
After the fall semester of sophomore year Danny stopped visiting. Blayne remembered the last weekend. It had been chilly and the sky a little too white. the beginning of November.
They had been drunk. Out late at the
McDonalds
. And there were four other guys mean mugging them. There had only been three of them. And Blayne was no where near fighting shape. But Danny didn't back down. In the parking lot fists flew. Two guys ran away. Two were left bleeding on the alphalt.
The cops could never figure out who did it. But Danny never came back after that.