Well, this sucks.

You know, 354 days out of the year, I like being a
loner.  I like it that I'm not accountable to anyone,
and I don't have to worry about stepping on anyone's
toes, but there's always that one day that a small
part of me wishes I had someone else here.  I try to
bury it, to forget it exists, but it's there.

Ladies and gentlemen, that day is today.

I flop on the couch, staring at the phone.  No.  I
won't do it.  I won't.  I'm doing it.

There's a rustling on the other end of the phone line
before I hear the familiar voice.  "Hello?"

I blink.  "Are you in the middle of something?"

The sarcastic laugh on the other end answers me.  "Am
I EVER?  No, I'm sitting here, watching us do
commentary on Smackdown, laughing at myself.  The
usual."

I laugh.  "You gotta stop doing that, Coleslaw.
You're gonna give yourself self-esteem problems."

"Little bit late for that, Pete," he remarks.

"Be that as it may, you wanna come over, maybe?  Do
something besides listen to yourself talk?"  I roll my
eyes at how stupid I sound.  I'm conning the only
friend I have with less of a life than me into hanging
out with me so I'm not alone.  How pathetic.

There's a bit of a pause, then he says "Sure, I'll be
there in a flash."

So, we hang up, and I'm left alone to wallow in how
pathetic I am until he gets here, all smiles as usual.
"You are nauseatingly cheerful, you know that?  I
ask.

He just nods, sitting down next to me on the couch.
"So, what are we gonna do?"

I sigh.  "I don't know."  To hell with all this
dancing around.  I just want to spend the rest of the
night in oblivion, forget about spending today alone
again.  "I was thinking each other would be fun."
 

"Oh.  It's gonna be one of those kind of nights."  I
tense for a moment, certain that I've said the wrong
thing, that Mikey is sick of our one-night stands, and
he's going to leave.  But, he only shrugs.  "I'm fine
with that."

Well, that's settled, then.  We have the pre-sex
rituals down to a routine.  He turns out the lights,
leaving only one soft lamp on, because he can't stand
to be seen naked in the light.  I make sure the door
is locked and the shades are closed, because I'm
paranoid about the neighbors seeing us.  Once that's
done, we meet each other in front of the couch,
staring for a moment into each other's eyes.  Then, I
wrap my fingers in his hair, cover his mouth with
mine.  He leans into the kiss, his hands coming up to
rest on my back.

We stay like that for awhile, then his mouth moves
down to nuzzle my neck, as his hands start to unbutton
my shirt.  When he finishes with that, He pushes the
shirt off my shoulders and runs his hands up my bare
back.  I can see what he's trying to do, distract me
as long as possible so I don't start undressing him.
I laugh to myself, it's almost cute how self-conscious
he is.  I move away from him so I can pull his shirt
over his head.  I see him blush as I toss his shirt
onto the floor.

We kiss some more, managing to work ourselves out of
our pants, and somehow we end up lying on the floor,
Mikey on his back on the carpet, me kneeling between
his legs.  I work my fingers into the waistband of his
boxers, observing how my dark skin stands out against
his pale body.  I work off his boxers, and as always,
he closes his eyes, scared of seeing disapproval in my
face.  It's a little sad to see his strong refusal  to
accept that I don't see the skinny bag of bones that
he does when I look at him.  I plant kisses on his
face, including two to his squeezed-shut eyelids,
before removing my own boxers.

On most nights, we don't go this fast, we take our
time, but this isn't most nights and I just want to
lose myself of him.  I find the tube of lube and arm
some between my fingers before slowly working a finger
inside of him.  He is less tense than he used to be,
and it's not long before I find myself sliding into
him.  And we work our way into a rhythm, just like
always, our bodies together in motion until we both
come, gasping for air.

Once we're recovered, he wraps his arms around me.  "I
know why you did this."

For a moment, I have no clue what he's talking about.
"Did what?"

He sighs.  "Asked me to come over.  Fucked me.
Because you're lonely and it's your birthday."  He
smiles at my look of surprise.  "I didn't forget, you
know.  I was gonna come here anyways, you just called
me before I could leave."

"What's your point?  Do you feel special now that
you've analyzed my motives?"  Fuck, I hate it when he
gets to me.

"It doesn't have to be like this.  You don't have to
call me to get me to come here.  I could be there for
you always, if you let me."

I open my mouth to tell him no, that won't be
necessary, that nights of passion are all I need from
him.  It doesn't quite come out that way.  "I think
I'd like that."

He curls closer to me, and I can feel him smiling.
"Happy birthday."

I hold him tighter.  Happy birthday.  Maybe, for once,
it was.