“Damn, Nick! Maybe someone else in the room wants nachos.”
Nick stopped to look at AJ mid-chew, “Oops, sorry.”
“Yes, Nicky, the object of this game is to win the chips, not eat them.”
All the Boys were playing a friendly game of poker in the suite’s common room. Everyone’s mood had lightened significantly since the beginning of the week. Brian was about to deal the next hand when Kevin’s cell phone rang. Everyone tried to pretend not to be listening to his half of the conversation, but they all were.
“Hey, girl!…Okay, you?…That’s good to hear. So, what’s up?…Really?…That sounds great!…Sure, I’ll ask them…Hold on.”
Howie looked anxiously at Kevin, “Well?’
“You two want to go clubbing Saturday?” he gestured towards Howie and AJ.
Being the party-happy person that he was, AJ started to get hyperactive. “Who’s on the phone? Gimme, gimme, gimme!”
“Hello?…Annie!…You takin’ us out?…Hell, yeah, I’m happy!…That sounds like it’s gonna be hot!…How ya’ been?…You should be ashamed of yourself…For not calling me…I understand and all, but…Okay, okay, okay!!…Yeah, sweetie, I’ll see you then…Love you, too…Bye, bye.
Meanwhile, Brian was doing a not-so-good job of playing the passive ex-boyfriend while his best friends schmoozed with his ex-girlfriend. Brian could tell from the change in Nick’s demeanor that the two of them had patched things up. He had seen her with Kevin and the positive attitude adjustment in the other guys was a sure-fire sign that he had spread the word. “Why is it she can talk to everyone but me?”, Brian wondered. He was so involved in his thinking that he didn’t notice Kevin sit beside him.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
“As if you care.”
Kevin was completely taken aback, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re too busy taking Annie to the gym and to clubs to care.”
“How, exactly did you know about the gym?”
Brian faltered. He wasn’t supposed to be questioned. “I was there.”
“You spied on us?”, Kevin stood and asked incredulously.
Brian jumped from his seat, “No! I was in the gym and you were nothing short of being highly visible what with the two of you running into each other’s arms.”
Howie had been passively watching but decided to jump between them when he saw tempers begin to flare. “Okay, guys, that’s enough, calm it down now.”
“It was enough when he started to move in on my girlfriend.”
Kevin lost it right then, “First of all, that’s EX-girlfriend, and second of all she called me because she needed to talk.”
“And this led to you groping her in the gym, how?”
Nick walked towards them and joined the argument as well, “What were we doing in the gym, Brian?”
“Trying to work of some steam.”
Kevin threw up his hands in frustration, “Then what makes you think she wasn’t doing the same? Honestly, Brian, I swear, if I didn’t know how bad you were hurting already, I think I’d just cuff you upside the head. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into you. Get your head out your tail and realize that this breakup doesn’t only affect you. Just because she was the one that broke it off doesn’t mean that she’s not hurting. And just because the four of us weren’t the ones that lost a girlfriend doesn’t mean that we’re not hurting, either. I’ve seen you do nothing but mope and feel sorry for yourself this past week. If you accept the breakup then deal with it and move on, and if you don’t, do something about it. But stop acting like the world is coming to an end because, personally, I find it highly revolting.”
Having said all this, Kevin stormed into his room and slammed the door.
“Bastard.”
“Only because he said everything you didn’t want to hear.” Everyone turned to see AJ sitting peacefully on the sofa looking at his hands and picking at his nails. “And only because you agree with every bit of it. If he’s a bastard, the rest of us are cowards, because every last one of us was thinking the same thing, Kevin was just the only one who had the courage to say it to your face.”
“Get over yourself, Bone.”
“I could tell you the same, B, I could tell you the same. But I won’t waste my breath, ‘cuz he already did.”
=========================================================================
Brian hoped to escape the stuffiness of the dressing room by coming on stage. Today was a concert day. The stage was one of his favorite places to be hours before the show. Expecting to be alone, he was surprised to find Howie at the edge of the stage, his legs dangling over the side. Howie acknowledged his presence with a quick nod as he sat down beside him indian-style. They sat in amicable silence for several minutes before Brian made a move to speak.
“What brings you here, Howie?”
He continued to stare into the empty arena, “Just relishing a thought.”
“What thought is this?”
“That in exactly,” he stole a glance at his watch, “three hours and 20 minutes, thousands of people will get to feel what I feel now and see what I feel then.”
“And this would be what?”
“Euphoria, exhilaration, enthusiasm, excitement.”
“All those good ‘e’ words.”
Howie smiled, and looked at Brian for the first time since he had come out. “What brings you here?”
He sighed deeply, “An intense desire to escape.”
“From what?”
“From everything that makes me think of her, remember her, want her, hate her and so on and so forth.”
“Oh.” He paused a moment, “Sounds hard.”
“Not really. Only about as hard as getting Hitler to lighten up.”
“Oh.” Another pause, “That could be fun.”
“Howie, am I losing my mind?”
“Nope. Just putting too much stress on it by trying to think.”
“I’m serious here.”
“And so am I. You’re looking for a magical solution that doesn’t exist. The more you search for it, the more unattainable it becomes. And your optimistic brain just can’t seem to process that piece of data.”
“I want her back.”
“Then think of her, not how you feel about her and work to make it happen.”
Brian paused thoughtfully before he asked, “Do you agree with what AJ and Kevin said?”
“They’ve got a point, Brian. You’re stuck in your own little world and
it’s
time for you to face facts. The real world doesn’t stop turning just
because you want it to.”
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