“I have a flight tomorrow at 2:20, but I can change it.”
“Well, let’s sleep on it for another day before we decide anything. What did you have planned for today?”
“Nothing really. I had hoped to spend the day with Bobby, but I guess that’s not happening now.”
“Tell me – did you and Bobby have something going on when you were roomies?”
Philip looked down before responding.
“Yeah, we did. We started blowing each other early last fall and kept it up until we graduated in May. That’s as far as it went, but I was hoping to have another go at him this weekend – and maybe more. It just didn’t work out.”
“Do you have his cell phone number?”
“I think so – why?”
“I think you two should at least have a cup of coffee together today – don’t you? I’d like to come along and meet this guy that you think so much of.”
“Well, okay, I guess – if you don’t have anything better to do.”
“And tell him to bring along this Grant guy. I’m sure you’d like to meet him too, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, I am kind of curious about him.”
“Give Bobby a call and see if he’s free, but don’t mention my name. I’m kind of a celebrity and I like to go out incognito. Just tell him you met someone and would like the four of us to get together for an hour or so.”
As Marcus’ excitement grew at what he was secretly orchestrating, Philip called Bobby’s cell phone number and caught him just as he and Grant were heading out the door.
“Bobby, hey. Philip again. How’s your weekend going so far?”
“Good,” Bobby replied, surprised to hear Philip’s voice again so soon. “Are you still in town?”
“Yeah…hey, I don’t want to get in your hair or anything, but I’d hate for us to lose touch and I’d kind of like to meet this Grant of yours. What say we all meet for coffee in a little while if you can spare a few minutes.”
“Umm well, maybe, man. I’d better check it out with Grant. We were just going out for some fresh air. Hang on a minute.”
Muting his phone, Bobby explained to Grant that his old college roommate wanted to have coffee with the two of them. It was the first time that Bobby had felt a need to tell Grant about Philip…but he didn’t tell him everything.
“Why not? It’s cool with me,” Grant said. “When and where?”
“Philip? How about 1 o’clock at Bongo Java?”
“Sounds good, man. Oh, by the way, I’ll be bringing a friend along. You don’t know him. See ya at 1.”
Bobby was somewhat relieved to know there would be four in the group. It took some of the pressure off of what he thought could be an awkward situation. He realized on the way there that he’d forgotten to ask the name of Philip’s friend.
Bobby and Grant arrived first and claimed an outdoor table for four at the popular campus area hangout and ordered their coffee from the waitress. Seconds later, as Grant was chatting away at Bobby, he saw Bobby’s face go white and his eyes bug out.
“Shit, Grant, look. Philip’s coming over here with Marcus!”
“What the hell…” Grant turned and said in disbelief. Marcus was the last person on Earth he ever wanted to see again – and knew Bobby felt the same way. But they were trapped and had to find a way to deal with it.
“Marcus, what is this?” Grant said, quietly but rather truculently and not bothering to stand up.
“Good to see you, too, Grant. Hello, Bobby – I almost didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.” Marcus was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.
Seething, Bobby sat stone-faced and looked away at Philip.
“You know these guys, Marcus?” Philip said, looking bewildered.
“We’ve met. Grant and I go back quite a ways, in fact. I just met Bobby a few days ago. So he really is your old roommate – what a small world!” Marcus beamed in mock delight as the other three tried to find their voices. “Sit down, Philip, and let’s all get acquainted – shall we?”
Marcus snapped his fingers at the busy waitress to take their coffee order.
“Hi, Grant, I’m Philip,” offering his hand across the table. He bumped fists with Bobby. “Good to see you again, man! What the heck did Marcus mean about not recognizing you with your clothes on?”
“It’s a long story, Philip. Let’s just say I was paying Grant a little visit recently, and we weren’t sufficiently dressed to receive company when Marcus arrived unannounced.”
“Didn’t you cover up before you went to the door?” Philip said, with a puzzled look.
“No, Marcus didn’t see fit to knock. Grant had given him a key and he walked in while I was bathing Grant because of his cast. It certainly was an inauspicious way for me to meet him for the first time.”
Philip noticed his old roomie wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was glowering at Marcus.
“Whoa, you’re goin’ too fast for me here,” Philip replied. “Why did Marcus have a key to Grant’s place?”
“I can answer that, Philip,” Grant piped in. “I don’t know how you two know each other – and you can fill us in on that – but Marcus and I are former partners. Emphasis on ‘former’ – we agreed to end it about 10 days ago. I’m with Bobby now. He moved in a week ago.”
Philip’s mouth hung open as he tried to process this unexpected information. Why did Marcus lie to me about knowing these guys? he wondered silently.
“I wouldn’t say we ‘agreed’ to end it, Grant. I seem to recall a bit of coercion on your part about that. Are you keeping that crutch under better control now?”
Grant just glared at him.
“And to fill you in, as you suggested, this charming wisp of a man walked into my lecture on campus last night. We got to talking, and he helped me pack up my merchandise. I thanked him with a few beers and saved him from having to spend a night in the back seat of his rental car. We’ve been getting to know each other – inside and out, I might add – last night and this morning.”
Philip reddened but smiled weakly.
“It’s been so nice to have a little respect again, if you know what I mean, gentlemen. Philip has even offered to go on the road with me and be my assistant, and I’m giving that idea some serious consideration.”
“How nice, Marcus,” said his former partner. “Someone should keep an eye on you. Say, Philip, how old are you – 22 like Bobby?”
Philip nodded.
“And how old is your father?” Grant said with a smug smile.
“Uh, he’s 45. Why?”
“How ironic,” Grant continued. “You don’t look like the kind of young man who’d want to hook up with someone almost as old as your dad.”
Now it was Marcus’ turn to squirm.
“Oh, of course not,” Philip began, until he caught Grant’s drift. Looking at Marcus disbelievingly, he said, “You mean…”
“Yes, I know I don’t look it, but I’m 43. But age is a state of mind, wouldn’t you say, Grant? It’s not like you and Bobby are exactly age mates. I would’ve thought your handsome young man there was the epitome of innocence and virtue, but Philip burst my bubble on that thought. He tells me that he and Bobby had been ‘enjoying each other’ most of the last school year in their shared room on campus – did you know that, Grant? And Philip came to town this weekend hoping to pick up where they left off. Luckily for him, he found a better option.”
“You’re a fine one to talk about virtue, Marcus. I think this little coffee klatch has gone on long enough. Now that you’ve managed to piss us all off, why don’t you just get back on the road with your little dog and pony show and keep it out of Nashville from now on?”
Smugly satisfied that he had managed to find a way to drive a wedge between his former partner and his new boy-toy – but sadly mistaken – Marcus rose. Throwing a ten dollar bill on the table, he turned to Philip.
“Let’s get back to what we were doing this morning, Philip. I’m sure you can’t w
ait to take it up the ass again. And Bobby looks anxious to get back to his nursemaid duties, which I’m sure he’ll be glad to shed once ‘crutch man’ gets back on his feet and the young man can find someone more to his liking.”
But, much to Marcus’ chagrin, Philip remained seated.
“I’m staying here with Bobby and Grant, Marcus. The only ass I see here is you. Leave my stuff at the hotel desk and I’ll pick it up later.”
Grant smiled. Bobby patted Philip’s knee supportively.
Humiliated for the second time in 10 days, Marcus turned and walked away. But not without a parting shot.
“Now you can take your pick of two slightly used boy-toys, Grant. Or, if you’re lucky, even both of them. Have fun until you can find a real man again.”
“One just moved in with me, Marcus, and he’s the only ‘real man’ I’ve ever had. Good luck finding anyone that good yourself.”
The other customers within earshot stared and shook their heads as Marcus made his exit.
Philip buried his head in his hands. He was shattered at this turn of events but certain that he had done the right thing in not leaving with Marcus. But mostly he was embarrassed that the man had shared what he thought was confidential information about Bobby and him.
“I’m sorry, guys. I had no idea he was going to say anything like that. You two look great together, and I’m just sorry to have come to town and made a mess of things.”
“Philip…” Bobby started to say, but Grant cut him off.
“Philip, listen to me – you did nothing wrong. You’re right – Marcus is an ass. It took me a lot longer to figure that out than you did. Five years, in fact. I don’t care one whit what you and Bobby might’ve done as roommates. It all happened before I met either one of you, and I’m not naïve enough to think that Bobby came to me as pure as the driven snow. Any 22-year-old guy would’ve had some ‘experience,’ so don’t think for a minute that you messed anything up.”
“Thanks, Grant. I appreciate that. I wouldn’t have called Bobby at work yesterday if I’d had any idea that he was in a new relationship. Sure, I admit I was hoping for some action with him again, but he made it clear that he was in love with you now and that I’d have to find some other way to entertain myself this weekend.”
Grant and Bobby looked at each other and smiled. Bobby squeezed Philip’s hand under the table.
“Well, you sure picked a hell of a way to entertain yourself when you hooked up with the likes of Marcus,” Bobby said to him.
“Yeah, I guess I did. It was fun for a few hours at least. What the heck happened that night when he came into your apartment?”
“He caught us, like he said, stark naked in the bathroom,” Grant said. “I was just asking Bobby about moving in with me until I could get out of this cast. Of course, I not-so-secretly hoped it would be permanent, but he’d already heard about Marcus when he saw a postcard that Marcus had mailed to me from Paris.
“Before Bobby could say anything, Marcus was at the door asking questions. He ordered Bobby out, saying he was my boyfriend, and like an idiot I just sat there and didn’t stop him. I’ll never forgive myself for that, although Bobby seems to have – good man that he is.
“After Bobby left, Marcus and I had a big argument. He wanted to do to me what he did to you last night and this morning, but I hauled off and poked him in the gut with my crutch and told him to get out. I never expected to see him again. When he walked in here with you today, I think Bobby and I both about fell out of our chairs. I think you could sense the tension in the air.”
“Yeah, I did, but I didn’t know what it was all about. Now I know. Again, guys, I am so sorry I let Marcus come here with me. It was his idea. He heard me use Bobby’s name and asked me enough questions that he figured out it was the same Bobby that had just moved in with you, Grant. He set this whole thing up – the rat!”
“Yeah, and it backfired and bit him in the ass, didn’t it?” Bobby said with an undisguised grin.
All three men smiled and high-fived each other. That seemed to break the tension, and they finished their coffee.
“Could I ask you guys a big favor? Would you drive me to the hotel to get my stuff? I’m afraid to confront Marcus alone if he hasn’t left my stuff at the desk. He even has the keys to my rental car.”
“Sure, no problem, Philip,” Grant said. “There’s strength in numbers. Bobby has his car here. Let’s hop in it and get your stuff. And by the way, Marcus would never have taken you on as an assistant. I’m sure he has ‘boyfriends’ all over the world. Not for a minute would he take you or anyone else on as a live-in assistant. You would’ve just been in his way of all his little escapades. I was slow in catching onto that because I was tied to a desk job and was seldom on the road with him – don’t delude yourself into thinking you’ve lost any good opportunities today. He would’ve just broken your heart within a month.”
Philip looked at both Grant and Bobby with a combination of disappointment and relief on his face.
As he suspected, Philip’s possessions were not at the front desk when the trio arrived at the hotel. Grant and Bobby were quite willing to go to Marcus’ room with him to demand them back. When Marcus opened the door, he expected that Philip would be alone. He didn’t see his companions, who were standing just out of sight.
“I knew you’d be coming back on your knees for more,” Marcus said, smiling. “Get your sexy little ass in here, Philip, and apologize to me for that outburst at the café. You had no business…”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t worse, you asshole – YOU had no business! You set me up just so you could get back at Bobby and Grant. Well, it didn’t work, did it, guys?” Philip said, looking back. Marcus then saw that Philip had not come alone. “The only reason I’m here is to get my stuff. Then you can stay here and fuck yourself for all I care because you’ve fucked me for the last time.”
Feeling more humiliated than ever, Marcus closed the door and gathered up Philip’s things while the others waited impatiently. When he opened the door again, he threw everything out in the hallway helter-skelter and closed it quickly without another word. Bobby helped Philip put everything back together, making sure it was all accounted for.
“Once an ass, always an ass,” Grant said, loudly enough for Marcus to hear through the closed door. “Come on, boys, we’re outta here. Good show, Philip.”
“When do you go home, Philip?” Bobby asked in the elevator. All three hearts were still pounding from what the boys had just experienced.
“I have a flight at 2:20 tomorrow afternoon,” Philip replied, his head hanging in embarrassment and disappointment. “You guys can just drop me off at my rental car. It’s still parked at the Browland Student Center.”
Grant spoke up. “You’re not sleeping in your car tonight either. Our couch is a little lumpy – I know from personal experience – but you’re welcome to it. We’ll drive you to your car tomorrow morning. Let’s all go home and have a beer, and then we’ll take you out to dinner.”
“Thanks, guys. You don’t know what this means to me. I can’t stand the thought of being alone right now.”
Bobby was incredulous at the transparent display of vulnerability from his normally rather cocky friend and genuinely felt sorry for him.
It wasn’t an easy night for Philip, and not just because of the lumpy couch. He felt very alone and envious of the obvious love he saw between his generous hosts. He ached to crawl into bed with them – if for nothing more than to be cuddled. He even stood at their open bedroom door briefly on his way back to the couch from a bathroom trip in the middle of the night. He nearly cried at the sight of the two of them entwined in each other’s arms. Their love for each other was palpable, and Philip knew better than to wander beyond the door, as much as he wanted to. Nothing remotely similar was waiting for him back in Boston.
Awakened briefly by the toilet flush, Bobby was aware of Philip’s presence at the bedroom door but didn’t react. He knew his friend
was lonely, and he ached to comfort him, but no bed was big enough for anyone now but himself and his wonderful Grant. He sighed as Philip retreated to his couch, remembering their good times together.
Bobby cooked up a nice brunch the next morning while Grant and Philip read the Sunday paper. Grant and Bobby were now so used to hanging out in their underwear at home that they didn’t think twice about coming out that way. Philip was happy to sit around with them in just his briefs as well. Grant couldn’t decide which of them was cuter. He had to admit that Philip was a definite hottie, but he was glad that he’d wound up with Bobby.
After they got dressed and just before they left the apartment at noon, Philip pulled them into a three-way hug and thanked them for their kindnesses.
“Grant, you got the best guy in the world. I didn’t know just how much I cared about Bobby until now. He’s just about the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’m going to miss him like crazy. And I think he got the other best guy in the world in you, Grant.”
Bobby was too choked up to talk, but Grant wasn’t.
“I’m grateful to you, Philip, because whatever you and Bobby did together last school year made him ready to take on the likes of me now. You can bet I’m going to take real good care of him – especially after I get this damn cast off. It’s obvious to me how much you two care about each other, and I want you to know that you’re always welcome to come back for a visit whenever you can.”
“Thanks, Grant. That means a lot.”
At the Browland parking lot, Grant stayed in the car while Bobby got out to say a final good-bye to Philip.
“Thanks, Bobby. This weekend didn’t turn out like I expected, but I’m still glad I came. Grant’s perfect for you, and I wish you two the best. Love you, man.”
“Love you, too, Philip. Thanks for last year. I’m glad for everything that happened when we were roomies – and I do mean everything. It was great. Come back and see us any time. I mean that.”
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