I gave up trying to sleep. Mike was a loud snorer. We had just finished a mediocre session of sex that left me unsatisfied and horny. He only lasted two minutes the first time and five minutes the second. For a big man, he wasn't very big where it counts. I went downstairs in my apartment and called Kevin, my best friend.
"Uh . . . Hel . . . Hello?"
"Kevin? This is Leslie."
"Leslie? What time is it?"
"3:17, did I wake you?"
"Why would anyone be asleep at 3 fucking 17 in the morning? Of course, I was sleeping. What's so important?"
"You said I could call you anytime."
"Another in a long line of bad decisions in my relationship with you. Again, what's so important?"
"Kevin, I don't think I can do this anymore."
"What 'this' are you talking about?"
"Random hook-ups. I think I'm ready to settle down and be with just one guy."
"Why call me?"
"Kevin, I want you to be the one guy." It was a major change on my part. I had kept Kevin in the friend category despite his request to be more. I needed him as a friend I could always go to in emotional situations, like now.
After silence from Kevin, I wasn't sure he was still on the line. "Kevin?"
"I'm here. I'm trying to respond without getting angry. Leslie, how many times have you told me that you just wanted to be friends and that I should move on? I lost count. Well, I have moved on. Dating you would mean moving backwards in my life, not forward."
I knew he still had deep feelings towards me. I just had to refresh his memory. Before I could do that, I heard another voice from his phone.
"Kevin, who is that on the phone at this un-godly hour?"
"Leslie, she needed to talk."