J O Y by Reggie Tangan
Disclaimer: all of the characters portrayed here are used fictitiously, and used for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to the characters and situations are purely coincidental.
This story is for adults only; if you don't like sexual themes, please leave immediately.
for reactions, critiques please send me an email at reggietangan@edsamail.com.ph or visit my website at http://www.reggietangan.cjb.net/joy
"Bad things happen"
Ewww!!! It's Nathan, my brother.
What about it my brother gives me a call. The last time he called when he was having trouble with some club he went to and he was kicked out. Through my powers that come from the press, he asked if I could give a blind item and literally make issues about that bar and fire the guy who works there.
"So. What gives me this pleasure to call me up?" I ask. "Well, its not about getting kicked out," he says, "It's about this upcoming bachelor party I'm having." "What do you mean 'bachelor party?'" I pondered on that statement. "I'm getting married this weekend!"
What?
Nathan Velasquez, a tad six years older than me. Banker at some hip new bank aimed at youngsters thirteen to twenty-five age demographic, kids should know how to save money and actually value its use.
Embarassingly, I'm one of his clients.
Of course, that Saturday was the most beautiful day of the year so far. Sunny, about that right humidity. Travis, Alex, and I met up at my place in Merville Park. Everyone began complaining immediately about having to be stuck in Nathan's house on the most beautiful day of the year, even though, being dyed-in-the-woll city dwellers, none of us ever went outside if we could possibly avoid it.
"So we'll be drinking beer and vodka perhaps?" Travis looked up from my mirror in my room. "I don't think so," I told Travis. A week ago, Nathan revealed that he was in A.A. which meant there might not be any alcohol at the bachelor's party.
Alex and Travis decided to leave when hearing this revelation, but I wouldn't let them go away that easily.
"Please, if I don't have vodka in me, I'll die." Travis said. "No! If I don't have vodka, someone will die." Alex jumped to my bed. "Awww, come on. There'll be lots of sexy straight men you'll ever see in that bachelor party." I reminded the two.
As for Paolo, he was busy playing my Playstation 2 that was powered up with Gran Turismo GT. He decided to stay in my place for a while since his place was being renovated. I just noticed only a few hardcore gamers out there are gay or probably in denial. Which is fun.
"Come on, hang out with us. It'll be fun in my brother's bachelor party." I said, as I scratched Paolo's head, watching him lose again at Gran Turismo.
"I lose again. I'll make them pay." Paolo said. And that was a 'No.'
Well, he is having fun with those cars in there. And with the usual grunts and groans when he loses in the game...
Mental note: Remind me to save up for an XBox.
The car stopped in front Nathan's bachelor pad. Travis was fidgety all over. Still, he wanted to leave and be with his 'crowd' but it was too late. We're here and we're gonna have some straight out fun.
"Why are we doing this?" Travis asked. "Because we have to." I said. "They just better not have trendy mechanical tools lying around," Alex said. "If I see trendy mechanical tools, I'm going to scream." "If I see female strippers, I'm going to scream." Travis said.
"Look. Grass. Trees. Breathe in the aroma of freshly mown grass and newly waxed Mercedes C80," I said, who had mysteriously begun to feel better. Travis and Alex looked at me suspiciously.
We parked pulled up in front of a white, Colonial-style house whose value had been increased by the addition of a pointy slate roof and balconies off the second floor. The front lawn was very green, and the trees that dotted the yard had borders of pink flowers around their bases.
So gay. I thought. But no, Nathan is straight as an arrow.
"Oh, what a cute puppy." I said, as a lowly askal (low-class bred dog) raced barking across the lawn, But as the dog reached the edge of the yard, it was suddenly jerked back, as if yanked by an invisible rope.
Travis lit a up a Lucky Strike. "Invisible electric fencing," he said. "They all have it. And I bet you anything we're going to have to hear about it."
For a moment, all of us stood in the driveway, staring at the dog, who was now sitting, subdued but valiantly wagging its tail, in the middle of the yard.
"Can we go back to the real world now?" Alex asked.
Inside the house, half a dozen straight men were already lounging, and sitting in the living room a.k.a. the home court. Guys standing, balancing cups of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Light. A spread was laid out: tons of potato chips, peanuts...
Hmmm, peanuts...Sitting off to one side, unopened, untouched, was a big bottle of white wine, its sides covered in a film of moisture. The groom-to-be, Nathan, looked somehow terrified seeing us.
A guy named Giancarlo, Nathan's best friend greeted us, Human from head to toe, was sipping what looked like a bloody mary. "You guys are late. Nathan thought maybe you weren't coming," he said, with a particularly breezy nastiness that only straight men can show to one another.
"Well, there's a major traffic on Bicutan Interchange." I shrugged. "Excuse me, but do we know you?" Travis whispered in my ear. That meant as far as Travis was concerned, it was war with Giancarlo from now on.
"Is that a bloody mary?" Alex asked. Giancarlo and one of the other men exchanged glances. "Actually, it's a virgin mary," he said. His eyes flickered in Nathan's direction for a second. "I did all that stuff for years. All that partying and drinking. And then, I don't know, it just gets boring. You move on to more important things."
Yeah, like marriage.
"The only important thing to me right now is vodka," Alex said, putting his hands to his head. "I've got the worst hangover. If I don't get vodka..."
"Raleigh!" said one of the men from the lounge, bending around to peer to the other rooms. "Raleigh! Come out and play."
Alex leaned over me: "Is he talking to the dog or the stripper?"
Travis turned to Giancarlo. "So tell me Giancarlo," he said. "What exactly do you do?" Giancarlo opened his mouth and garbled a mouthful of Lay's potato chips and gulped another one of his virgin marys. "I work at home. I've got my own consulting firm." "I see," Travis said, nodding. "And what do you consult on?" "Computers." "He's our sort of neighborhood Bill Gates," said Nathan, drinking Evian from a wine goblet. "Whenever I have a computer problem, we call Giancarlo, and she can fix it."
Giancarlo yanked the conversation back. "And what do you do Travis?" he asked. "You live in Southland, don't you?" "Well, actually, I'm an executive director at an advertising firm." "Oh, I love adverstising," said one guy named, Jake, who was wearing three gold plated as my hip-hop homies call it...
Bling-bling.
"Yes," Giancarlo said, smiling sweetly. "We think of Travis as our own Saatchi brother." "Oh I know," said Jake. "My wife used to be a commercial model for some fast-food commercial. I should tell her I met you, Travis. I'm sure she'd-in fact I was her co-star in that commercial too." He and other Nathan's high-class snobs exchanged glances.
Alex plunked down next to Jake, accidentally sloshing him with some vodka.
"So sorry," he said "I'm so damn clumsy today. Napkin?" "That's okay," Jake said, glancing at Alex. Suddenly, Jake's sweet eyes transformed into terror. He somehow recognized Alex and stood flabbergasted, "Excuse me." He said. Leaving Travis, Alex and Giancarlo.
"It's just so fascinating," Alex said. "Getting a married man. I would never be able to pull it off I'd probably end up becoming friends with her husband." "What does that suppose to mean?" "I slept with that Jake guy..." "What!?" Giancarlo shocked. "Yeah, but I don't want to take yoga courses in Quezon City. Everybody's there." Travis said, surly. Alex laughed gamely.
"Typical," I said, driving somewhere in Makati to drop off Alex and Travis to their perspective places. "I'm just so happy I cannot trust Giancarlo," Travis said, cleaning under his fingernails with the edge of his swiss army knife. "I'm shaking," Alex said. They saw the Makati buildings, dusky and gray.
"I need a drink. Anyone?" I asked.
After three San Mig Lights, I came home to see Paolo. "Yo, yo," he said. "Wassup?" "It was awful," I giggled. "You know how I much I hate those kinds of things. All they talked about was their futures with their wives, and divorcing them after ten years, marital infidelity..." "And Nathan, your brother?" Paolo asked. "He had fun, I guess."
I could hear Paolo still playing with my PS2. "Don't worry, kid. You'll get used to it." He said.
"I don't think so," I said. I turned and looked back at Paolo. "Gimme shelter-in Club Mint/babylon." I said, and kissed him.
Bad things can happen to gay men when they come back from visiting a bachelor party in the lowly suburbs.
The morning after I, Travis and Alex returned from the bachelor party, there were phone calls. Travis had a broken his ankle rollerblading at four in the morning. Alex has had sex with some guy in a closet at a party, and they didn't use condoms.
And I? I did something ridiculous I was sure my relationship with Paolo was over, and no one could find him.
Alex hadn't meant to go nuts at the party, to go into what he calls "my Glenn Close imitation."
"I was just going to go home and get a good night's sleep and wake up and work on Sunday." That was the great thing about not being married, not having kids, being alone. You could work on Sunday.
But Bravo, his co-worker made him go to the party. "There could be good contacts there," Bravo had said. Bravo, with his work at Tower Records, was constantly on the lookout for 'contacts' which also translate to 'dates.' The party was on some rich old guy's town house in Sucat.
Bravo disappeared in the throng. Alex was left stannding by the bar. Then two men walked by him, and Alex-maybe he is a little paranoid swore one of them said, "That's the guy, Alex Santos. He's a total bitch."
So Alex said, out loud, but so no one could hear, "That's right, I am a real bitch, honey, but thank God I'm not like you."
He approached the bar, ordered a double vodka in the hopes of getting over what happened the other day in Better Living. Seeing all the other Generation X (90's gen) mingling at each other, he really thought being sort of part of this generation is bad enough for his system.
"Thirsty, eh?" Some guy approached Alex. Okay, he wasn't exactly a guy because he was thrity-five. But he was trying. "Yeah. And all I need is a stake," Alex surly said, avoiding the guy. "I will get you one," the guy said, and it turned out he had an Australian accent. "I will let you know," he said, and tried to walk away.
Alex didn't want to have anything to do with the party. He was tired of feeling like he didn't fit in, but he didn't want to go home, either, because he was tired of being lonely and he was a little drunk.
"Hey, the name's Guy," the guy said. "Yes, whatevever, Guy," Alex said, "By the way, can your dick reach your asshole?" He surly asked. "Well, yes of course," Guy said. "I suggest you go fuck yourself."
Alex didn't realize what he said, but he was having fun teasing the guy with an australian accent named Guy.
"A come-on," Guy said. Without hesitation, Guy grabbed Alex's hand and went to one of the rooms upstairs. He didn't think that the Guy guy would still manage to keep his cool after being insulted like that. But come to think of it, Alex was making out with someone older, I'll bet a few years older and capable of good sex. Anyways, Alex didn't seem to mind Guy's overly exerted advancement towards him, but he came on for the ride.
"Where are we going?" Alex asked, drunk already. "This room..." Guy said, he popped out a few cigarettes so they can smoke. They were smoking, exchanging kisses, a few groping. Then, Guy's leggings went down, out popped the bold fellow.
"So how was it?" I asked. It was the next day. Alex and I were conversing in our pad. Sunday, back to work I guess. "Big and very Aussie..." He said. (How could he?)
Alex later told me that Guy was a very straight person, and is currently dating a female model somewhere working in CalCarrie's. Guy later admitted he's in this kind of phase where he's definitely going somehwere, positively nowhere as Alex might have thought.
"Please don't tell anyone about this," Guy said, as he parted his lips from Alex. He thought Guy was in deep shit or something, but it was his issues that consumed him, and he just wanted some release that made him prove his masculinity. Maybe to his girlfriend model.
A few hours later, Alex and I hooked up to eat a very late brunch at Starbucks, consisting of a few muffins, Caesar's salads, iced-up fraps and a few breath mints have passed.
Travis came in late, and more about that, he came with a small thing as science dictates an ankle support like that ones I see on those Discovery Channel programs.
"What happened to you?" I asked, as I stood up and helped Travs to his seat. Thank God we took one of the outside tables. Travis looked totally spiked out and excited, as if he had hit the orgasm jackpot.
"I went rollerblading with some guy, and obviously, I broke my ankle." "Yeah, isn't it nice?" Alex snorted, and took another bite of the muffin. "It was Luke, Lucas really," he continued, "The nicest pair of asses I've ever seen," he smiled.
"Like, where did you meet?" I asked, I was very interested in the roller- blading part. Since I used to be an extreme rollerblade athlete. "Just in my place, he always roam around the premises in his blades," he smiled again, seeing dreams I presume. "Well, that's cute," Alex said, I could hear his muching sounds. "Say, what's your problem?" Travis looked at Alex now on bitch mode. "Nothing. I just feel used," he said, "By a straight guy."
Alex later admitted that he sort of made a connection at this Guy guy. He thought mainly he could actually make him gay and hook-up for a possible commitment.
"Just tell this Guy guy that you really like him," I said. Now, I'm giving advice, so very Carrie Bradshaw. "Thanks, I'll look forward to that." Alex concluded.
My boyfriend Paolo was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't contact on his phone. His store in G2 was closed for a day, even his sister whom I barely knew called me up. "Jethro, I know you have issues with my brother..." "What issues? We argue about clothes not about our relationship woes," "Just where is he?" She finally asked. "If he was dead, I'd know about it."
Paulie Pascual, young, twenty-four, a fine entrepeneur was in town to get immersed himself in the popular night life here in Malate. He was one of my classmates back at South Valley High. When he moved to Cebu, he told me he would come back to get me and live with him in Cebu.
Which was back at that time a no-no place, no doubt about it. I don't want to like Donna Cruz.
We met in front of Alabang Town Center. He looked ever debonair with his clean-cut hair slicked up by gel. He looked better in his high school days. Though it did pass my mind that Paulie's looks improved through the years.
"Jethro! What's up?" He hugged me ever tightly, as of we were together. "Yes, Paulie, what's up? I'm here finally." I gasped for air.
It was five years since I last saw Paulie. All those times in high school I want to go back. Paulie and I were a definite item before. We didn't mind the people detracting us for having an openly gay relationship in school. We were the ultimate gay couple.
Of course, graduation loomed over us and he told me he was moving to Cebu with his folks and probably start a new life there. I actually cried hearing this move he's doing. I later admitted I suck at keeping long-distance relationships. So I broke up with Paulie.
But we're still friends.
"Jethro, take me around, I'm dying to dish," he told me. "Yeah, sure, we'll take Italianni's," I suggested, Paulie just humbly nodded in agreement.
Paulie wasn't really a blabbermouth in high school, but right now being an entrepeneur he's been yaking and yaking so much. Which is really good and one more thing, maybe he's really changed so much I feared that something may come up, like...
If he's still in love with me.
"Jethro, tell me something, are you seeing somebody?" Paulie asked.
I wanted to lie, but no, but yes. I wanted to die at that moment.
"Yes," I finally said, "I'm seeing someone." But Paulie didn't stop looking at me, as if he was interested in my relationship with Paolo.
Oh no, P and another P! Stop it! You're already twenty-two and you're acting like a fifteen year old.
"How long?" He asked again. "A few months," I said, "Doing fine, I guess." "Can he cook?" "Yeah," "Had sex?" "Almost," I answered. "Why not?" "What about the questions?" I sternly called Paulie's attention.
Then it hit me, he's still in love with me, that I feared and I wasn't up for it to avoid it. Even if I wanted to it just didn't feel good. But I have to tell him and confront him that I have moved on.
"What is this all about?" I wanted to shout at him. "I'm sorry, I'm just thinking, you know, our past," he said. "I know, but I've moved on," I said, still I wanted to be with him but I have Paolo now, which is good.
"You know, I'm crazy about my boyfriend," I said. "I bet you are," he said, "You know what?"
I didn't want to know but I wanted to hear Paulie's voice.
"What?"
I wanted to avoid Paulie, but there was something that drew me closer to him. I guess, its just that he was my first love and there is a sort of saying 'first love never dies,' which I find it preposterous at first, but being in this kind of situation.
He took my hand and kissed it, "I'm still there, you know, there," "I know, and I want to be there again," and I couldn't believe I'm saying that.
Just as Paulie leaned closer to kiss me, out of the blue Travis comes out and saw us. He didn't look shocked though, but he was capable of spreading word like wild fire. As if I didn't notice Travis, as fast as he can, he ran with all might to avoid us.
"I couldn't believe you still love that guy," Travis later called in my phone, "And you temm me you've moved on with Paolo." "Well, it's not easy as it sounds," I replied. "Whatever." "Can you keep it a secret?" I asked him. "Heck! This is the wrong person to ask that question," Travis said, "I'm sorry..."
Very sorry.
To be continued...
for reactions, critiques please send me an email at reggietangan@edsamail.com.ph or visit my website at http://www.reggietangan.cjb.net/joy