Written and Edited by Viv, Vance (Vlista20), Ben (BoyNeedsTherapy), Davey, Robbee, Eric (Coming Undone)
The big two-three, Kevin thought to himself as he peeled off the rest of
his clothing and stepped one foot into the bathtub which was alive with scents
of melon from the array of bath salts that he’d sprinkled in a few minutes
earlier. Not wanting to sit on his rubber ducky he brushed it out of the way
with his hand as he lowered his body into the hot water.
He sighed as the soothing water covered his body, glad it was his birthday,
but a little sad his family and friends were back in Louisiana. Not being
a person that would let that get him down for long, he’d made a pact with
himself over the past few days to get all gussied up and go out and have a
great time anyway.
He spent several minutes scrubbing himself with his vitamin boost detoxifying
body wash and then returned the bottle to the shelf by the tub before grabbing
his energizing body wash applying it, generously inhaling the intoxicating
scent. After a nice scrubbing with that, he grabbed a citrus body wash good
for exfoliation, and followed that up with a final coating of a rejuvenating
body wash.
He spent a while sitting there soaking, thinking back over the last year,
and looking forward to the upcoming year. His job was picking up, he was making
new friends, he loved Houston, all except for its’ Department of Motor Vehicles,
and he was pretty sure it was going to be a great year.
Deciding he’d spent enough time in the tub, an hour and a half later, he begrudgingly
got out, toweled off, applied his lotions and body spray, and went to his
bedroom. He stood in front of his closet looking over an array of clothing
and shoes. Wanting to look and feel his sexiest on his special day, he decided
on his tight black jeans and a dark green t-shirt, purchased in the boys section,
that clung nicely to his well shaped chest and stomach.
After putting on the clothes, he went through his many belts and pulled out
one of his favorite. He put it on, combed through his hair, and then did a
final check in the mirror. He smiled at his reflection, glad he didn’t look
a year older.
Before leaving the house he grabbed his cell phone and wallet, tucking them
both in his back pockets. He went to his computer and set his MSN message
to away, adding the explanation, ‘no I’m not at the park, just out having
fun!’ Lucky, his orange tabby cat swished her tail against his legs and he
scooped her up long enough to give her a hug and kiss before putting her down
in her favorite chair and heading out the front the door.
After locking his door he made his way to his pickup and crawled up in behind
the steering wheel. He closed the door and started up the truck and after
carefully backing out of his parking spot, he pulled out onto the streets
of Houston.
He drove past several of the businesses he’d been leaving flyers at for his
job, but didn’t think much of it. Today was his birthday, he was going to
keep work far from his mind; today was for fun!
After a few minutes of driving, he pulled up in front of one of his favorite
restaurants. He was lucky enough to find a place to park directly in front
of it and figured it must be a birthday treat to find one so close. He took
the key out of the ignition and pulled the handle to open the truck door,
narrowing his eyes in confusion as the door didn’t open.
He pulled a little harder and leaned into the door trying to knock it open
with his shoulder, still nothing. Starting to get nervous he pulled even harder
and banged into it several times with his shoulder with such force that the
whole truck was shaking, but still the door would not budge. His shoulder
was starting to ache from all the banging as he sat back against the seat
and caught his breath, his mind racing at how to get out of his truck! After
a minute, and though he really didn’t want to in his good clothes, he rolled
down the window, realizing that was the only way he was going to get out.
He got up on his hand and knees and was half way out the window when his
leg hit the controls on the armrest and he heard a click. He felt his cheeks
go hot as he slowly eased himself back into his truck looking around to see
if anyone had seen him crawling out through the window. Sighing with relief
that he didn’t see anyone paying particular attention to him he pulled the
handle again, not too surprised at how much easier it opened when it was unlocked.
He adjusted his shirt and pants, straightened out his shoulders, and then
walked up onto the sidewalk and into the dimly lit restaurant. He waited about
half a minute before a sexy blonde haired hostess led him to a table on the
far side of the restaurant.
“Thank you, this table will be fine,” Kevin smiled at her as she left him with a menu.
He didn’t need it though, since this was his favorite place, he already knew what he was going to order; a chicken salad and a huge piece of their famous chocolate cake, after all it was his birthday, but as he waited for someone to come and take his order, he looked through it anyway.
Kevin absent-mindedly toyed with the corner of the menu as he read through the descriptions of what looked to be some very fancy dishes, so it’s not at all surprising that he jumped when someone took hold of his hand gently.
“I hear you’re ready to order,” suggested the blonde haired waiter as he smiled flirtatiously.
His honey colored hair fell softly on his forehead and only helped to make his green eyes stand out all that much more as they met Kevin’s. It was amazing how his smile brightened up his whole face, Kevin thought, as he stared helplessly at the beautiful face in front of him.
“Uh… yeah,” Kevin managed to get out. “I think I’ll just have the…,”
“Chicken salad?” the cute blonde finished for him, causing Kevin to look at him, surprised by his accuracy. “Well don’t look so surprised cutie. You get the same thing every time you come in here,” the waiter pointed out, and Kevin blushed slightly, realizing that this man must have seen him before.
“Thanks, I think I’ll have a piece of cake also,” Kevin added.
“Chocolate right?” the man asked as he stood there beside Kevin’s table in his black trousers and black button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, his maroon apron wrapped tightly around his hips.
“Yeah,” Kevin said almost astonished before he remembered his manners and said, “I mean, yes, thank you.”
“As much fun as it would be to stand here all night holding your hand, you’ll have to let go of mine sweetheart, or I’ll never be able to go place your order,” the blonde waiter said as his stunning smile seemed to make Kevin melt against the back of the seat, and it was almost too much for him to take when the man squeezed his hand as a reminder.
“Oh!” Kevin exclaimed, only then realizing that he was still holding onto the hand of this positively gorgeous guy. “I’m sorry,” he said blushing furiously before pulling his hand into his lap. “I didn’t realize…,” he trailed off, embarrassed by the whole situation, not to mention that holding this boy’s hand had made him feel special.
“Don’t be,” the waiter assured him before asking, “Can I bring you something to drink?”
“Oh, yes please, a glass of water would be great,” Kevin replied, his hand still feeling warm and tingly as it sat flat against his thigh, provoking a genuine smile from him.
“You really have a great smile,” the waiter said as he walked away to place Kevin’s order and get his drink.
Sitting there in the booth at his favorite restaurant, in his hottest outfit, and smiling like today was the best day he had had in a long time, Kevin was overwhelmed with feeling as he took a moment to process what had just occurred. He silently wondered how he hadn’t even noticed he was still holding the waiters’ hand, before he realized that he didn’t even know the man’s name.
Silently he chastised himself for getting so caught up in the moment. Kevin was a romantic, without question, and his heart always saw the best in people and found a way to find the good in every situation, so it was no wonder that already, he was so smitten with the handsome man. He was so lost in thought, that he didn’t even realize that that same face was smiling down at him again, until he saw the glass of water being placed in front of him.
“Care to share?” the man asked, smiling again.
“Excuse me?” Kevin asked, confused as to why this waiter would be asking to share his glass of water.
“Well, you seemed lost in thought,” he explained. “Anyway, it looked like you were thinking something fun, unless you always daydream in the middle of busy restaurants.”
“Oh, no… I was just…,” Kevin said eloquently.
“So, that’s an interesting combo… salad and cake,” the waiter said, saving Kevin from the awkwardness he was feeling being unable to form a complete sentence. “Either you’re cheating on your diet, which would totally surprise me because you don’t even need to be on a diet the way you look in those pants, or you really like salad,” he suggested.
“Actually, it’s my birthday,” Kevin blurted out before he realized how that must look, being all alone on your birthday in some crowded restaurant.
“Oh really?! Well, Happy Birthday,” he smiled. “So, what’s a cute guy like you doing all alone on his birthday?”
By this time, Kevin was more than a little embarrassed, and he hated that it looked like he didn’t have any friends, but the truth was, he really didn’t have many yet in this new town. Sure some of the people he works with had offered to take him out, but he decided he would rather venture out alone and see what he could find to do, a night full of infinite possibilities, just like the year that lay ahead of him.
“I just moved here,” Kevin admitted, trying not to sound sad. He really wasn’t sad, but, you really shouldn’t be alone on your birthday, he thought. “I don’t really know very many people yet.”
“Well that is just wrong! We need to fix that,” he stated in a way that left Kevin no room for argument, “starting with me. I’m Jeremy,” the waiter said politely as he held his hand out for Kevin to shake.
This time when their hands met, Kevin blushed, and prayed silently that his cheeks weren’t the same shade of deep crimson as the apron Jeremy wore, the one that covered his… those thoughts were dangerous, only causing Kevin to look away from Jeremy in hopes that he wouldn’t notice.
“And you are?” Jeremy asked after a moment.
“Kevin, my name is Kevin,” he replied, thinking he needed to have a serious talk with himself about figuring out how to get his brain and his mouth to work in unison again.
“So where did you move here from, Kevin?” Jeremy asked, grinning at Kevin, seeming amused by the way Kevin’s mouth and brain weren’t quite in sync.
“Ummm… er… Louisiana,” Kevin finally managed. He couldn’t help it if Jeremy made him feel all kinds of weird inside.
“How come you moved then? Did you like the sound of the cowboys here in Texas?” Jeremy asked, winking at him.
By now Kevin was sure that the blush from his cheeks was probably illuminating the whole restaurant, but he managed to smile back at Jeremy, finally composing himself a little. “Something like that, but I’ve been disappointed, so far I haven’t seen any.”
Jeremy grinned again making Kevin feel all fuzzy inside as he smiled back. “Oh! Well, I’m sure we could fix that for you too. I better go and get your salad for you,” and with another wink Jeremy walked off leaving Kevin smiling to himself.
Okay, Kevin thought to himself, don’t freak out… I think he’s flirting… keep breathing… Kevin couldn’t help grinning. I wonder if he has plans tonight… Kevin shook his head a little, of course he probably has plans… but…I guess I could ask…be brave Kevin, he told himself.
Even though Kevin had told himself to be brave, and that Jeremy had been flirting with him all evening, he just couldn’t bring himself to ask Jeremy out. He tried. “Umm, are you, ah…,” the words just wouldn’t seem to form in his mouth. He felt the now familiar warmth of the reddening of his face. Before he looked like a total loser, Jeremy stepped in.
“Hey Kevin, seeing as it’s your birthday, and I’m getting off soon, how would you like to go to a party?”
A smile returned to Kevin’s face as relief flooded his mind. He just stared up at Jeremy’s handsome face.
“Ah sweetie, a simple yes or no would be good.”
Kevin snapped back to reality. “Yes!” he blurted out. “I mean, yes, I would,” he said getting his composure back.
“Good,” Jeremy replied. “You wait here while I finish up, it will just take me a few minutes and we’ll be off to a night I hope you will long remember.”
He turned and started to walk away when Kevin stopped him, “Oh wait, Jeremy! You haven’t brought me the check.”
Jeremy turned, showing that marvelous smile that caused Kevin to melt and said, “Handsome, this is your night, it’s all taken care of. You just wait right here, I’ll be right back.” With that he headed back to the kitchen with what looked like a definite spring in his step.
As Kevin sat there waiting for Jeremy to return he felt his excitement grow. Whoa, he thought, down boy I can’t walk out of here like this. He did his best to think of other things and it wasn’t long before Jeremy returned asking, “Are you ready?”
“Sure,” Kevin replied, and with that they headed for the door.
Outside in the warm evening air Jeremy inquired, “Are you driving or should I call a cab?”
Kevin pointed to the curb and said, “I’ll drive, my truck is there on the left.”
“Not only is he handsome but he drives a truck too!” said Jeremy, sort of thinking aloud, continuing with, “this is my lucky night.”
Kevin stood for a second, frozen to the spot, trying not to read too much into Jeremy’s last words. Stuck in his thoughts, he suddenly realized Jeremy was talking to him again.
“Kev? We going then?”
“Oh...,” Kevin stammered out, “umm yeah, come on, let’s go,” he said, smiling to Jeremy as the final words came out.
They walked across the parking lot, Jeremy moving closer to Kevin with every step, their hands brushing gently against each other in what Kevin figured was an innocent touch. Jeremy, on the other hand, was trying his hardest to get some form of reaction from him.
They reached the truck with Kevin opening the doors and both men got in, immediately fastening their seatbelts.
Kevin pulled out from the parking lot with Jeremy giving him directions to the party. They chatted freely on the drive with Kevin talking all about Louisiana; all the time reveling over how easy it was to make conversation now that he’d calmed down some. Finally, Jeremy directed Kevin to a parking lot outside what seemed to be some kind of private club.
“The party’s right in here,” Jeremy stated with a smile. “One of my friends likes to throw random parties so we can all hang out.”
“Sounds like fun,” Kevin said, trying to seem excited and hide the slight nervous feeling he was developing again.
Both men got out of the truck and walked to the main entrance of the building. Jeremy stopped and turned to face Kevin, “Come, let’s see if we can find you that cowboy!” he said as he started laughing. He grabbed Kevin’s hand and tugged slightly, dragging a laughing Kevin into the club.
They walked in past the coat check where Jeremy just waved to the guy behind the window as they passed through into the main dance area. It was surprising to Kevin that the music wasn’t blaring out the speakers, but playing at a more moderate level allowing people to actually talk, a new experience for him.
They had only walked onto the dance floor a few seconds before Kevin heard, “Jeremy!” shouted from a far corner to his left. He turned his head in the direction the voice came from to see a small group of people gathered together.
Jeremy immediately started in that direction, his smile growing with each step, and his hand still firmly locked with Kevin’s. Walking behind Jeremy, Kevin took a few seconds to survey the first of the crowd he could see.
His attention was first drawn to a short woman whose arms were flailing all over the place in what seemed an attempt to get Jeremy’s attention. Attached to her was a much taller man. His arm was locked tightly around her waist as he avoided the arms that came within close contact with his head every few seconds. Kevin was immediately able to determine this was her partner from the way he was protectively grasping onto her.
Stopping for a second, Kevin strained his eyes to look at the woman. Nah, it couldn’t be her, he thought to himself as he followed Jeremy across the room, all the time his eyes focused on the woman whose arms were flapping all over her and her partner. About ten feet away now, he again looked at her, realizing that yes, it was who he thought. His heart stopped for a second as he glanced across the rest of the faces, realization slowly dawning upon him.
Breaking free from Jeremy’s grasp he darted towards her just as she did the same from her husband.
“Viv!” he screamed out.
“Happy Birthday Foxy,” she laughed back at him.
He stopped for a second to look over that gathering of people in from of him. He looked at each person’s face, his smile growing as he realized each of these people had traveled here for him.
Words were now beyond Kevin as he moved further in the group of people. Faces, new and old, presented themselves to him, yet he had no trouble determining the name that belonged to each. Ben and Seb, Davey and Chris, Kitty, Joey, Nickolas, Matthew, Eric and Billy, Kurt, Mark, Vic, Drew, Vance and Sam, Robbee. His head was spinning as he embraced each new person, each pulling him close and whispering their birthday wish to him.
Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to process what this gathering meant to him. Only earlier this morning, he’d been prepared to spend his birthday alone in this new city, but then, he met Jeremy who had brought him here. He stopped for a second as he thought about Jeremy. It was obvious that Jeremy hadn’t randomly decided to ask him out. His good mood suddenly jarred by the thought, he turned to face Jeremy only to see the huge smile that faced him back. Looking at him for a second, he could see that although Jeremy must have been asked to do this, he’d wanted to. There was something there, in his eyes as he looked across the crowd of people.
Deciding to just enjoy the moment and worry about what may happen later; he smiled at Jeremy before turning back to the group of people in front of him.
“This is a party right?” Ben asked, receiving various shouts of approval from the others, “Well let’s dance then!” he said grabbing Seb and dragging him off towards the slightly raised dance floor. Kevin felt a tug at his hand as Kitty pulled him onto the dance floor. Turning just at the right moment, he saw Vance pull Sam, as he raced off trying to make his way with the others before slipping on the slight step, falling flat on his face and pulling Sam down with him.
Sam immediately burst into laughter causing everyone else to join him. Kevin laughed as well, knowing full well how clumsy Vance was. He danced with Kitty enjoying himself to the maximum, loving the fact that all his internet friends were here live in the flesh. Lost in the moment, he didn’t notice at first, the tap on his shoulder. The second time though, he turned around just as Jeremy presented his hand.
“May I have this dance?” Jeremy asked, already leading Kevin to the center of the room. ‘Take my Breath Away’ had started to play, which might have been a little more than a convenient coincidence.
“Of course,” Kevin said, following Jeremy and pressing close against him, wishing that this moment would last forever. It just felt so right, being so close together.
Sadly, the song did come to an end though, and the people who were dancing all started to exit the dance floor as the party also came to a reluctant close. Everyone had a wonderful time, and they all agreed that the next person’s birthday was way too far away, and that they all should get together again before then.
Kevin spent a few minutes saying goodbye, hugging all his friends once more while he had the chance, before Vance walked up behind him with a large, flat, square, metallic, golden box wrapped with a white satin ribbon. Vance handed the box to Kevin, kissing his good friend sweetly on the cheek and saying, “Happy Birthday Kev. This is from all of us.”
“How about I drive you home?” Kevin offered to Jeremy, with a goofy smile still plastered to his face.
“Sure, that would be great!” Jeremy said, as his face lit up at the offer. “I actually don’t live very far from here.”
“All right. You lead the way then,” Kevin suggested. They walked out the door and got into Kevin’s truck, with Jeremy telling Kevin how to get to his house.
Once they were there, Kevin cut the engine, turned to Jeremy, and said, “Thank you very much for doing all of this, it was really very nice of you to do all that, especially for a complete stranger. I really, really appreciate it.”
“It was my pleasure! And I hope… we aren’t strangers anymore,” Jeremy said tentatively as he smiled and showed off his beautiful pearly whites once more.
“You’re right, we aren’t strangers anymore,” Kevin said genuinely, matching Jeremy’s smile with one of his own.
“Good, then how about you let me take you on a date, just the two of us?”
“You don’t have to do that, you’ve already done so much for me,” Kevin said with a sheepish grin.
“I know I don’t, but I want to… just like I want to do this,” Jeremy replied as he leaned forward and his lips met Kevin’s in a sweet and gentle first kiss before getting out of the car and waving goodbye to Kevin as he walked up to his front door.
When Kevin got home, he excitedly plopped down on the couch in his new living room and untied the ribbon that held the lid onto the box Vance had given him earlier and the smile that appeared on his lips as he remembered his first birthday party in his new home was magical, but nothing compared to the one that appeared again when he opened the cover of the guest book that was inside and read all the messages from all his friends including this one:
Happy 23rd Birthday Kevin! We love you so much, not only for the compassion
and kindness you show to every one of us, or for the way you seem to be able
to find the good in everyone and every situation, but also for the way you
give so much to each of us every day in the way of respect and friendship
and understanding and motivation and genuine hopes for happiness and success…