One Gay at a Time

That Friday night, N went to his friend’s birthday party at a bar in Hoboken. I was pretty beat, so I decided to stay in for the night. I had 2 Netflix waiting to be watched.

At this point, N is only out to 3 women in his life. His mother, his roommate and a friend in Florida. He was going to the party with many of his college friends, none of which knew of his penchant for men. Earlier that day, we discussed our plans for the night, and N mentioned I could pop by the party unannounced. He wanted to see me, but no one knew about us, so we’d have to be discreet and “just friends.” They were going to a bar that I have frequented a lot. I could have easily gathered a few people and gone, but I knew better.

First off, I had no desire to go out. Secondly, I knew he wasn’t really ready for that step yet, even though he was half extending the invitation. We would be trying to hide it so much it would be obvious. Instead, I stayed in, receiving picture messages of him in the mirror of the bathroom.

I made dinner and plopped down on the couch in a pair of gym shorts; a perfect night if you ask me. One of the movies I had from Netflix was Amistad. I had never seen it and remembered it getting a lot of hype when it came out. Half way through it, I realized it was not a movie for a Friday night. I had no idea it was so heavy. It was almost as bad as watching Schindler’s List.

Late that night, around 1:00 in the morning, I got a call from N. He told me he had someone who wanted to meet me, and asked if he could bring her over. I assumed it was his roommate. He had spoken about her many times and told me how badly she wanted to meet me. When I finally buzzed them in, much to my surprise, it was not his roommate at all.

N was very drunk. He had a stain down the front of his shirt and was slurring his words. He introduced me to his friend and went on to tell me he told her he is gay that night at the bar. Apparently she didn’t take it very well, but was consoled by his roommate who also knew. But after that, she was dying to meet me.

This gave me warm fuzzies. He was so excited about us, he couldn’t wait to tell someone and was now bringing her home to show me off. It was a big night for him. He took a big step forward as a gay man, but we also took a step forward as a couple.

Shortly thereafter, his friend left so we could do our thing and go to bed. N was so drunk, he slid down the back of one of my living room chairs and broke the leg off. I picked him up and we moved to the couch to snuggle. It was nice having him there that night. I was very happy to see him. We watched TV for a short period before he fell asleep on me. I tried to wake him, but no matter what I did, he just lay there. I even gently slapped him across the face, but no movement, just grumbles. He is too big of a man to when he’s dead weight to carry, so there was nothing I could do besides leave him sleeping on the couch. I managed to lift his legs up onto the couch so he would be comfortable, and I went to bed.

In the morning, I woke and came out to the living room to find him still sleeping. I began to make breakfast, and shortly after he woke up. He told me at one point he woke up on the floor pinned between the couch and the coffee table. I told him that’s what he gets for not coming to bed with me.

We sat and ate breakfast and rehashed the night before. He didn’t remember a lot of the things I told him, so it made for an interesting conversation.

I was really starting to enjoy this new groove we were getting into. When I was with Broadway, I barely saw him. It was usually only to sleep together. With N, I was really starting to build a relationship with a strong foundation.