It was Friday, and my friends and I were over at some girl's house hanging out. There was a fireplace outside, and we were all sitting around it. We had been drinking, so the smell of alcohol and cigarettes roamed through the air. Conversation, as usual, was focused on whatever useless topic that would keep our minds off of the thought that many of us would be leaving for university in a couple months. It was the first Friday of the last summer, and something inside of us was making us want it to be as special as it could be.
Somehow, we all knew that after this summer things would never be the same. It was as if a huge part of us would cease to exist and the beginning of a new era would mark the beginning of a new...us. There was something extremely thrilling about thinking about this, but at the same time it was terrifying because we simply did not know what was to come next. Some of us would be leaving town while others would remain behind and study at the state university, close to home. There was some tension in the air, however, because there was someone who did not fit in this mold.
When I first noticed him, I realized he was one of those guys who loves to be the center of attention. He was the one who introduced every single new topic and it was him who talked the most as well. He was part of that group of college guys who hangs around with us because some of them are dating some of the girls on our group. This guy particularly, from what I had heard, had been in a relationship for 4 years with a girl whom he now lived with. It felt bizarre having...well...actual adults around this during this time of transition and change.
"Dude, I'm telling you that (insert Croatian name of an indie, horror movie) has redefined what Western horror should mean," he was telling to one of the guys from our group. "The movie does not fit in any of the stereotypes that have come to plague the genre nowadays, and..."
"It includes 67 scenes of drunk, blond girls showing off their boobs and asses even when they're running away from the most ridiculous murderer in cinematic history's, Ben."
That had made us all laugh. That had been my friend Laura, who I noticed was getting fed up with the dumb conversation.
"Well, boobs sure make everything better," replied Ben.
And then, right after dear Ben said that, our eyes crossed for the first time. It wasn't by any means some sort of ethereal experience, but I did feel something odd in the back of my mind, and something firm between my legs. It wasn't something romantic, it was just that just then I noticed Ben was the type of guy I had fantasized about in my (wet) dreams.
He smiled.
"I'm gonna head inside and make me another drink," I excused myself as I stood up. "Does anyone want something?"
Some of the people who had been close to me said no, but the majority had gone back to talking about bad horror movies. So I just headed back inside the house, into the kitchen, and then noticed I was being followed. I did not turn around right away, because I didn't want whoever it was to think I was in one of those European horror movies. So I just continued walking until I reached the door, just to turn around and notice my friend Kacey was coming along.
"I need another drink too if I'm gonna be listening to their crap all night."
I opened the door for her, a little disappointed that it had not been...him who had followed me.
"You okay?" She asked when we reached the gin bottles.
"Yeah..." I served a little extra alcohol in mine. "Hey, what do you know about Ben?"
She laughed immediately.
"Well, he's some dude who's friends with the guy Laura is fucking. He loves to talk, if you haven't noticed, and something that stands out about him is that he lives on his own with his girlfriend. Actually, I don't know if they're married, but they have been together for a really long time. Surprisingly. He doesn't talk about her often, but he has told us that she is part of his band, which implies he has to see her often because that's all he does with his life."
