"Hey, so I got a new VHS for my birthday and I was gonna watch it with Flea tonight but he bailed on me. Wifey time or whatever", John says on our walk from the pizza joint. "So, I was wondering if you had some time to come over."
I did have time that night and thought to myself why not. We were having a good run at the moment and it couldn't be bad to be on friendly terms if we were supposed to work with each other in the future. I definintely couldn't stand his asshole behavior from before any longer.
So I shrugged my shoulders and said. "Why not?".
"What kind of movie is it?", I asked, just to be sure he wasnt gonna make me watch a splatter or so because that was an absolute no-no to me.
"It's Spinal Tap. To me personally one of the funniest movies ever. You're gonna love it", he said and smiled widely.
"Oh, I've heard about that one. Cool", I said and smiled back.
"Alright, sulk. So why won't you be there at 8? I'll set up some snacks and drinks. Anything I can get you?"
I acted as if I overheard him calling me sulk, maybe he was gonna stop if I just ignored it. "Surprise me", I said.
********
I admired his record collection as I was stopping by at his place later. He told me he collected them from childhood days on.
"I was this weird kid at the record store, they all laughed at me when I showed up to buy vinyl off my pocket money", he said and chuckled. "But that's where this all comes from. For as long as I can think I was saving every penny for the music."
"But you don't have to save anymore, do ya?", I asked and looked at a Hendrix record.
"I could buy the whole store now, baby", he said and grinned mischeviously. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"But the money wasn't enough to buy furniture?", I asked as I looked around. He kept it quite simple at his place.
"Oh, the vibe is just great as long as there's music and books around. I don't need much else. It would be a waste", he said and shrugged. "I'll start the movie, alright?"
I sat down on his couch and watched him put the VHS into his recorder. He turned around and smiled. "You'll love this."
He let his body fall down next to mine and left only so little room between, I could feel his body warmth on mine. It was cozy and I felt relaxed. The smell of his cologne was whirling up the air and right to me. I breathed it in and smiled to myself. He did smell quite good, I had to admit.
The movie was quite bizarre and made me laugh a lot. At the latest as the guys in that band Spinal Tap told the interviewer about the mysterious deaths of their drummers, I got suspicious. "Wait, this isn't a real documentary, right?", I asked and John burst out into laughter.
"No it's not", he said and couldn't stop laughing. "You know, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year", he imitated singer St. Hubbins from the movie and laughed again.
My face turned red. "You're so mean, John. I believed it was real for too long", I said.
He chuckled and placed his arm around me, stroking my shoulder. "It's alright", he softly said and put his arm back down. My shoulder felt strangely warm for some time after he put his hand away.
"I hope Chad's not gonna die in a bizarre gardening accident like their first drummer did", I said and chuckled.
"I pray for this every day", John said and we both laughed.
We basically laughed all the way throught the movie. It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time.
"Wasn't this the funniest thing ever?", John asked.
"That's what I just thought", I said and smiled. I just couldn't deny that I liked spending time with him a lot. And even though I hated him at the start, and hated him declaring us friends, that's exactly what I wished we were now. I could talk to him about almost anything and non-stop, we shared the love for music and arts and also we could laugh together.
I caught myself thinking that this was exactly what I'd wish for in a boyfriend. But that was idiotic. We talked about anything, yeah. But certainly not about feelings. Because it was just a friendship, nothing else.
We smoked a cigarette and talked some more about the movie. Like, how could these guys keep a straight face while shooting these ridiculous scenes? How did they come up with such great lines as in their song Big Bottom? We totally forgot the time and were sitting there for hours after the movie.
When I yawned, I looked around for a clock. "What time is it, John?", I asked and he shrugged.
"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell fucking tired."
"Fuck.. I don't wanna go to work tomorrow", I said.
"But I'll be there, too."
"Funny, Frusciante", I said and he smirked.
He offered me to sleep in his bed as he didn't wanna let me walk home that late. After a little persuading, I gave in.
"But I don't wanna take your bed. You can have it, I'll take the couch."
"We can share", he said and winked.
I raised my brows. Actually, the warmth of another body next to mine sounded good. I missed sleeping in with a guy, just like that, without having sex or anything. Like I did with Travis just a few months ago.
"We could", I said and walked up to his room.
I didn't know what it was, but I was so excited, I didn't want him to see my face, nor did I want to see his expression. I was kind of afraid to where this was leading. But on the other hand, I strictly wanted us to just lay there and do nothing else. My brain had just accepted the fact that we were in some sort of friendship now. I couldn't take anything else that would make it complicated. That's what I was telling myself.
I only heard a quiet "woah" and felt him following me.
We got between the blankets and talked for a while, but we both were tired and he slept in first. I didn't have to worry about anything happening which was nice for once. I enjoyed his company and his warm body and fell asleep soon after.
