Lip service
Oliver had spent the entire weekend and the two nights that followed, at home, all by himself. He had spent a few hours kicking Energy’s ass. He had created a new id hamsupEnergy to tease his friend. Energy, of course, had no idea of who he was playing against. Oliver knew Energy’s strengths and weaknesses and so it was easy to keep pounding his friend until he went offline. Oliver smiled.
It was months since they had last spoken. Energy avoided him at work. It was obvious to people around them. Oliver didn’t care much for explanations but it did make him sad.
Was Energy in love with Agnes? It looked like he was, during the weeks leading up to their fight. One way or another, it was not his business.
He wondered about Priscilla. Did she miss him? Did he miss her? Yes. A bit. He still couldn’t understand whether it was the loss of his best friend or the loss of his lover that pained him more. Either way, he didn’t intend to dwell on it any more. Pain was best forgotten.
He took out his cell phone to text Diano.
Oliver: Where are you?
Diano: Fringe Club
Oliver: What are you doing there?
Diano: Tongzhi Literary Group meeting
Oliver: ?
Diano: Listening to an author. He’s reading from his latest book.
Oliver: Author…Reading… Are you okay?
Diano didn’t reply, so Oliver sent him another one.
Oliver: What time do you finish?
Diano: Don’t know
Oliver: Why?
Diano: What’s up?
Oliver: Wanna see you…
Diano: Meet next week, ok?
Oliver: Too far away…
Diano: 😛
Oliver: I love your green tee shirt
Diano: How do you know what I’m wearing?
Oliver: Guessing
Diano: Wrong guess. It’s red. 😛
Oliver: Why don’t you leave earlier tonight?
Diano: Go where? I need to wake up early tomorrow.
Oliver: Anywhere. Somewhere.
Diano: Do what? Drink?
Oliver: Maybe
Diano: @@ You want to drink all the time! Drunkard!
Oliver: Only when I’m with you lor
Diano: Why? Am I so ugly?
Oliver: No, stupid. You are VERY handsome. 😛
Diano: We will head to Club 97 afterwards. Do you wanna join?
Oliver: Never heard of it.
Diano: It’s a gay bar. Afraid?
Oliver: No
Diano: So? Go there?
Oliver: Depends on what time you finish
Diano: I’ll be late. Sorry.
Oliver: Okay. Meet next week then.
Oliver walked away. He felt more stupid now. Why couldn’t Diano just ditch his gathering and join him?
He wanted to drink. And he wanted someone to be with him. He fished out his cell phone and went through his contacts list. Having made up his mind, he pressed the dial button.
###
They were supposed to meet at Beijing at 11.30 p.m. The excitement of getting to meet Norman again made him happy. But at the same time he felt sad for having been stood up by Norman many times more than by anybody else. A normal person would have been very pissed off. If it weren’t Norman but somebody else, Diano would have punched their face. But he was helpless when it came to Norman. It was as if he was doing Diano a great favour by showing up. At the same time, Norman always complained he was lonely all the time and wanted Diano’s company.
Of late, he had started drinking more often than not. Diano was worried. He didn’t want Norman to turn alcoholic. He’d taken it upon himself to pull his friend through the dark times. And so there he was waiting, as usual, for his prince to show up.
Norman arrived around midnight, drunk. He said he was having dinner with colleagues. They used Norman’s membership to enter the club. Spread across three floors, Beijing provided a big area for Norman to play. He would disappear suddenly and, just when Diano would start getting worried, reappear. Sometimes, Diano thought Norman deliberately played with him to pull his leg.
A few glasses of vodka lime were tossed in before Norman moved on to Long Island Iced Tea and Tequila shots. It was a bit strong for Diano to handle but he managed by drinking slowly.
They danced so close to each other that Diano could smell the cologne on Norman, through the smoke. He avoided looking into Norman’s eyes. He knew he would find them hard to resist and might end up doing something stupid to ruin their friendship.
“Are you guys a couple?” A girl dancing next to them asked Diano.
“Huh?” Diano hadn’t expected that.
“Are you a couple?” The girl’s lady friend asked.
“What do you think?” Norman asked with a mischievous smile.
“No.” Diano blushed.
“Can we dance with you?” The taller one picked Norman while the shorter one chose Diano.
They danced with the girls but maintained eye contact with each other. The girl Diano was dancing with got a bit touchy-feely. He smiled at her and gently took her hand off his butt.
The other girl clung to Norman like a parasite does to its host. Diano could see her hands traveling all over Norman’s body. All of a sudden he felt a rush of anger. He wanted to push the girls away and take his Norman back. Would that upset Norman? It didn’t matter what the girls thought.
He excused himself to go to the washroom. The one on that floor was packed and so he went to the one on the floor above. Seeing all the cubicles occupied, he chose to wait outside the washroom area on top of the dance floor. There was an opening on the floor through which he could see the crowd below.
Norman and the tall girl were engaged in a lip-lock!
