All days, it seems, are not entirely the same as the others.
JC felt the same when he awoke. His first move was a long stretch, then a yawn and a roll to the other side of the bed. Then back to sleep. It’s not like he had to be anywhere. And that was the thought that hit him the next time his mind came to grasp the current condition of wakefulness. What sort of a trip could he go on today?
He would plan his trip, he decided, as he got ready. First a shower, rubbing a bar of soap across his body and wishing he weren’t alone. He was surprised when the bar of soap leapt from his hand and scuttled across the tiled floor. After all, soap was not supposed to do such things. And this wasn’t just any plain old bar of soap easily picked up at a discount store. This was a beautiful pearlescent pink bar of soap, carefully shaped to fit into the hand. It was expensive and smelled like real flowers, not an imitation floral scent. It made him feel like he was laying in a beautiful field of wild flowers under the sun. Lathering up again, he studied the mass of bubbles he could produce by rubbing his hands across the soap. It reminded him of sex.
After stepping from the shower and drying off, he carefully applied his hair product, messing around and shaping the spikes playfully before making them presentable for the outside world. Someone was waiting for him, he was sure. There was always someone waiting for him. He just wished it he’d stop feeling the haunting sensation of his perfect soul mate being somewhere out there yearning for him in the same manner that he yearned for them. He wished they could stop all the waiting and get on with the meeting. He’d tried hard in his relationships, they just weren’t with the right person. Obviously. Because if he had been with the right person, they’d still be together.
Next he brushed his teeth, which often set him into giggles when he watched himself in the mirror, because the sight of his foamy white mouth always reminded him of looking down after a blow job and seeing his cum all over someone else’s face. Their fault for not swallowing his load when it came in quick spurts of heat.
On a whim, JC walked to his closet and closed his eyes, then dressed in the first shirt and pants that he grabbed. Shiny, blue shirt, pink pants. Well, why not? Just, not with the red shoes, because that would be too much. Sandals! The cool blue and white leather ones with Native American Indian beads sewn onto the straps. Because colors were cool. The sandals reminded him of a cloudy day with a rainbow stretching across it.
Having no other plans, he decided to go visit his friends. First up would be Chris, because Chris was always up. And almost always had no plans.
Chris answered the door after a couple of knocks, dressed in a football jersey and shorts. “Wassup, C? To what to I owe this visit?”
“I didn’t really have any plans, so I thought I’d go for a walk.”
“Funny how often your feet bring you here.”
Smiling, JC moved forward and hugged Chris. “Maybe it’s my heart, not my feet.”
“Suppose I had plans? Suppose you stopped by and I wasn’t here?”
Pushing past Chris, JC entered the foyer and stared up at the ceiling while tapping his index finger against his lower lip. “Of all the times I’ve stopped over to see you, you have been here. Let me think. Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’ve been here every time. What’s in the fridge?”
“I could have plans.”
“Sure. You could.”
“I have a date with an Alien Space ship. Ten o’clock sharp.”
“Are you trying to turn me on?”
Chris finally smiled, pushing JC down onto the couch. “Baby, I would love to turn you on.”
“Got pot?”
“A little. Someone left some ‘shrooms here, too.”
“Yeah, who?”
“I don’t know. I had a party the other night. I swear I have a magical house. Every time I wake up after a party it seems I have more drugs around here than when the party started.”
“More drugs, less money, and lots of empty bottles.”
“I recycle only for you.”
“Seriously, where’d you get the ‘shrooms?”
“A magical dolphin. See, he was traveling and was looking for a shortcut to Spain. Had a bad craving for Spanish olives. So he was swimming by and handed off the ‘shrooms.”
“What did you give him?”
“My lava lamp. The blue one. He felt lost without the ocean and it reminded him of water. And some fish, because he looked hungry.”
“How was he swimming without water?”
“He was air surfing. When he left, he flipped his tail and said, I’ll never forget his last words, ‘So long and thanks for the fish’.”
“Let’s go on a trip.”
“What do I look like, a travel agent?”
Softly closing the distance between them, JC came close to Chris, playfully rubbing his arm and bringing their lips within inches of each other. “Yes. You look like a magical travel agent.”
Breaking into a giggle, Chris got a mischievous expression on his face. “Let’s get fucked up and go visit Joey!”
“What about Kel and Bri? It’s hard to be doting hubby and dad when your fucked up single friends show up high at your house.”
“Kelly took Bri to visit her parents for a couple weeks. Joey had some appointments he didn’t want to miss.”
“You drive. I can’t drive on ‘shrooms.”
Chris playfully pushed JC out of his door. “You can’t drive sober!”
JC waited at the car while Chris grabbed a couple small bags. “Dude, let’s drive over to Joey’s house, then get high. It’ll be hilarious. We’ll walk in sober, then start tripping.”
“You will. He’ll smell the pot a mile away.”
“And then he’ll want some.”
Their plans went well as far as driving to Joey’s house, via Taco Bell. And the getting high in Joey’s driveway. That in itself sent them into fits of giggles as they stood on Joey’s stoop. They weren’t there for very long. Chris had his hand raised, ready to rap on the door, when Joey surprised them by opening it.
“Oh, shit. I was expecting Justin!”
JC and Chris looked at each other and started laughing.
“Yeah,” said Chris. “I’m Justin, he’s Lance, remember us?”
“Dude, I’m going to the beach with Justin and Lance. Justin’s supposed to pick me up.” Pausing, Joey checked the time on his cell phone. “He should be here any minute.”
“You guys were going to go play at the beach without us?” asked JC.
“Well, no. Didn’t you get the invites? I thought Lance was inviting you.”
“No way! Scoop is the most organized cat ever. He wouldn’t forget,” said JC.
“Then maybe it was Justin?”
Chris folded his arms, shaking his head. “Try again.”
“Um, would you guys like to go to the beach with us today?”
JC moved forward to hug Joey. “Sure. Thanks for inviting us. We would love to go.”
Chris’ magical mushrooms began to take effect on the drive to the beach. Joey and Justin were chattering away in the front seat, not noticing how JC’s pupils were dilating. Chris reached over, wrapping his arm around JC.
“I want to go for a walk. It’s such a beautiful day.”
“Sure, JC, just as soon as we get to the beach.”
Instead of going for a walk right away, JC lay on the beach, watching the sky as Justin, Joey and Lance donned their wet suits and pulled out their surf boards. Chris sat beside JC, smoking a joint and watching his friends.
“Why is Lance talking into a dolphin?” asked JC.
Squinting, Chris stared at Lance for a minute, then back to JC. “Dude, he’s talking into his cell phone.”
“It looks like a dolphin.”
“You’re messed up.”
“And when did you turn into a dragon?” said JC, sitting up quickly.
“You’re tripping, C.”
“But you are. Dragon. With beard horns,” explained JC as he began crab-walking away from Chris.
Deciding this had the makings of a fun game, Chris began crawling after JC on all fours, roaring at him.
“Don’t eat me, please don’t eat me,” cried a panicked JC, heading toward the water.
Stumbling across the beach, JC ran into Joey, bumping against him as he sought to escape from Chris. “Joey?”
“Are you tripping, JC? What did you take?”
“Well, Chris offered me some magical mushrooms and now he’s turned into a dragon. And he’s chasing me.”
“And what am I? The good fairy?”
Pulling away from Joey, JC ran into the ocean. “Dragons are afraid of water, they can’t let their fires go out or they die” he told Joey. “You’ll protect me.”
“Ah, I’m a knight! Excellent.”
“Oh, a Dwarf and a knight? I know you’ll protect me from the dragon. He licked my face. I think he was taste testing.”
“Sure, I’ll protect you from the tongue lashing dragon.” Joey spread his most grimacing expression across his face and growled at Chris.
Moving further into the ocean, JC bumped into another friend, swimming playfully amongst the waves. “Oh, Mr. Dolphin! I have you to thank for the magical mushrooms.”
Justin stopped his splashing and looked at JC like he’d missed something. “What mushrooms? What are you talking about, C?”
“And I know he gave you his lava lamp. Did it help you find Spain?”
“C, you’re tripping. You need to get out of the water before the tide takes you out to sea.”
“I need to stay away from the dragon.”
“Dragon?”
“Yeah, over there on the beach. Oh, check out the sparkling sand! It’s like the sun is shining down on a million, billion diamonds. They must belong to the Dwarf knight.”
“Come on, C.”
Grabbing a hold of JC, Justin pulled him onto the beach and sat him down. His breath came heavily to him. “I’ve forgotten how heavy you are soaked with water.”
“Wow! Have you ever seen anything like that sun? It’s all orange and yellow and red and purply all swirled together. You can't even tell where it stops being sky and turns into water. It’s all shimmery. And you’re shimmery.” Cupping Justin’s cheek, JC looked deeply into his friend’s eyes. “You’ve always been all shimmery and glittery. I’m wearing blue today? Do you like it?”
“Did you where it especially for me?”
“Um, no. I closed my eyes and this is what I grabbed to wear.”
“Ah, your usual method of choosing an outfit.”
“Hey, it works.”
“Yeah? Red carpet does not mean ‘red shoes’.”
“You’re beginning to fade away. You should go back into the ocean.”
A few hours later, JC awoke, starring up into the night sky. Dark and cloudless, it was full of bright stars and a nearly full moon. “Wow.” Suddenly the heavens were full of a familiar face. “Lance? I see you finally made it into space. It’s comforting, you know, having you watch over us from above.”
“JC, I’m not in space. I’m right here, with you. On the beach. You took some mushrooms and had a little trip.” Brushing his fingers across JC’s forehead and cheek, Lance leaned over to kiss him lightly. “Go anywhere interesting on the trip?”
Sitting up, JC looked out over the ocean. “I ran into this dragon and he chased me. He had big brown eyes and beard horns. He was full of fire and trying to burn me. He licked me. I think he wanted to eat me for dinner. So I ran into the ocean and met this Dwarf knight and he protected me along with his fortune. He was wealthy beyond all imagination. The beach is full of his sparkly diamonds and gold. And he fought with the dragon. When I was in the ocean, I met this dolphin and he saved me, but he wouldn’t give back Chris’ lava lamp. Or the fish. And then I woke up and you were in space. You’re the air around me.”
“Interesting. Chris is the dragon with fire, Joey is the earthy Dwarf, Justin is the dolphin dancing in the water and I am the air. You’ve changed your four best friends into the four main elements.”
“What does that make me?”
Flashing his broad smile, Lance offered his hand to JC. “That, I don’t know. Come on. The other guys have already left. I’ll take you home.”
“I want to stay here a while longer.” JC said as his eyes scanned over the infinite darkness where the night sky met the ocean’s waters.
“What are you looking for, C? When you take trips like that, what do you want to find?”
“The meaning of life, the Universe and everything. I guess. Stuff like that. Knowing myself better.”
“And what have you learned?”
Taking in a deep breath, JC held it for a minute before letting it out. “I’ve been waiting for a long time to meet this special person. I need the other part of me. It wasn’t Bobbie. Or any of the other girls I dated. I thought it was NSync for a long time, but then NSync went away. I just want someone I can trust and love to be there for me. Through the good times and the bad. Just being together. In love.”
Laying beside JC on the beach, Lance began drawing in the sand with his index finger. “You once said you didn’t think you’d love anyone as much as you love the four of us.”
Relaxing back on his side, JC scooted closer to Lance and joined him in drawing in the sand. “Everything is so beautiful on the ‘shrooms, man. Everything is so much brighter. So different, yet all the same. It opens your eyes to see things that were always there in front of you, but you could never truly see. Like the color of time. The love of a close friend. Wanting what is there, so close, but being afraid it'll get swept away. Blown away. Sometimes it seems that time steals the best of what you've always known, and you miss it, you ache for it, until you forget it ever existed at all.”
Gently lifting JC’s chin, Lance closed his eyes and softly pressed his lips against JC’s. “I just want you to know, JC, that I will always love you. I have always loved you. From the first time I saw you. I want you. I’ve always wanted you. I just never knew how to say it before, but here, now, it’s easy. All you need is love. John Lennon said that. Smart man.”
Resting his forehead against Lance’s, JC admitted, “All I need is the air that I breathe, and to love you.”
And all nights, it seems, are not entirely the same as the others, either.