The Prompt You Say! - 8. Prompt 127 - Randy's tale

“Just how many more times can you do that?”

Randy ignored Eddie. He wasn’t in the mood to hear it again.

“Honestly, you really need to get out and do more. How many chances do you think you are going to keep having at your age?”

That did it. Randy’s eyes narrowed and his voice dropped to a low rumble as he turned to face his best friend.

“At my age? Is there something wrong with my age?”

Eddie shook his head and held up his hands to ward off the oncoming tirade.

“I give up. You are the one who always says that you missed the chance to find a partner at the right age. Tina found Robby while in high school, and I found Tim in college. You are the one who decided to pretend you didn’t need anyone in your bed.”

“It isn’t that I don’t want someone in my bed,” began Randy in what had become a common line spoken to his friends and family.

“It is just you want someone you care about. You have been telling us that for years. Then you go out on a single date, find a thousand things wrong with them and yourself. Of course, all of them you make sure to point out to your date and you never go out with them again. “

Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame as Randy tried to pretend that he wasn’t there so he could finish the dishes in the sink.

“You can try to ignore me, but be honest here, the real reason you called me over to have dinner with you is so you wouldn’t be alone on this anniversary.”

Randy turned and he could see the tremble in Eddie’s frame as he tried to act nonchalant. Eddie would be one of the few people who would realize what day it was. Of course he didn’t want to be alone, but he was pretty sure he did a decent job of hiding it from the rest of the world.

“Oh?” Randy raised his eye brow and tried to pretend like he didn’t know what Eddie meant.

“Give me a break,” Eddie stormed over to where Randy stood and wrapped him in a hug. “Do you honestly think I would forget the day your parents died? I was with you when you got the news. I remember too well just how torn up you were. It seems like with their passing you built a wall and now nearly no one can get close to you.”

Randy stiffened as soon as his friend’s arms wrapped around him and tried to pretend for a moment that this was all just an invasion into his personal space. The longer Eddie held him the more he began to shake and then suddenly the tears began; he could not stop the shuddering sobs that escaped him.

“Finally! Let it out Randy.” Eddie held him tightly as he shook with the cries escaping his body. “Just let it out buddy. You know you are human. You miss them and they wouldn’t want to see you punish yourself this way.”

Eddie gently rubbed Randy’s back and guided him to a kitchen chair and sat him down. He knelt beside him until his breathing came in soft little hitches. He stood up and grabbed a piece of paper towel and handed it to Randy. Then he went back and wet another. Randy blew his nose in the first one, and when he was handed the wet towel began to wipe his face off.

“Thanks,” he muttered looking at the ground. Suddenly he found he was looking into Eddie’s face as he knelt again at his side.

“You have got to stop punishing yourself. Your parents went on vacation and you had a bad one night stand. It wasn’t that they had their accident because you weren’t there. And you can’t keep sabotaging yourself or you will be alone, and they wouldn’t want that for you. God, your parents always supported you. I still can’t believe your old man went out and bought that damn flag when you told him.“

Randy looked up and tried not to laugh as he thought of the giant rainbow flag his father bought and hung on his flag pole outside. There was the American Flag, the Army Flag, and the Rainbow Flag all flying from his flag pole in the front yard. He could still remember the odd looks the neighbors gave him when he put it up in their conservative little area.

“And remember, when people asked, he said his son was going to be fighting a lifelong battle and he was proud of him.”

Randy tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. He found he was clenching his hands to keep reaching out. He wasn’t sure if it would be to find comfort or attack his friend for forcing him to face this pain finally.

Eddie looked up into his face and he could see the tears his friend was shedding as well.

“Really, you know that seventeen years is a long time to beat yourself up. Your mother would have hit you upside the head long ago.” Randy stared and found himself nodding in agreement. “You know she would have told you to get the stick out of your ass and get yourself a date.”

Randy let loose a laugh but tried to quickly smother it.

“Knowing your mother if you didn’t get a date she would have bought you a dildo and told you buy a movie.”

Randy’s eyes grew wide.

“How could you even …”

“Cause she told me back then if I needed help she would buy me one. There is no way she wouldn’t have bought you one too!”

Randy began to nod his head and laugh.

“Too bad, knowing your mom it would have been some expensive job.”

“Shut up.”

“Course it would have been wasted on you, you being a top an all.”

Randy growled and then blushed.

A moment later he began to laugh. Real laughter that shook his frame as he sat there, he was picturing his mother, wearing her PFLAG pin handing him a box with a giant dildo in it. He could see it so clearly in his mind that he knew Eddie was right, that is exactly what she would do.

“I can’t do it,” he whispered.

“Do what?”

“Figure out how to date. Face it, I didn’t in school and then my first time bringing someone home finds him slipping out in the middle of the night and me being woken by the phone.”

“Well, first thing you have to stop doing is picking out guys you know you wouldn’t normally date. If you want to really find someone look for someone who you might actually like to see again. I mean that last guy, really?”

“You mean Henry? Now what was wrong with Henry?”

“Honestly? You really want to go there?”

Randy thought about it and then shook his head. Eddie was right he had chosen someone he knew he would never willingly go out with once never mind a second date. He was blonde, blue eyed, short, and repugnant. He might have been visually stunning but his personality was abrasive and he didn’t wear cologne, he bathed in it. It had been easy to let Henry think that he might stand a chance but then Randy spoiled it by telling him all his own faults, before he chose a few of Henry’s as well. Henry nearly flew away from the table in the restaurant. God, he could be such an asshole when he wanted to be.

Eddie watched his friend as sat there looking depressed.

“And for God’s sake, would stop telling everyone that every time you have sex someone dies. They aren’t sure if you're an acrobatic sexual deviant or just that incredible.”

Randy’s eyes bulged a bit and he his mouth dropped open.

“Well come on. Every time you have sex someone dies. It makes it sound like you have a grave yard full of dead lovers.”

Randy blushed and looked down at his hands. This day was so not going as he had planned.

“I mean you can’t honestly mean the only time you had sex was … Oh shit. It is, isn’t it?”

There was a profound silence in the kitchen. Eddie reached forward and pulled Randy into a hug.

“Why didn’t you say something? How could you … I mean … damn.”

Randy just sat stone still.

“So since that creep pulled a runner on you, you haven’t,” he paused as he noticed the small nod from Randy. “But that means no one has … you haven’t. Ever? With anyone else?”

Randy just sat there and fresh tears fell.

Eddie’s heart broke. No wonder Randy kept everyone at arm’s length. He was terrified. His best friend had been alone for seventeen years and wasn’t about to let himself be hurt again. Instead he had a few close friends and had evidently kept his bed as empty as he had the rest of his life. Eddie was going to have to change that and make sure Randy was introduced to a better breed of men from now on. There was no way he was going to let his friend keep missing out on life, he deserved so much better than that.