Moving On - 16. Chapter 16

Julien came to Adrien’s doorway and it was obvious he only pretended to be surprised.

“Loïc! Pourquoi t’es à genoux devant la queue d’Adrien?” Julien crossed his arms, and wore a serious look on his face, “Tu m’as dit que tu rentrais chez toi.” (Why are you on your knees in front of Adrien’s dick? You told me you were going home)

“Ben ouais, mais j'ai pas pu résister à Adrien qui il avait tellement besoin de se détendre,” Loïc grinned. (Well yeah, but I wasn’t able to resist Adrien when he really needed a release)

“Hmmm? Que fais-tu?” Ben asked Adrien, “Explique!” (What are you doing? Explain!)

“On étudiait,” Adrien sat sown, blushing slightly. (We were studying)

“Ah? Je suppose que t'étudiais l’anatomie humaine, mais tu sais déjà comment fonctionne la reproduction humaine,” Ben rolled his eyes. (Ah? I suppose you were studying human anatomy, but you already know how human reproduction works) “Ok! On mangeait des graines,” Adrien confessed, “Chui juste indifférent… J’ai pas de préférence sexuelle.” (Ok! We were sucking dicks. I’m just indifferent… I have no sexual preference) He saw Ben suppressing his snickering, and then also saw that Loïc and Julien were covering their mouths, hiding their huge grins.

“Quoi? C’est-tu drôle?” Adrien looked confused. (What? Is that funny?)

“Mon cher frère …” Ben went to sit next to him, “Je le savais déjà. Loïc nous a dit, y’a des heures,” he nodded. (My dear brother. I already knew. Loïc already told us several hours ago)

“Quoi?” Adrien looked at him perplexively, “Tu savais déjà? Tu veux dire…” (What? You already knew? You meant…)

“Que…je t’ai eu! Je t’ai eu! Busted! On a planifié pour te catcher comme ça, grâce à Loïc,” Ben smirked. Adrien looked at him speechlessly. (That…I got you! I got you! Busted! We planned to catch you like that by using Loïc)

“Oh mon câlisse de Dieu…envoyez mon frère fou à l’enfer…asteure!” Adrien opened his arms to the ceiling. (Oh my fucking God…send my crazy brother to hell…now!) Ben danced in a circle, whooping. I couldn’t help laughing with Julien and Loïc.

“Depuis des années tu me traites de ‘boy screwdriver’, donc voici ma revanche…boy sucette,” Ben stuck out his tongue. (For the past few years you have been calling me a ‘boy screwdriver’, so here’s my revenge…boy lollipop) “Boy sucette?”

Adrien looked a little surprised, “Euh…non…” (Ah…no…)

“Attends un peu que moi et Matt t’appelions tout le temps comme ça comme toi avec le sobriquet ‘boy screwdriver.’” (Wait until Matt and I call you all the time together like you do to me with the name ‘boy screwdriver’)

“Dis-y pas ou sinon y farmera jamais la gueule quand y’en entendra,” Adrien warned. (Don’t tell him or otherwise he will never shut up when he hears about it)

“C’est cute ça, ces tis-chianes fraternelles,” Julien nodded, “Mais c’est correct. Ton secret restera toujours entre nous. Right guys?” (That’s cute, these brotherly arguments. But it’s ok. Your secret will always stay with us)

“Oui,” Ben kissed Adrien on the cheek, “T’es tellement cute quand t’as l’air perdu dans la forêt.” (Yes. You’re really cute when you look like you’re lost in the woods) Loïc nodded at Julien’s statement, and so did I.

“Une question curieuse… Les gars, y t’attirent tellement?” Julien asked. (A curious question… Guys, do they attract you a lot?)

“Ouais, parfois…surtout Loïc,” Adrien grinned a little when Julien gawked, “Mais j’ai pas de peur de ça, que tout le monde le saurait. C’est juste que ça m’amuse tellement de le tenir secret,” Adrien stared at us evilly, “Comme vous saviez déjà, j’ai pas eu de sexe la nuit dernière avec ma date. Alors, asteure je dois vous demander à sortir…sauf Loïc. Je crois qu’on a une chose à régler.” (Yeah, sometimes…especially Loïc. But I’m not afraid of that, that everyone would know. It’s just that it amuses me a lot to keep it as a secret. As you all know already that I had no sex last night with my date. So, now I have to ask you to leave…except Loïc. I believe we have some unfinished business to do.) “Whoa! T’sais-tu qu’y’est mon chum?” Julien objected. (Whoa! Do you know he’s my boyfriend?) “Ouais, mais tu l’as arrangé,” Adrien winked, “Tu crois-tu que c’est impoli de nous stopper au milieu d’un blowjob?” He finished. Loïc made a puppy face at Julien. After a few seconds of thinking, Julien looked resigned. (Yeah, but you arranged it. Don’t you think that it’s rude to stop us in the middle of a blowjob?)

“Ok…ok…ok…vous pouvez le finir…” Julien rolled his eyes, “On peut retourner au café Gatô,” Julien looked at me and Ben. (Ok, you can finish it. We can go back to the café Gatô)

“Bon, alors…sacrez vos camps donc!”Adrien shoved us out if his room, “On se rencontrera au café quand on aura fini… Ok Loïc, quelle partie humaine qu’on doit étudier?” And he closed the door. (Good, so…get your asses out of here then! We’ll meet at the café when we are done… Ok Loïc, which body part do we have to study?)

Ben hushed us with a finger over his lips, closed the apartment door, and then quietly walked back to listen through Adrien’s door.

“Ben! Crisse ton camp dehors!” Adrien shouted through the door. (Ben! Get the fuck outside!)

“Bâtard… he got us back a little, saved some self-pride at the end…” Ben grumbled at me. Julien looked indifferent.

“Euh, c’est rien. Au moins on l’a catché,” Julien winked. (Eh, it’s nothing. At least we caught him.)

We walked back to the café, and sat down with another cup of coffee and some turkey sandwiches.

“They should be enjoying themselves by now,” Julien remarked, “Pity I couldn’t get that nice sausage between Adrien’s legs. Loïc is a lucky bitch.”

“It runs in the family,” Ben added, “Well, Matt isn’t there yet…but he won’t be too far off in catching up.”

“Been there,” Julien lit his cigarette, “Got any brothers, Steph?”

“Just an older sister,” I answered, hoping I didn’t have to explain all over again about my broken-up family.

“Not bad. I have three older brothers,” Julien leaned back on his chair, sighing, “From age 26 to 32. They live by themselves now.”

“And you’re?” I asked for his age.

“I’m 17 now, soon to be 18 in March,” Julien took a deep puff, “Oh…I was an accident,” he chuckled at the thought; “My parents are 60 now. Do the math…”

“Do they know?” I asked without thinking I may have asked too much.

“Yeah, they do. They’re quite liberal, so it wasn’t much of a problem to deal with,” Julien sipped his coffee, “How about yours?”

“Eh, Mom doesn’t know. Dad…I don’t give a shit about him. He lives in New Jersey and he doesn’t spend time with me at all. I just recently came to terms with myself before I met Ben,” I sighed.

“My parents know, Steph, but they don’t have a fucking clue about us,” Ben giggled, “They think you’re just becoming a good friend, hence why they’re treating you to this trip with me…so you won’t make the friendship short,” he rolled his eyes.

“That’s cute…” I blushed a little.

After a half-hour of waiting, Adrien and Loïc came into the café. Adrien was grinning big to show himself off to us.

“Voyons qui on a ici…les deux amoureux,” Ben teased, “Une boy sucette…” (Look who we have here. A boy lollipop…) A couple of people in the café heard that, and Adrien blushed.

“Ta gueule. T’es juste jaloux,” Adrien sat at the table, “J’avais besoin d'une pipe… Ça faisait longtemps que j’avais pas eu de sexe.” (Shut up. You’re just jealous. I needed some blowjobs. It’s been a long time since I had sex)

“Loïc, t’as une goutte de jus de queue dans tes cheveux,” Julien pulled some dried white flakes out of his hair near his forehead, “Tsk..tsk…je regrette que j’étais pas avec vous deux.” (Loïc, you got a drop of cum in your hair. I regret that I wasn’t there with you two)

“S’y l’avait voulu, y’t’aurait laissé nous rejoindre,” Loïc smartmouthed back, in a teasing way. Adrien slapped his shoulder, warned him with a glare. (If he had wanted it, he would’ve let you join us)

“Anyway, on fait quoi avant la game à soir?” Adrien asked us (Anyway, we’re doing what before the game tonight?)

“Eh, more clothing shopping I guess, and something to eat,” Ben looked at his cell, “It’s already past 2 now. The shops will be closing in three hours.”

“Ok, some shopping, dinner, and the Habs game,” Adrien put his coat on, “And your friends will go home after. I have school and work tomorrow, and you have a road test to take,” Adrien pointed his finger at Ben. Ben stuck out his tongue in response.

“Oui, boy sucette!” he called him.

“Un jour…m’a te pogner…” Adrien smirked, still pointing his finger at him. (One day…I’m going to get you…)

Adrien got up, and we followed him out of the door to the bus stop closest to the café. It was snowing lightly again, but jesus, does it snow everyday here or what? The cold and wind chill have loosened up their grip considerably, and the sun kept us a little warmer. I passed a bank clock-thermometer sign, and yep, I was right…-10*C (15F), a heat wave compared to -25*C (-10F) yesterday with -40*C (-40*F) wind chill.

Outside Berri-UQAM metro station, I took a picture of the blue-green glass building, which is the main library of the whole province, surrounded by the UQAM university campus, shops, and office buildings. We walked a block to an Archambault store, which was a little different than the one I went to in the downtown centre, because it had a second floor full of musical instruments and accessories.

Nevertheless, Julien, Loïc, and Adrien were checking out the CDs while Ben and I decided to look at the DVDs instead. Most of the DVDs could be found in the USA with the same covers, but the difference is that the covers are both in English and French.

“Hmmm, ‘Le Diable s’habille en Praha’…” Ben mused while reading the movie summary of the ‘The Devil Wears Praha’, “Un bon film… M’a l’acheter donc. Comment je pourrais refuser? C’est 15$ en rabais!” (A good movie… I’m going to buy it. How could I refuse? It’s $15 off!) Ben grinned, flashing the movie at me, and proceeded to a smiling woman at the register. Adrien, Julien, and Loïc rushed to give her their several CDs.
“Désolé, madame!” (Sorry, madam!) Julien apologized for surprising her. Ben nodded at her to scan the CDs along with his movie. The final price was $75 and Ben gave her $15 and told the others that he was sure as hell not going to pay for them. So they each dished out their share.

We decided to go to Ste-Catherine where it intersects with Peel and les Cours Mont-Royal mall, which wasn’t too far from Centre Eaton. Ben and Julien wanted to go to ‘Urban Outfitters’ on one of the streets a couple blocks away.

“Oh my god!” Julien bent down to pick up something from the sidewalk, “This is going to sound so Jewish, but I found a dime on the sidewalk!” he held up a shiny dime and put it in his pocket. Fifteen feet away, he saw a homeless guy begging on the sidewalk, staring at him and mentally kicking himself that he wasn’t the one that found the dime. Julien quickly walked away from him, feeling a little uncomfortable.

We stopped at an Urban Outfitters building with a turn-of-century look on the façade with huge glass windows displaying designer clothes. It caters to the youth, carrying various clothes in skateboard, emo, punk, and prep styles, though there may be a couple other styles, depending on the season.

“Me and Julien love this store,” Ben told me, “A little expensive sometimes, but we love it.”

We went upstairs to the men’s floor where they had jeans, hoodies, shoes, t-shirts, and more up for sale. I went for the jeans. I looked at the price of one pair - $120. My heart skipped a beat at that price.

“Erm, pas ces jeans-ci, mais ces jeans-là. Y sont plus cheaps,” (Erm, not these jeans here, but those jeans over there. They’re cheaper) Loïc pointed at another jeans rack. Ben and Julien had already disappeared somewhere, and Adrien was checking out the t-shirts.

“Oh merci!” I thanked him.

“Tu veux-tu que je t’aide?” Loïc put on a cute face, “J’ai rien à faire. J’ai déjà magasiné icitte la semaine dernière…” (Do you want me to help you? I have nothing to do. I already shopped here last week)

“Oui, tu peux,” I pulled the rack of jeans around looking for my size, “Je peux pas trouver ma taille.” (Yes, you can. I cannot find my size…)

“À quelle taille?” Loïc looked in. (Wwhat size?)

“Vingt-huit,” (Twenty-eight) I responded.

“Whoa! Un maigre donc!” he smiled, “C’est pas étonnant… V’là! Vingt-huit, mon maître… Vas-y… à la salle d’essayage!” (Whoa! A skinny one! That’s not surprising… Here you go! Twenty-eight, my master… Go on…to the fitting room!) Loïc took my arm leading me to the fitting room.

“Bonjour! Combien?” A girl greeted us. Loïc pointed out the jeans, “Ok, suivez-moi, donc,” she took the jeans, unlocked a door, and put the jeans on the chair inside. I went in and then Loïc (Hello! How many? Ok, follow me then)

“Whoa, tu fais quoi là?” she stopped Loïc. (Whoa, what are you doing there?)

“C’est pour aider un ami. Y’a-tu un problème?” Loïc looked at her, acting a little serious. (It’s to help a friend. Is there a problem?)

“Ok, mais pas d’affaires pas catholiques!” she let him in. He sighed with relief. (But no funny business!)

“Enfin, on est seul!” he grinned. (Finally we’re alone!)

“We were in the shower together,” I reminded him. I unbuckled the belt holding my up jeans, and took my shoes off.

“Ouais, mais on a fait se masser que les dos,” he whined a little. (Yeah, but we only massaged our backs)

“Of course…” I unbuttoned my jeans and unfastened the zipper, “But what are we going to do in here?” I crossed my arms.

“Kiss…” he pressed me against the wall, putting his warm lips on mine, and put his hand down in the unbuckled-unzipped jeans, feeling the sides of my hips through my briefs, “Hmmm…t’as une peau douce,” (You have smooth skin) he moved his hand around while we worked our tongues in each others mouths. I put my hand on Loïc at the same spot where Loïc had his on me.

“Do you love Julien?” I asked out of the blue, breaking off the kiss for a second.

“Oui, trop. Y me fait me sentir tellement ben pis personne a fait ça,” he kissed back. (Yes, a lot. He makes me feel wonderful and no one has done that)

“Ça va? Vous aimez le jean?” the fitting lady knocked the door. (Is it going ok? Do you like the jeans?)

“Eh oui, mais on decide toujours… On aura fini bientôt!” Loïc answered her, and she left. (Eh yes, but we’re still deciding… We’ll be done soon!)

I took my hand off his hip, and pulled his off mine, “This is not a good place for this. I don’t do public places,” I grinned. Loïc chuckled and went to pull down my jeans…and ‘accidentally’ my undies as well, leaving my boner staring at his face.

“Whoops!” he exclaimed innocently, and gave my dickhead a taste, “Hmmm, délicieux…” (Delicious)

“I don’t think so…” I pulled my undies back up, “I came too much in the last 24 hours. I need a break…slut…” I waved my finger at him. I kicked my jeans off my feet.

“Ouais…je le suis…un slut…” (Yeah, I am…a slut…) he grinned and threw the jeans at me, telling me to try them out. I put them on and looked at the mirror. Loïc was observing me from behind, looking carefully.

“Ça te fit ben… Ça caresse serrément le cul… Si tu portes du noir ou du bleu foncé, t’auras l’air extrêment hot… Achète-le,” Loïc gave me his opinion. (They fit you well… hugs your ass tightly… If you wear something black or dark blue with them, you would be too hot… Buy them)

“Tu le penses?” (Do you think so?) I turned around to look at my ass, and looked at the price tag, “Shit…$40…”

“Pas pire…très près du coût moyenne des jeans icitte,” Loïc nodded, “Go…achète-le. Crois-moi, je suis étudiant de la mode.” (Not bad… very close to the average price of jeans here. Go…buy them. Believe me, I’m a fashion student)

“Fashion student?” I asked, and he nodded ‘yes’, “Ok, I will buy them…” I took them off and put my old ones back on and then my shoes. We walked out to look around a bit more before finding Ben and Julien…with an armful of clothes.

“Shit…” I looked at the clothes.

“We have been looking around for you,” Ben told me.

“I was trying out these jeans,” I showed him the one I tried on, “Not trying out the whole store like you two are doing.”

“Oh, they look good,” Ben said checking them out, “I need your opinion on what I have found, what do you think of this green hoodie?”

“Looks ok, but that shirt is too hippie,” I stared at a t-shirt with a 1960s hippie-font logo on it. Ben threw it back where it was. Then he showed me a couple pairs of jeans, which I approved. I watched Julien and Loïc arguing over a pair of capris pants. Loïc hated capris with a passion as they’re not meant for men, only for women, but Julien wanted to try them out. Julien gave up and put them back, not thinking it was worth a long argument.

“Thanks. You’re a sweet helper,” Ben pecked me on the lips, and blushed a little when Adrien came over and saw him doing that to me. He chuckled like it was nothing.

“Prêts?” (Ready, guys?) he looked at us, and we all nodded and headed to the cashier.

“$45.40?” I looked at the price display of the cashier, “But it said $40.”

“Erm…sale taxes…” the girl reminded me.

“Oh!!! That’s right. I forgot you add sale taxes on clothes,” I chuckled, taking out a fifty, “Sorry, I’m American.”

“Oh? Where are you from in the US?” she put the fifty in the register.

“Pennsylvania,” I smiled.

“Nice state. Went camping there last summer. The nature was stunningly beautiful,” she smiled as she gave me my change, “Have a nice day,” she gave me the shopping bag and receipt.

“Merci et bonne journée,” (Thanks and good day) I replied. She smiled again and looked impressed hearing an American answering in French. I love those faces.

Ben put his clothes down at the register and the bill came out as $150. I nearly wanted to cream him, but he waved his mother’s credit card, showing me that it’s on her tab. As for Julien, his stack of clothes nearly hit the $200 mark. Julien brushed off my glare, saying ‘I’m gay’ as an excuse, and stuck out his tongue at me as he swiped his Visa card.

“I have a job that pays $200 per week, so it’s nothing,” Julien added.

We left the store, strolling up and down Ste-Catherine, looking for some place else to shop. I found a maple shack selling…obviously maple products. So I bought a can of maple syrup and a bagful of maple candies, knowing that my mom and my friends would love to try them out. We went back inside Centre Eaton because we had had enough of dealing with the cold and the mushy snow on the sidewalks.

“On doit aller au Chinatown pour manger de la pho,” Loïc told Ben. (We must go to Chinatown to have some pho)

“Hmmm, bonne idée…” Ben nodded. (Good idea…)

We stepped into a restaurant on St-Laurent. I remembered this street being once called the traditional dividing line between the Francophone communities to the east of the island and the Anglophone communities to the west. Immigrants would live around St-Laurent splitting the island into two, and hence the term “The Two Solitudes”. Then Ben footnoted that the division has been becoming less apparent in the past few decades as now it is not unusual for both language communities to live on each side of the island. I snapped out of my thinking. “Bonjour!” A Vietnamese girl greeted, “Bienvenue à My Canh,” she proceeded to seat us and gave us the menu. (Hello! Welcome to My Canh)

“Do you know what pho is?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, a big bowl of soup with herbs, onions, rice noodles, and beef,” I answered, “Remember, my friend Alex is from Vietnam. His mother would always spoil me and my friends with various Vietnamese dishes.”

“Oh right… Sorry, I forgot!” Ben went to look at the menu, which was interesting to read because it was in Chinese, Vietnamese, French, and English.

“The girl came with cups of hot green tea for everyone, and asked if we were ready to order. Adrien, Julien, Ben, and Loïc told her what they wanted.

“Ok…tôi muôn môt dia cha già và môt tô pho bò…” (I would like to have spring rolls and beef pho) I ordered. The girl was very surprised at my Vietnamese.

“Câu nói tiêng Viêt không?!” (Do you speak Vietnamese?!) she asked.

“Not much. I just know how to order the food,” I smiled, “My Vietnamese friend’s mother taught me how.”

“That’s cool… Good job,” she smiled and took our menu.

“The weather should be sunny tomorrow for your test, Ben” Adrien told him.

“Good…and don’t remind me now. I’m nervous enough already,” Ben told Adrien.

“If you pass…I’ll let you take my car and take Steph to Quebec,” Adrien winked at Ben.

“Oh my god, really?” Ben jumped, “Quebec?” Adrien nodded, confirming what he had said.

“Quebec? But we’re already in Quebec…” I was confused.

“Quebec City, doofus…” Ben rolled his eyes.

“Quebec City? That’d be nice. Is it far?” I asked.

“Naw, just two and half hours away,” Ben sipped his green tea.

“When?”

“Oh, the day after Ben passes the test should be good. I need the car after his test for school and work,” Adrien replied.

Julien and Loïc were talking to each other the entire time, not noticing what we were talking about. Then the girl brought our pho and for me, cha gio. Cha gio are like egg rolls, but the pastry is much lighter. Imperial rolls are probably the translation for these. I just dipped it in nuoc mam…fish sauce. Nuoc mam is made from little fishes in barrels of salt left in the hot sun for weeks till it rots into liquid. It smells so badly, but it blends very well in various dishes. Many Vietnamese dishes would never be complete without nuoc mam in the recipe. We all used chopsticks to eat our bowls of pho. The bowls were big and there was enough in them to be considered a real meal.

“Cam on…” I thanked the girl when I paid my check. Only $10, that is quite cheap for a dinner when we don’t want to spend much. She smiled in return.

“Bye-bye…passez une bonne soirée!” (Have a nice evening) she said to all of us.

It was already dark outside as we walked to the metro near Vieux-Port, Place-d’Armes. Adrien said it was better and faster to go straight to the orange line than to go back to Place-des-Arts on the green and change lines at Berri-UQAM. The game was supposed to be a few stations away, at the station ‘Bonaventure’ at some arena called ‘Centre Bell,’ which was surrounded by a few of Montreal’s tallest skyscrapers in the heart of downtown.

“What are we doing?” I asked Ben.

“Going to see the Habs game,” he replied.

“Who are the Habs?” I asked and Ben and Julien gasped.

“I’ll pretend you didn’t ask me that,” Ben glared at me, “The Habs…short for the Canadiens, and it’s a NHL hockey team. It’s also the most successful sports team in North America, winning 14 Stanley Cups since the team’s founding in 1909.”

“The Habs represent Montreal in the same way as the Yankees represent NYC. Montreal is where modern hockey was invented,” Julien got himself involved, “It’s our religion...hockey,” he grinned.

“So you better watch your mouth…insulting the Habs is like committing a grave sin to Mother Quebec,” Ben winked his eyes.

Adrien stopped at the ‘billeterie’ (ticketing) booth, and he rolled his eyes as the lady told him the final price for two tickets. He took out his credit card, and then she gave him the tickets. Giving one to Loïc he slapped the other one on Julien’s chest.

“You owe me for that one…” Adrien smirked at Julien, “Soixante-dix cinq piasses ($75)”

“Moi? Pis pas aussi Loïc?” Julien groaned. (Me and not also Loïc?)

“Oh y’avait déjà payé ses dettes à matin,” Adrien chuckled. (Oh he has already paid his debts this morning)

“Ben, je peux le faire de même… Ça peut s’arranger…” Julien started touching Adrien’s arm. Adrien laughed. (Well, I can do the same as well… That can be arranged)

“Tu rêves! T’es pas autant attirant que Loïc,” Adrien smiled. Julien gasped and looked taken back. Loïc’s face grew red. (Dream on! You’re not as attractive as Loïc)

“Ouch!” Julien covered his heart, wide-mouthed, “Mon coeur est tellement brisé.” (Ouch, my heart is so broken!)

“Ta gueule avant que je change d’avis,” Adrien opened the arena’s door for us, “Sois pas une drama queen, Julien.” (Shut up before I change my mind. Don’t be a drama queen, my dear Julien)

“C’est pas juste, t’sais?” Julien walked in with dignity. (It’s not fair, you know?)

The arena was already crowded with fans buying food before the game starts. We went upstairs to our seats where we had a decent view of the ice.

“I hope they’ll kill Toronto’s ass,” Ben told me, “The Toronto Maple Leafs are our biggest rival since…forever.”

“You hate Toronto?” I asked.

“With a passion,” Ben grinned, “It’s the anus of Canada. You can’t be a true Montrealer if you don’t hate Toronto…not just in hockey.”

“Ok, I’ll take your words for it,” I grinned, “Toronto sucks dicks.”

“That’s the spirit!” Julien cheered, and Ben giggled. Loïc wiggled his eyebrows. Adrien was out getting food and drinks for us.

“Why though?”

“Because, for the past 150 years, Montreal was number one in Canada in terms of population and economy. Then in the 1950s, Toronto passed us and we’re stuck being second. Everyone loves to say Toronto is shit, even many Canadians… just because it’s the center of Canada,” Ben detailed.

“It’s the cancer of Canada,” Julien added.

“Ok! Partagez le popcorn, Julien. Ben v’là tes nachos pis Loïc, ton pretzel. Pis j’ai acheté de la bière pour tous!” Adrien passed out the snacks and beer to us. (Ok! Share your popcorn, Julien. Ben, here’s your nachos and Loïc, your pretzel. And I bought beer for all of us!)

“Erm, will I get drunk?” I asked.

“On one beer?” Adrien stared at me like I asked something stupid, “Of course not… Plus, a vacation in Canada cannot be complete without a good Canadian beer… better than drinking that weak American horsepiss.”

I sipped the beer, and it tasted quite good.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“La Belle Gueule Rousse,” Adrien answered, “Eh, well… ‘Beautiful Mouth – Red.”

“Quiet, the game is starting…” Ben told us as the players flooded the ice while music played.

“Messieurs et Mesdames, je vous présente Montréal Canadiens!” the radio announced, and then switched to English, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you The Montreal Canadiens!”

The Habs were in white jerseys with blue-red ‘C’ and ‘H’ combined into one. The Maple Leafs were in blue jerseys with a white maple leaf logo. The referee held the puck over the center ice, and threw it down. In just ten seconds, the puck changed hands a few times already.

The crowd jeered loudly at the Leafs when they made a goal five minutes into the game. Julien swore a couple no-no words.

“Ah quelle gang de péteux! Sacrez vos camps en Ontario!” (Ah what a bunch of farters. Get your ass back in Ontario!)

Almost twenty minutes into the game, with thirty seconds left on the clock for the first period, the Habs had gotten even by shooting a hard one across the unsuspecting goalie. The whole arena exploded with cheers as the crowd jumped off their seats. The roof could’ve blown up if there was nothing to hold it down from the loud cheering. Goal music played and it was amusing to see the Toronto coach yelling at the goalie for not paying attention. The clock buzzed and the crowd calmed down and some left their seats to go to the bathroom or get some more snacks and beer during the twenty-minute break. Ben and I decided to buy some souvenirs, but when I saw them, I changed my mind because I know they’ll be instant junk in my room. Ben decided to get some poutine, but I passed. I was afraid of eating too much more today.

We got back to our seats just in time for the second period. Frankly, except for a couple of fights, it was just the puck going back and forth with close goal attempts that failed, and Ben and Julien were getting irritated, adding plenty of ‘crisse’ into their colorful expressions that would give an old lady a heart attack.

“Ciboire! Goal, tabarnak!” (Dammit! Goal, goddammit!)

But they didn’t. The game was still tied and now it went into overtime. Ben and Julien’s blood pressure soared to the roof, because if the Leafs score before the Habs, the game would be over automatically. And the whole city would riot for the night for being beaten by a well-hated rival.

“Go! Go! Go! Koivu!” Ben stood up with some other fans, cheering at the famous Habs player from Finland called Saku Koivu, but sat down in fustration when the goalie blocked that one. Ben’s blood pressure probably reached as far as Jupiter by now.

“Allez vous crosser… Score…” (Go jerk yourself...Score…) Ben muttered, and then shot in the air screaming. “Woot! On vient de gagner!” (We just won!) Ben danced with Julien. Loïc and Adrien rolled their eyes and clapped instead. I guessed Ben and Julien were hardcore fans. “Beating Toronto is always our best pleasure,” Ben smiled.

“Yeah…yeah… C’mon, before the metro gets too crowded,” Adrien told us to move so we could leave the arena. We quickly followed Adrien to a pathway to a metro station (‘Lucien-D’Ailler’ this time) where it was just starting to get a little crowded, but the whole arena hadn’t emptied out yet.

We stayed in the train until we were close to stopping at Mont-Royal. Adrien looked and smirked at unsuspecting Loïc.

“Eh bien, bye-bye,” Adrien told Julien and Loïc, and then he pulled Loïc to him planting his lips on his. Our eyes widened and stared at Adrien suddenly making out with Loïc. Loïc looked surprised too, but then closed his eyes to take what he was getting.

“Whoa…” Loïc looked taken away.

“Hey!… Ch’suis jaloux, t’sais?” Julien told Loïc. Adrien got up, looking all happy. (Hey! I’m jealous, you know?)

“Boy sucette…” Ben remarked, which nearly made Adrien want to throw him out of the train.

“Bye-bye!” Adrien waved, “Pis va chier, Ben.” (And fuck you, Ben)

“Ta-ta, à bientôt, Steph! J’espère qu’on se reverra!” (Ta-ta, see you soon! I hope we’ll see each other again!) Julien came to me to give me a classic French cheek-to-cheek kiss. Then Loïc did the same. Ben also did that as well to both.

“Bye!” I waved at them as I got out of the train.

“Jesus, Adrien…” Ben rolled his eyes, commenting on Adrien’s unexpected move, “Pourquoi t’es soudainement devenu fif?” (Why are you gay all of the sudden?)

“C’était rien…” (It was nothing…) Adrien pulled Ben to him, looking like he was about to give him the same kiss he gave to Loïc.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Ben pulled away, “On est des frères, t’sais?” (We’re brothers, you know?) Adrien laughed, and so did I.

“Ouais, on est des frères pis c’est toujours ma job de te niaiser,” (Yeah, we’re brothers and it’s always my job to tease you) Adrien pushed the metro door open to the outside.

We took the usual bus back to the apartment, and we dropped dead on the only couch in the living room. I heard Adrien whooping from the kitchen, where he was reading the mail.

“Que c’est qui se passé?” Ben asked Adrien. (What’s going on?)

“J’ai été accepté à l’Université de Montréal!” (I’ve been accepted to Université de Montréal) Adrien came in to show Ben the acceptance letter. Ben appeared as happy as his brother.

“Félicitations!” (Congrats!) he said while still reading the letter. “Un bac en biologie…bon choix là.” (A bachelor in Biology…good choice)

“Congrats!” I saw the letter, figuring out the obvious purpose.

“”What are you going to do?” Adrien asked me, sitting down between me and Ben.

“Do what?” I looked confused.

“University…” he clarified.

“Oh! I dunno… I haven’t really thought about it yet,” I stuttered.

“You should… you and Ben will have to apply this fall,” Adrien shook his head, folding his letter back into the envelope, “Ben will try to get into McGill. Maybe you should too… it’s a really good school… the best in the country.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it and look it up,” I nodded.

“Ok! I gotta sleep. You should be in bed now as well. Ben’s road test is tomorrow at 10am,” Adrien waved to us, “Bonne nuit!” (Good night!)

After he disappeared into his bedroom, Ben pulled me to his room were we stripped to our undies. We got into bed together, cuddling.

“Je t’aime,” Ben kissed me on the lips, and smiled.