Toxic Bachelors полностью

They met at a steak restaurant downtown, which was one of their favorite haunts, and Adam got there first. The other two walked in just behind him, and he could see that Gray had put on weight. Not a lot, but just enough to look fuller in the face. He said that he and Sylvia were cooking together a lot, and he looked happier than ever. They had been dating for two months, and known each other for three. As far as he was concerned, he said there were no red flags yet. His two cohorts were happy for him, but thought it was still early days. Gray said they never argued, and were happy with each other. He no longer stayed at his studio, but spent every night with her. But he still insisted that he wasn't living with her officially. Just “staying” with her. The semantics seemed like splitting hairs to Adam and Charlie, but apparently it made Gray feel better than saying they were living together.

“What about you?” Adam questioned Charlie somewhat querulously. “Where the hell have you been all month?”

“I've been out a lot,” Charlie said cryptically, as Gray grinned. Charlie had admitted to him a few days before that he had taken his advice and was seeing Carole Parker. Nothing major had happened yet, but they were having dinner a lot, and getting to know each other. They were seeing each other several times a week, but so far he hadn't even kissed her. They were moving slowly, and Charlie readily admitted that they were both scared to death of getting hurt.

Adam had seen the conspiratorial look on Gray's face, and forced Charlie to tell him too.

“Christ, you two, what's happening to you? Gray's practically living with Sylvia, or is living with her, but doesn't want to admit it to himself, and you sound like you're about to go over the hill too. Talk about traitors to the bachelors' code of ethics.” He complained goodnaturedly, but he was happy for both his friends. They had both wanted to find someone, and were long overdue. He wasn't as sure about himself. His relationship with Maggie seemed to be steadily on track, but was destined to go nowhere, as they had agreed from the first. They were just dating and maintaining separate lives and doing whatever they wanted whenever they weren't together. But when they were, she was one hot mama, and he loved being with her. He could never seem to get enough of her, and was occasionally even irritated by her independent spirit. That had never happened to him before. He was always the independent one in his relationships, but Maggie was more so. She seemed to need a lot of time to herself, which he always wanted too, but not with her.

“What about you?” Charlie asked Adam pointedly over dessert. “You've been awfully quiet about what you've been up to. Seeing anyone? Or just the lucky hundred, as usual?” Adam went out with more women than Charlie had ever counted. Preferably at the same time.

“I've been seeing someone for about a month,” Adam said casually. “It's no big deal. We agreed not to get serious. She knows I don't want to get married.”

“What about her? Is her clock ticking yet?” Charlie asked with interest, and Adam shook his head.

“She's too young to have a clock. That's the advantage of young ones.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Gray said, rolling his eyes, “tell me she's not fourteen. You're going to wind up in jail one of these days if you don't watch out.” They loved teasing him about the young women he went out with. Adam always said it was mostly envy on their part.

“Relax, guys, she's twenty-six, and a really nice person, with a totally great body.” And a great mind, which he didn't bother to list, or they'd know he had totally lost it, which he was beginning to fear he had. When he was falling in love with a woman's mind, he knew he was in deep shit. In truth, they all were, but none of them were ready to admit it to each other, or themselves. And none of their relationships had stood the test of time yet. They hadn't survived first arguments, or the ordinary disappointments that happened to everyone. They were still up to their ears in the novelty and the fun. What happened after that remained to be seen.

The three men sat around until after midnight, talking and drinking and enjoying one another's company. They had missed each other in the past month, and hadn't even known it. They were so busy doing other things, and spending time with the women they were involved with, that they hadn't realized how vital a part of each other's lives they were, and how vast a void it left when they didn't see each other. They promised to get together more often. And in the meantime they reveled in talking politics, money, investments, art, in honor of Gray's new gallery thanks to Sylvia, and their respective occupations. Adam had added two new major clients, and Charlie was pleased with the progress at the foundation. They left the restaurant reluctantly, and were the last to leave.