An Island

And we really did talk and talked and laughed. And we never fought. I found out lots about him that I didn't even have a clue. I confessed to him all the reasons I was still single and all the horrible dating experiences I had had. Soon enough, it was morning.

"I think the reason you've fought with me all these years is because you like me so much."

"And why have you fought with me so much?"

"Because I've completely adored you from the moment I first saw you, and I knew you would never date me."

"Oh that's complete bullshit. The first time I met you, you were puking your guts up in Lee's bathroom."

"So maybe it was from the first moment I saw you when I was sober..." He was still laughing when he kissed me. We had been lying in the bed since we had gotten to my place. "Let's go on a date."

"A date? I've known you for nearly six years."

"If you're going to be my girlfriend, you are going to have to go on at least one date with me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said anything about a relationship?"

"Relax. Next week I'm leaving for Africa. I'm staying 3 months for doctors without borders. That's plenty of time to work out your commitment issues."

"What if I don't want to date you?"

"Well then you will plenty of time to be a spinster."

"Fuck you."

"Are you offering? Because I thought you only wanted to talk."

"I'm tired of talking."

Mac took the hint. After we had "made love" as we were calling it now, Mac gave me his ultimatum. "So here's the catch. You have to come to the pub with me Friday."

"Well okay. That's not a big deal."

"Let me finish. You have to come as my girlfriend."

"I can't get out of it can I?"

"You either come as my girlfriend or we're over. No more fighting and no more sex."

"Deal."

"You do realize that doesn't mean that you just come as my girlfriend, you actually have to be my girlfriend."

"Yes Mac. I understand."

"So how does it feel not to be single for the first time ever?"

"It feels exactly the same. Exactly."

"Maybe it's because you've been with me this whole time."

"Or because I've had a boyfriend for less than a minute."

"I know what would make it seem more real."

"What?"

"Let's change our relationship status on facebook."

I laughed hysterically. "You are 34 years old and the first thing you want to do is change your facebook?"

"Uh yeah. Oh come on, guys call you the 'island' because you are always alone. I want my duly earned bragging rights."

"You're an idiot." I slipped on his discarded t-shirt and went to find my laptop. I came back with it and got into bed.

"You can take that off," he tugged on my shirt.

"Now that we are dating it's not all about sex."

"It will always be about sex. Always. If you hadn't been so eager to lose it then we would have never gotten together you know." He had a point but the shirt stayed on. He pulled me into his lap so he could see the laptop too. We both changed our relationship statuses to say that we were in a relationship with each other.

"How long you think it will take for someone to call?"

"As soon as Lora sees it, she will call." About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Mac and I couldn't sleep so we were watching a movie. "Expecting someone?"

"Nope." I put on some pants and went to the door. It was Lora. "Hey. What in the world are you doing here?"

"Please tell me someone has hacked onto your facebook."

"Oh. Umm, no."

"You are dating Mac? Of all people? How long has this been going on?"

"Almost five years, actually." A fully clothed Mac had appeared in the living room.

"You have been dating each other for five years?"

"Umm well. We have been sleeping together for five years. I think we've only been dating about twenty minutes."

"You have been fucking my best friend for five years?" She yelled at Mac.

"Hey now. Last time I checked Lora, it takes two to tango."

"Did he sleep over last night?"

"If you are asking if we had sex after we left the bar, then yes." Mac laughed.

"But...but...he always brings the floozies. Even last night."

"Yeah. He brings them to make me jealous."I finally spoke up. He never said that but, well, I just assumed. And the smile on his face confirmed my suspicions.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say? Oh by the way, Mac and I hook up all the time but it's only about the sex..."

"Well I mean, you're my best friend. Best friends tell each other that kind of stuff. I didn't even know that you'd had sex."

"I'm gonna go. Call me later." Mac kissed my cheek and practically ran out the door.

"Did Lee know about this?"

"He caught us kissing last night."

"That's the first he knew about it? He didn't mention anything to me."

"Yeah. He said he wouldn't tell you if I would."

"Oh. Why Mac? I mean you two have nothing in common. He sleeps with sluts all the time and you're practically a virgin."

"Sleeping with only one guy hardly makes me a virgin. And Mac hasn't slept with anyone besides me in the past 2 years."

"No way. How do you know that?"

"He told me."

"And you believe him. What about all the different girls he's brought to the pub on Fridays?"

"We've gone home together every Friday."

"How could no one have caught on?"

"It wasn't like we were secretly dating or something."

"I guess. Do you love him?"

"Mac? I honestly don't know what is going on. I never even imagined dating him until last night. All hell broke loose when Lee caught us. We talked all night. And we decided to try dating."

"I guess he didn't tell you he's leaving next week."

"He told me. It's fine."

"Okay well, we aren't done talking about this. Clearly you have been up all night so I'm going to let you get some sleep. You better call me later."

After that I just crashed. What had I done? Mac? I usually could barely stand him. How did we get along so well last night? Why did I agree to date him? I must have been asleep for hours when I heard someone knocking at the door. I sleepily walked, well stumbled, to the door. It was Mac.