It was my senior year in college. It was spring and we were blowing off some steam. I only had a few weeks of school left and I had already landed an amazing job that I would start at the end of June.
I was a fashion design student at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. And in a few months I'd be starting a paid internship at a fashion house in LA, working with some of the best drapers in the business.
My best friend Chanel had insisted we go to some bar to see a band play tonight. I was tired from the long school year, but I'd humor her. There was a hot guy in the band that she was into, so I was going to be the best gay bestie and wingman for her tonight.
My boyfriend Mario didn't want to come with us, so I was only here to support Chanel. We were on the list at the door and got in immediately. It was starting to get crowded and the band was supposed to go on in about a half hour. I grabbed us some Claws to start the night.
Felix, the guy from the band that Chanel was into, came and hung out with us for a few minutes before the show. He was hot, I understood why Chanel was so into this guy. Felix was gorgeous and the singer in a popular local band. The band was recently signed, but they were still playing clubs, so I'm not sure how legit it all was. Clubs and concerts weren't my usual idea of fun.
Chanel was heading to St. Louis after graduation for a job, so I would brave the club to hang out with her before she moved away. We'd grown close over the past few years. She had introduced me to Mario.
I had met Chanel halfway through our freshman year. We both worked part time in the campus bookstore. We were in totally different programs of study at school, so we probably wouldn't have met if we hadn't both worked there. We clicked right away and started hanging together immediately.
She always had a boyfriend, lots of different, consecutive boyfriends. She wanted us to double date so she introduced me to Mario, who was in her study group. We went on a few dates and eventually we got serious around the beginning of sophomore year.
Lately, Mario never wanted to go out and he seemed distant. My initial reaction was to be upset but I quickly realized, I didn't miss him that much. But with graduation so close and a new job looming, I just went with the flow and stayed with him. It was boring, but it was consistent and easy.
I had asked Mario to come to the club tonight even though I knew he'd say no before I even asked. He said no. So I was going to have fun with Chanel and help her land Felix, not that she needed much help.
The band was pretty good and Felix sang every song right to Chanel. She was floating during the whole show. Afterwards we got to go backstage and hang out with the guys. Chanel immediately abandoned me for Felix, which I had expected. I grabbed a beer and stood against the wall with some other hangers-on and crew.
"Did you catch the show tonight?" Someone said near my ear.
I looked around and saw a tall, good looking guy leaning next to me. I nodded to indicate I'd seen the show.
"What did you think?" He asked.
"It was good. Not really my thing. I'm here for my friend." I pointed to the couch where Felix was holding court with a smiling Chanel in his lap.
"She doesn't seem to need you." It seemed like he was going to say more, but then didn't.
"Well, she's good for now, but I'm not abandoning a girl, at a club, with a guy she doesn't know that well." I kind of snapped at him.
"Sorry, that's not what I meant. Besides, Felix is a good guy. She's safe." He took a drink from his red cup.
"You know Felix?"
"You saw the show, right?" He asked me kind of sarcastically.
"Yeah, I just said that." I replied.
He laughed. "It really must not be your thing. I was standing right next to Felix on stage, all night." He mimed playing a guitar.
"Sorry. You look different back here in regular light instead of the bright flashing lights on stage." I didn't recognize him at all. I realized I hadn't really paid much attention to the show.
"I'm doing a handful of shows with them while the usual lead guitarist is out for shoulder surgery. I'm Toby." He offered his hand for me to shake.
"Hey, I'm Oliver. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand. I made sure to seem casual. I'm not looking to lead anyone on. I'm dating Mario and I'm not looking for anything else right now.
"How do you and Chanel know each other?"
What was with this guy and the small talk? It was kind of loud back here and I'm not interested. I wish I could leave. Maybe it's time to check in with my girl.
I somehow eradicated myself from that uncomfortable conversation and got Chanel's attention. We decided to head out shortly after. Felix had some industry guys to entertain. We left so he could do just that.
A few weeks later Chanel begged me to go to a big house party in the hills with her so she could see Felix again. They had been hanging out but he was always busy, so she still didn't feel comfortable just going to hang out with him without a buddy along.
An industry party in the hills would be fashionable compared to the show at the club, so I was much more interested in this event. I agreed to go. I invited Mario. He said no. In the Uber to the party, Chanel went off about me dumpling Mario, again.
"You're the one that introduced us." I reminded her, knowing it would change nothing. She went on saying that she never thought we'd date for close to three years. That he was boring and he made me boring. I had heard it all before.
It was true. Both Mario and I were boring. Our relationship coasted along. It was easy and boring. Neither of us gave much effort and neither of us cared to. But with school and everything on my plate, I didn't care to look and I didn't want to be single either.
At the party, I got a flute of champagne and found a spot on the balcony to lean and watch the sunset over the ocean.
"Are you here for Chanel again?" A familiar voice said beside me.
"Yeah. Toby, right?" I looked up at him. I hadn't even thought about the fact he might be here.
"Yes, you remembered. And you're Oliver, right?" He smiled a huge smile. Tonight, in the relative cool and quiet of this balcony, he looked different. He wasn't sweaty from rocking out and he had on a hot outfit. His pants were so tight, I could practically make out every detail of his huge dick. Jesus.
"Yes, that's me, Chanel's wingman." I smiled and looked back out at the water to avoid ogling his giant cock.
"Oh hey, this is my boyfriend, Simon." He said and pointed to a thin guy that was walking over to us. I was equally relieved and disappointed that he had a boyfriend. It felt strange.
"Nice to meet you Simon, I'm Oliver." I shook his hand. His hand was limp and clammy. He was very prissy looking and he clearly wanted to mark his territory because he nearly sucked Toby's tongue down his throat right after we shook hands. I quickly made my excuses and went into the house.
Chanel ended up dating Felix for a few months until we graduated and she left for Missouri. I had hung out with her and the band a handful of times and I'd met the actual lead guitarist at the last party I went to with Chanel before we went our separate ways. Toby hadn't been there and I was kind of sad about it, surprisingly.
Chanel left and Mario and I really started to drift apart. I realized we'd already been this far apart but without my friend by my side, keeping me busy, it became too obvious to ignore. We didn't break up exactly. We just stopped being together and neither of us cared enough to break it off. It was just over.
I started the new job, which was the breath of fresh air I needed. I made friends with a bunch of my coworkers, but my favorite was Ruby, by far. Ruby was non-binary and I loved them. They were fun and vivacious and desperately fashionable. I wanted to be Ruby.
Ruby took me to much better clubs than Chanel had, but Ruby was an LA local with a monied background. It made sense that we rolled like sparkly ballers now. We got comped and drank for free everywhere we went.
We got to go to a music award show afterparty that was so star studded, I was trying not to fashion queen out every five minutes. While I was in the gift bag room, I ran into Toby and Simon. First of all, yes, there is a room just for you to go and collect your swag bag. I've never felt so LA in my life.
Simon was drunk and he wanted to be belligerent but he was too sloppy to actually pull it off. Toby seemed genuinely happy to see me which made my sexy bits tingle.
After the afterparty, Toby put drunk-ass Simon in an Uber and sent him home. Ruby left the party with a "sexy someone" that I'm almost sure was Jared Leto. Toby and I went to get breakfast at a local diner as it was nearly four in the morning.
I found out that Toby was a studio musician. He worked for several huge producers and he had played on tons of incredible projects. He was the same age as me, twenty two. We were both working in our dream career fields and we were both artists, in our own ways. Toby could play nearly every instrument and he was impressed with my portfolio I showed him on my phone.
I felt butterflies and sparks all night, but he was with Simon, so I didn't act on it. At the end of the night he looked like he wanted to kiss me, but he was ever the gentleman. He rode in the Uber with me, as it dropped me off at my place. We had exchanged numbers and promised to hang out again sometime.
Life got busy after that and I was working all the time. Ruby was now dating a model and they were always off with him, traveling to exotic photoshoots and locations. I texted with Toby occasionally, but we never found time to hang out.
