“How long's it been?” Mike asked, as he enjoyed a slice of Pizza from Epic 'Za and for the first time sinc ethe last time I ate any, I thought about asking for a slice.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I held my breath because I was that close to breaking when I hadn't even felt an urge for any in forever. “It will be thirty years on Friday.” I said, as I'd kept track of the date with an app on all the phones that I had had since that fateful day, that followed the other fateful day.
“You never told me why you stopped eating pizza Ben, but then again, you never had to because I figured it out long ago. And far be it for me to criticize anyone's reaction to heartbreak, but why did you stop eating pizza after she broke your heart? You loved pizza for as long as you could remember no?”
I looked at him hard for a second. But as hard as I wanted to look at him, he wasn't wrong. And he was plenty smart and had known me forever so I couldn't fault him for knowing. “Well, I had pizza after that, but even though it was a month later and I'd actually hooked up with the last woman I slept with, that night of pizza was terrible on two fronts.” I sadi, as the memory of that time came flooding back.
“Really? Tell me about it?” He asked, like he'd be okay if I didn't tell him, for which I was grateful.
“I suppose I can do it after almost thirty years.” I said, even though any time that I had thought about her and those heady days, I got sad because she was the one who got away.
He made a thoughtful face. “If you want to of course, I wouldn't want to make you miserable because it's probably something you don't want to talk about.”
“You're right, I don't, but after thirty years of dreaming about her every night, it's long past time that I did.”
“Wow, you dream of her every night even after all these years?” He said shaking his head and sounding incredulous, even though he'd known me long enough to know that that was not out of the question.
“Yeah, I do and it's a wonder that I was able to hook up with Carol even a year later, let alone the month that I actually did because what was a month of droughtime when I'd gone without it since too damn long.” I said, not wanting to tell him that length even though it paled in comparison to this one.
“Wait, did you stop eating pizza the same time as you last...” He said, unable to bring himself to say the word.
“Yep, the same damn night Mike. In fact it was my reaction to Pixzza that cost me my relationship with Carol because that was what she ordered after I told her to surprise me, which five weeks earlier would have been a pleasnat surprise, but was one then that left me with a face that she took as the first bad step.”
“She thought you were criticizing her choice? Like what kind of jerk questions the ordering of Pizza after sex?” He said, with a shake of the head because it seemed like a funny reaction to him. And I could hardly disagree.
“I don't, maybe. I didn't ask. But I can't faut her for her throwing me out when I straight up emptied my stomach on her favourite rug without even eating a single slice and not having had anything to eat for hours.”
“That's gross Ben.” Mike said, making a face as he stuck out his tongue and made a face like he was going to empty his stomach too, which would have been another overreaction.
“I know, I don't blame her. Not for throwing me out, but for ending things there and then? I thought that was an overreaction.” I said, still holding onto those feelings thirty years later.
“You said so yourself that it was a hookup, so why should you think it was an overreaction? I mean, you've never been the hot guy and her not wanting anything more to do with you after you heaved all over her favourite rug makes perfect sense to me.”
I wanted to argue with him because I still thought that it was an overreaction but he was fair. “So you're telling me if you'd been with a hot woman who'd been sick all over your favourite rug that you'd have wanted nothign more tom do with her ever again?”I asked, thinking there was no way that he would say yes.
“Well no, but I'm a man and even if she'd been all about sharing all the details of her life including the things we don't want to think about, I would have still wanted her. But I'm also a man and very little stops us.”He said, as he finished the second slice and looked back at me as I had the look of want of pizza in my eyes.
“Yeah, I knew you'd say that.”I said as I continued looking at the pizza, wanting and not wanting it at the same time.
“I'd offer you a slice but with your pizza free diet reaching thirty years on Friday, I can't do that in good conscince.”he said as he slammed the box shut and took it off the table and put it in the fridge.
“Yeah, that's for the best, because thirty years is a long time and I'd hate to let that record fall just days before it became official.”I said with a heavy sigh following the words.
“I assume the same holds true for setting you up with someone? I have a friend of a friend of a friend who'd like to go out with you on Saturday, that's after the 30 years mark, because seriously, you have get out there again. She was not the one. I get that had a thing for her, but surely it didn't last long enough to mean that much to you that you wouldn't pursue anyone for this long?” He said, incredulous that I had gone without it for so long. And willingly at that.
“Definitely.”
“Why Ben? You'd finally made something of yourself after too many years of stupid that dating should have been something you could find some success at. Wasn't that your biggest problem before? You weren't in a good place but now you were?”He said, shaking his head almost like he was angry.
Taken aback, I looked at him, concerned for the very first time about my friend Mike. “Why so angry, it was my choice to not date anyone after the hookup, so don't cry for me or anything.”I said, hoping that he'd calm the heck down becuase there was no need for a reaction like this.
“Damn you Ben! Why can't you go out with my friend of a friend? She's cute and we live so long now thanks to the Biunrnians that 78 is not the same now as it was then.
“You got another thirty years of just past your prime sex to enjoy why don't you just agree to go out with her?” he said, as he stood up and slammed his fist down on the table, angrier than I'd ever seen him before. Sacrily in fact.
“What the hell Mike. Is this why you called me? You wanted me to date some woman that I'd never met before? Why would you do that?” I asked as I stood up myself and galred at him across the table.
“Dammit Ben, you have to reconsider! I need you to date this friend of a friend. I'm begging you, please say you will.” he said, sounding deranged.
“No, I won't. I'm happy being alone Mike. And thirty years ago, that was the last thing that I thought would be the case.”I said as I stepped away from the table and knew that I had to leave Mike to his breakdown, or whatever it was because this was no longer something I wanted to deal with. We had professionals for things like this and that was what I was going to do. I pulled out my phone and began to dial.
It was then that he knocked me flying, sending the phone skittering across the floor. “Don't please, let me explain Ben, my friend of a friend is Biurnian and she wants very much to date you. You should do this for me because I;ve been a friend for so long.” He screamed at me, which was something that he never would have done, ever. It wasn't Mike. I clambered to my feet and readied myself for a fight, which was something I'd also thought I was past doing. But sex wasn't the only thing that we could do at an older age. We could also fight. And I was ready to fight now. I just never thought that it would be something in the form of my oldest friend.
“You want to fight me Ben, or should I say NightLong? Yes, we know who you are, which is why my friend of a friend wanted to be with you, she wanted to steal your power. But you were too resolved to the path of oneness, which is an anthema to us.”He said. Standing up and readying to fight me, which the real Mike had also never wanted to do. And not just because I would have whupped him with ease, but because that wasn't who he was.
“Since you know who I am, you have to know that I am going to beat you and it's not going to feel good.” I said, relishing it as I transformed into NightLong, a thing of the Night. “And you should know, Biurnian replicyt, that doing this is the worst thing that you could have done, next to what my KiRaedian ex did.” I said, expressing my hurt over the darkness of the dreams that she had had me dream while I was dating Carol. And the whole not letting me be for thirty years thing. Who did that to someone thy'd cared about, even if it was only for a time as short as she had for me.
“A KiRaedian? No, you never said that she was a KiRaedian.” He said, like I'd just sifned his death certificat with that simple admission of truth.
I never knew you before tonight and it annoys me that you fooled me for as long as you did. I should have known you were a fake the moment that I met you, you Replicyt, but I didn't, so that's only going to make the punches hurt all the more because I'm going to hit you that much harder.” I said, looking forward to my return to heroing for the first time in 15 years.”
“Curse you NightLong why did it have to be a KiRaedian? Now the Biurnian will never date you and that makes me unneeded.”He said as he charged at me and leapt, screaming as he did.
And I understood why as he reached me and burst into flames. The Biurnians were cold. Almost as cold as the Kiraedians. Though that was hardly the fairest of statements. I'd only met one, who just so happened to break my heart. And even if I'd met a hundred, that wouldn't be enough to say they were a certain way. Not when we so little of them. But silly me, I though I knew enough to know about my KiRaedian to think that we might have more time together. Fine, I'd thought she was the one, that I could have won her forever heart, but I couldn't even hold onto it for ten days.
But the Biurnians had made a terrible mistake taking my friend to use his friendship to trick me into dating someone who was just going to steal from me. They were going to pay for that.
I clenched my fist and stared at it, wondering if I could still access the DarkLight because if I was going to be the best version of NightLong, I needed the DarkLight. What if it had been too long and I'd lost it?
I stared and stared at my hand, clenched into the tightest of tight fists, as the anger flowed through me as I couldn't help but think of what my KiRaedian had put me through with the dreams for the past thirty years. But the DarkLight was not coming. It had been too long.
Still, I had to save Mike. DarkLight or no DarkLight. It was just going to be that much tougher to save him without it.