Only I, Adam thought to himself, could have this kind of birthday party.
He sat in the male dressing room, back against the lockers, watching with barely concealed laughter the events taking place in front of him. Jessica Miller, one of the few woman wrestlers in the federation, drew closer, pushing her breasts up all with a straight face. She poked her lips out into an exaggerated pout.
"Happy birthday, Mr. Wrestler," she started in a breathy, husky voice. "Happy birthday Mr. Wrestler." By that point she had made it close enough to thread her fingers through his hair. "Happy birthday, Mr. Wrestler . . . happy birthday to you." Suddenly, a fellow wrestler placed a whirling fan on the floor directly beneath her, making her white dress billow up around her.
Adam shook his head but applauded anyway. "Somehow, I don't remember Marilyn Monroe being that muscular."
"Gah!" Jessica yelped when the huge brown cotton ball she'd taped to her cheek blew off and rolled across the floor. "Well, damn. I guess I'll be Madelyn Monroe now or something."
"You're all freaking nuts."
"Oh, lighten up, Adam. We had to celebrate. Just don't take it personally that I drew the line at jumping out of a cake."
Adam offered a broad grin in return, tugging Jessica closer so he could plant a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Well, thanks anyway."
"No problem, kiddo," she shrugged, knowing it frustrated him whenever she hinted at her six-year seniority status. "I gotta go, but have a great one. And gimme a call if you ever need entertainment for a bachelor's party."
"Will you jump out of the cake?"
Jessica paused in the doorway, a faint smirk parting her lips. "You introduce me to Benjamin Franklin and all his dead green friends and we'll talk." She winked and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Later, kid."
The rest of the locker room offered their well wishes, some accompanied by a pat on the shoulder or a ruffling of hair, as they filed out the door. That left him and Jay - the evil brat whose twisted mind probably gave birth to this mess in the first place.
Adam snuck from his spot on the bench to a side bathroom, peering inside to see Jay rifling through a duffel bag and mumbling to himself. Making sure he kept as quiet as he could, he made it undetected right behind his friend. Jay never had time to react before he found himself being put into a loose sleeper hold.
"Alright, punk. This was your idea, wasn't it?"
Jay closed his eyes, willing himself to just sink right through the floor. Try as he might to come up with a good answer, all he could focus on was how good the arms around his neck felt. Giving into a moment of weakness, he went slack enough to force Adam to support his weight unconsciously. Even through his heavy leather jacket Jay could feel slight muscles against his back. It was a far cry from the lanky, skinny kid he'd grown up with. The weakness spread, making him pick up the smell of soap and fresh cologne, with the barest scent of sweat underneath it all. It was an odd but intoxicating mixture so very much Adam it nearly made Jay want to break down sobbing.
"It was Jessie's idea," he finally replied once his brain started functioning properly again. For a second, Jay foolishly let himself believe he would make it out of this alive. That was until he looked up and met the reflection in the mirror. Adam was . . . oh, ferchrissakes, he was *trying* to drive him insane. Having been assaulted by the birthday party crew from Hell almost as soon as he'd left the shower, he really hadn't been given a chance to dress properly. The result was him being shirtless and wearing a pair of faded blue jeans that had to be cutting off at least a third of his oxygen supply. Jay mused silently how many states outlawed jeans like that.
Keep your eyes above the belt, Jay practically screamed at himself. I don't care if he *is* the second coming of Adonis, he is not a sex toy to be gawked senselessly at. Well, okay, he is, just don't do it and be so obvious about it.
Thankfully, Adam let his friend go before Jay could spontaneously combust and become a pile of smouldering ashes on the ground. He wasn't quite finished yet, though, as he flashed that infuriatingly beautiful smile. "I'm gonna head on out to the car. Don't take all night, huh?"
Unable to make his mouth form anything remotely intelligible, Jay settled for a simple nod. He watched through the mirror as Adam disappeared out the door. Much as he hated himself for it, the image of his backside and those tight jeans was indelibly branded into his mind. That tore it. Jay knew without a doubt that he was going to burn in Hell for all of this. He could take a bit of solace in the knowledge that at least he would have some pleasant memories to keep him company.
A violent inner struggle was fought before he made himself go out of the arena to the parking lot. Adam sat on the hood, head tilted back and a grotesquely large sucker in his mouth. Jay swore sharply under his breath, deciding God and Satan were both bitter feminists whose only joy was to make him miserable.
Suddenly aware of Jay's presence, Adam turned and smiled sheepishly. "Forgot you had the keys. But look - I found Andromeda. Pretty cool star stuff goin' on out here, Jay." He waggled his eyebrows in feigned excitement. "Better go get your binoculars!"
"Anyone tell you lately what an insufferable asshole you are?" Jay groused as he tossed his bag into the back seat. "Sure, let's all mock astronomy-boy. Remind me to throw you into a black hole next time the opportunity presents itself."
"You'd miss me," Adam teased, sliding off the hood and getting into the passenger seat.
"Yeah," Jay offered without protest. It was enough to make Adam stop in bewilderment.
"I . . . uh, wasn't expecting that," he admitted once they were out on the road. Jay shrugged carelessly.
"Sorry."
So ended that particular conversation.
Not knowing what else to say, Adam dug around in the glove compartment to find a folded map. The street lamps overhead provided a little light with which he could trace a tentative route. Jay never was one for maps to begin with, so the odds of him actually deciding on a certain path were already shot. Still, it gave Adam a chance to do something besides dwell too much on his friend's odd comments.
"Next show's in Milwaukee, right?"
"Yeah."
"You should be able to get there faster if you take that on-ramp."
"What on-ramp?"
". . .the one you just passed."
"Whoops."
Adam sighed and tossed the map into the backseat. "So much for that idea."
"Oh well. I've got other plans anyway." Jay glanced to his right and let out some sort of snort-laugh hybrid. "Get rid of that sucker. You look like a damned chipmunk."
"Jeez! You shoot down my driving advice, you insult me . . . incase you hadn't noticed, this is supposed to be my birthday here!"
Though driven to the breaking point and not being careful to watch himself, Jay still restrained himself from beating his head against the steering wheel. "Okay, fine. Would you rather I tell you you're gorgeous and I've got half the mind to pull over, hold you down, and have my way with you?"
Adam blinked in surprise. "Er . . . y'know, I really wasn't expecting that one either."
A stifling silence filled the car, giving Jay time to consider whether or not he should just plow the car headfirst into a tree. Had he really just said that? Why wasn't Adam saying anything? Oh, great. Life was coming to a crashing halt.
"Uh . . . Jase? Care to let me know where we're going?"
Was he trying to change the subject? Was he honestly curious? Jay bit his lip before a whimper could escape. At long last he pulled into a small motel, fished a pair of keys from his pocket, then tossed them to Adam.
"What'm I supposed to do with these?"
"See, you turn this one around put it in the door -"
"Funny. What's this all about?"
Jay didn't answer, only left the car and started walking to the motel room door. Adam, a few seconds afterwards, got the hint and followed suit. The door gave way under the key's manipulation and swung open to reveal an unspectacular motel room. Adam stepped cautiously inside, half-expecting someone to jump from the shadows and give him a heart attack. All he received for his paranoid thoughts was Jay turning the overhead light on. Dull light flooded the room, casting a yellow glow on the few items in the tiny area: a three-drawer dresser, a night stand with a telephone on top that probably didn't work, a lamp, and a relatively small bed.
"Whoa."
Adam turned when he heard the door close. Jay stood leaning against it, arms folded over his chest and a satisfied grin on his face. "Happy birthday."
"You mean . . .how'd you pay for this?"
Jay shrugged, sending his gaze to the ground; it couldn't be coincidence Adam had paired the air-impairing jeans with an equally tight black muscle shirt. "Same way we pay for everything - I sold some stuff."
"What kinda stuff?"
"Don't worry about it."
Deciding to take the advice, Adam did a flying leap onto the bed. A look of pure ecstasy came over him, enough to make him give a gleeful squeal. "Oh, Christ. Jay, it's a real bed! C'mere, man, you gotta try this thing out!"
Jay shook his head, walking to the side of the bed. "Nah. It's your birthday, remember?"
"Only for about five more minutes," Adam pointed out with a nod to the desk clock. "But what'd you sell?"
"Yo mama," Jay answered without missing a beat, rolling his eyes accordingly.
"Oh, I *know* you didn't just dis my mama, yo."
"So totally. Word." Jay paused, brow furrowing. "Heh. We should make a gimmick from that."
"Yeah. That'd rule," Adam agreed. "But seriously - what'd you sell?"
"You're not gonna leave me alone until I tell, are you?"
"Nope."
Jay sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Relentless little shit . .. My binoculars and a couple CDs."
"Aw man, Jay, you really shouldn't've done that."
"It's no big deal."
"No, we could have used that money! Do you have any idea what a long drive it is from here to Milwaukee?"
Jay's jaw fell slack, providing enough of a distraction for Adam to bridge the distance between them, grab Jay's shirt collar, and unceremoniously yank him into bed beside him.
"What the hell -!"
"It's not my birthday anymore," Adam explained with a broad grin. "And I was only kidding about the money thing. This is great and I love it, but you still shouldn't have spent all this on me."
Jay, to his credit, never once gave into the tempting urge to look over at Adam's feline-like graceful body, all smooth muscle outlined in close detail. That was probably due to the fact he kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling overhead. Unfortunately, even the water spots seemed erotic and perverse to him. He could almost hear God laughing at him.
"Eh, whatever. I figured it'd quit your whining about the car for a while and shut your mouth." He conveniently left out the fact he could easily think of several other ways to shut Adam's mouth. Since he refused to blurt that out, a somewhat tense silence followed, broken only when Adam yawned.
"You know, I'm not making you take the floor. I'll split the bed with you."
Oh, that's great, Jay thought. Adonis - completely *straight* Adonis - wants to sleep with me.
"Ah, that's okay. I think this things's really only big enough for one of us." Unless we sleep one on top of the other, in which case I would melt right through the bed and leave a nasty stain on the floor. "And why are you staring at me?"
"Just wondering how I got such a good friend."
If he wasn't busy trying to focus on the light in a half-hearted attempt to blind himself, Jay would have laughed. He settled for a snort instead. "Oh, jeez. What Hallmark card did you rip that off of?"
Adam grinned impishly. "That *was* pretty corny, wasn't it?" Not given a reply, he rolled onto his side, making Jay more than a little uncomfortable by staring. "Actually, I was wondering about what you said earlier."
"I said lots of things."
Adam's cheeks filled with a faintly rose color. "About you . . . uh, having your way with me."
Jay groaned and cursed every deity that came to mind. So this was how the world ended: not with a bang or a whimper, but lying in a motel bed beside the best friend you had all but told you wanted to ravage. "It was a joke, Adam, I -"
He might have apologized had he been given a chance to finish and Adam hadn't pulled him closer and pressed their mouths together. It was such a timid, innocent kiss it was almost laughable. The only problem with laughing was that Jay wasn't entirely sure there was even any air at all in his lungs.
The kiss ended nearly as suddenly as it began, and Jay had to blink several times to gain his bearings. Now if only the damned inconsiderate walls would stop spinning . . .
He looked up to see Adam's green eyes widened to almost comical proportions, looking very much like the proverbial deer in headlights. He held his breath in tense anticipation of how Jay would react. In all honesty, he probably would have toyed with Adam for a while, but the truth then was that he was just as stunned and uncertain of what to do next.
"I wasn't expecting that," he announced finally, mimicking Adam's earlier comments.
"Look, I - I'm sorry if I shouldn't have-"
"You should've," Jay interrupted, closing the gap between them and initiating a kiss of his own. He was amused when Adam made a tiny noise that should have come from a stunned animal. Encouraged by the reaction, he reached out to touch tongue to lips in search of an entrance. As if they no longer obeyed his brain, his hands moved up and over the shirt, making a note to get rid of it as soon as possible. Moments later they came to rest on either side of Adam's face, thumbs stroking the jawbones. They were much too prominent, even for Adam's naturally bony figure, evidence of the toll road life had taken on him when he gave up his own chances at meals so that Jay could eat. The poignant realization twisted something inside Jay; he parted Adam's lips, drawing the other man's own tongue into his mouth and suckling gently. The reward was something of an electric shock through Adam. The next thing Jay knew, he was on his back with Adam's dead weight pressing down on him.
The kiss ended after what seemed a lifetime, and Jay forced his eyes open. He was greeted by a sweet, seductive smile he'd never seen, Adam's green eyes glimmering mischievously and his hair falling down on either side of his friend's head.
In short, it was enough to make Jay grin deliriously in a way accomplished only by the insane and someone in love.
Adam bent, pressing his nose against Jay's so that their mouths were just barely apart. "Now do you wanna split the bed?"
Jay never verbally answered, only linked his arms around Adam's neck and pulled him closer. And, in the end, that was answer enough.
It's leavin' time again.
I'm headed out with all my friends.
It's a roll of the dice.
I've never thought twice about the way I've been spending my time,
Trying my guts out for every dime.
Working in an office building tall,
Don't know who's next to you at all.
But being out here,
The blood, the guts, the beer is a test
Only time will tell.
Brings you close, man,
Closer than Hell.
We're leaving, we're leaving again.
Can't recall where all we've been.
Guess we'll just go,
Go till we're too old
Or we run out of road.
The other day I talked to Lou -
He quit back in '92.
Says he misses it bad...
Those were the best times we ever had.
He said, "Give it Hell till the end
'Cause once you quit, you can't get it back again."
We're leaving, we're leaving again.
Can't recall where all we've been.
Guess we'll just go,
Go till we're too old
Or we run out of road.
Expensive cabs and shitty food
Washed down with canceled flights,
Missed wake-up calls,
Missed holidays . . .
You miss your boy and wife.
All the late night drives that cause the dawn to strike you like a knife...
Hey man, this is a beautiful life.
We're leaving, we're leaving again.
Can't recall where all we've been.
Guess we'll just go,
Go till we're too old
Or we run out of road.
- "Till We Run Out of Road," Jewel