The dice clattered to the table once again.
"Seven! I win again!" exclaimed Harry the Horse, grabbing all the money that was on the table.
Nicely Johnson frowned. "Well, that cleans me."
"Don't be such a sore loser!" Mocked Harry, rather conspicuously putting the bills in the breast pocket of his coat, "Besides, it's only a couple thousand dollars!"
"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better." Nicely mumbled sarcastically, before walking away from the table.
He heard Harry's almost maniacal laughter as he trudged out of the Blitmore garage, hanging his head.
"Hey, Nicely! Where're you goin'?" Someone asked.
"Home." He replied simply.
"Already?"
"Yeah. And I'd appreciate if you left me alone."
Benny ran up to his roommate. "I can't, I have to come with you!"
Nicely finally looked up to see who he had been talking to, and saw Benny smirking down at him. He instantly felt a tiny bit better. "Oh, sorry, Benny. I thought you was someone else."
"It's okay, Princess." Benny said.
Nicely blushed slightly, like he did whenever his roommate called him that. They kept walking down the sidewalk.
"How did it go today?" asked Benny, noticing how the other man seemed sad.
"Nicely nicely."
"Well it don't look like it. Tell me what's wrong, won't ya?"
Nicely Johnson sighed. "I lost another two thousand dollars. And to Harry the Horse nonetheless!"
"Aw, that's too bad. Well, you can't always win." Benny said.
"It's more than too bad! You've been the one paying the rent for the past three months!"
"Again, it's okay! I can pay the rent again this month!"
"No, Benny. I can't let you do that. It's my turn now."
"Nicely. Be logical now, won't ya? If you don't have no money, you can't pay!"
"Yeah, well, logical or not, I ain't gonna let you pay again!"
Benny sighed. Nicely was many things, but 'cooperative' was most certainly not at the top of the list.
"So you insist on paying?"
"Yes, I do."
"Would it be alright with you if I gave you the money to pay the rent?"
"No."
"Loaned you the money?"
"No!"
"Allowed you to borrow the money?"
"NO!"
"Shared the money with you?"
"BENNY!"
The taller gambler pursed his lips slightly. "Well, you sure is stubborn."
Nicely sped up and walked ahead, obviously angered. Benny decided not to try to talk to him again, even after they got home and Nicely had locked himself in his room for an hour. But after that long, Southstreet couldn't stand it anymore. He approached Nicely Johnson's room and cautiously knocked on the door. The reluctant reply came a few seconds later.
"What do you want, Benny?"
"I wanna talk."
Nicely sighed and got up to open the door; he made a somewhat overdramatically polite gesture to invite Benny in before sitting back down on his bed. The darker haired gambler sat himself down close beside the first. Nicely hunched over, a sad look still on his face. Overcome with the need to comfort his friend, Benny gingerly wrapped an arm around the other man, resting his hand on his thin waist. Nicely tensed up suddenly, feeling an uncomfortable tingle at the unexpected touch. He blushed fiercely; eyes wide with surprise. Nicely's heart pounded. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly terrified. He had never been scared of Benny before, because, quite frankly, as hard as he tried, that man could never be intimidating. But now he was intimidated. But he didn't dare move. He liked the feeling of Benny's strong, masculine body close to his, and Nicely didn't want him to think otherwise.
"So… you still won't let me pay the rent this month?" Southstreet near whispered.
Nicely shook his head in response, too nervous to speak. He wanted Benny to touch him more, but didn't know how to ask such a thing. Furthermore, he wondered why he even felt this way about the situation. Wasn't this the way he should feel about a doll? He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind.
"That's alright, Princess." replied Benny, nuzzling his face into the crook of Nicely's neck momentarily. Johnson gasped slightly as he felt the other man's lips brush against his skin, sending chills down his spine. To his roommate's surprise, Benny Southstreet pulled back.
"Nice', would it be the same if, instead of me givin' you the money, I bought somethin' from you?"
"I-I… guess not…" Nicely muttered, still shocked at the way his friend had touched him so pleasantly.
Benny scanned the room, his eyes landing on a shirt that had been discarded on the ground. He got up off the bed and picked it up, turning to face Nicely, who was still sitting down.
"In that case, I'll pay you two thousand dollars for this shirt."
Nicely Nicely Johnson was skeptical. "Is you insane?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm still gonna give you two thousand dollars for this shirt."
The shorter gambler wasn't sure how to respond.
"Well? Why don't you just agree? What do ya have to lose?"
"Uh… nothin', I guess."
"Then… It's a deal?"
"Sure."
Benny gave his roommate a lopsided smile, and approached the other man. He fished around in his pocket and produced the bills. He bent over so that his face was level with his best friend's, and slowly slipped the money into Nicely's pocket, staring intently into his eyes. Suddenly, Southstreet leaned forward, briefly touching their noses together. Nicely immediately turned a dark shade of crimson. Benny stood up and chuckled at his friend's reaction, threw his newly purchased shirt over his shoulder, and left the room.