Dedicated to Sandy the Younger

"I am not gonna be about hearts and flowers, you know?" Chris looks over at JC.

JC says, "Good," a little strongly for Chris's ears.

"You don't think I could be good at that?"

JC grins and says, "Really, I was kinda picturing that thing on the Real World? When the girl bought her boyfriend a pig's heart for Valentine's Day. I can see you doing that."

"I wouldn't. Someone already did, it would be, you know, predictable." Chris smiles. JC makes him smile, it's weird.

"Pig hearts are always predictable, man." JC giggles and doesn't stop for a few minutes.

*

They got together without much work. Which was weird, because, well, there'd never been romances in the group before. And JC is weird and Chris is maybe weird, too, so the ease of the whole thing was odd.

Lance came to Chris after a show and said, "You should, you know, hit on him."

Chris looked over at JC and said, "Him? Him who?"

"Right, Chris, stop that. You're the other smart one in the group. Go, you know, hit on JC."

"You want me to ask him out on a date or something?" Chris picked at his shoe.

"Well, no. I mean, what're you gonna do, take him to some restaurant and walk him home? I don't know exactly how it's gonna work, but you know, hit on him. Have sex with him, and things like that." Lance looked exasperated.

"Did he tell you that?"

"No. I'm just, you know, the other smart one." The other gay one, Chris thought, but he didn't say that.

"Maybe I have a secret crush on Justin and I don't wanna go out with JC." Chris couldn't stop looking at JC. Which had been about par for the course for the last six months.

"Maybe you're a complete waste of a gay man who can't tell Justin is very straight. I don't believe that," Lance said smugly. "Plus, it's worth pointing out that JC is the prettiest boy in the world, and even straight men and lesbians want to go out with him and pet him."

"Why aren't you hitting on him?" Chris watched JC stretch, the hem of his pink shirt rising up and up and more and more of JC's pale stomach coming into view. It was a really nice view.

"I'm not hitting on JC because first of all, he wants you. Second of all, JC is my gay best friend. If we went out, I wouldn't have anyone to complain about my boyfriends to. Joey tries, but it wouldn't be the same. Mostly, JC wants you." Chris looked at Lance, for the first time in the conversation. Lance was smiling.

Chris said, "He wants me?"

Lance said, "Fuck, Chris, just hit on him. Do it. God, do, do, do! Prove you are the other smart one."

That night, Chris went to JC's hotel room and waited in the doorway while JC changed shirts. Chris said, "Lance seems to think I should hit on you."

JC said, "He said the same to me. That, uh, I should hit on you."

"Sounds like he's fixing us up, doesn't it?" Chris stayed in the doorway, and mostly he watched JC's bare chest.

"No. I mean, fixing us up kinda sounds like, I dunno, man. It sounds like we don't already want it." JC threw the shirt he was holding on the bed. He looked at Chris and waited.

"I want it," Chris said.

"Good," JC said. He walked over and pulled Chris in the room, closed the door behind them.

*

Chris buys a blank card at the airport and writes the words to a Dylan song inside it. He writes "The way you smile like a sweet baby child/It just falls all over me." He gives JC the card while they watch a football game on the bus.

Chris says, "There's hearts and flowers on that card, by the way."

JC grins. He reads the inscription and smiles wider, his eyes almost disappearing. Chris thinks sometimes that JC is not of this world. JC hugs Chris and he smells like the salsa they bought for the chips. Distinctly of this world, but the press of JC's chest against Chris's still seems like something higher.

Then there's a lousy call from the refs and JC swears up a storm and Chris throws chips at the screen.

*

They told the guys. It was weird, again, since the guys all knew. But they did say something and Justin grinned and Joey smiled and Lance sighed and said, "Finally."

The sex is amazing.

Chris wondered how something could be so perfect.

*

JC makes Chris a card. He clips pictures of motorcycles out of magazines and flowers and hearts. The hearts come from anatomical books or something, they're all kinda gross. JC puts glitter all over it, and writes, "I love Chris" with a big fat purple pen.

He gives it to Chris right before a soundcheck. Chris hugs him and says, "These hearts are gross."

"It's predictable from you and not from me," JC says, laughing.

Chris says, "This is, all of this is so easy and great. What the fuck's up with that, you think?"

JC grins. "Well, we're made for each other. Like hearts and flowers, man."

It's predictable, almost, because they kiss then and they're late for the soundcheck because Chris gives JC a blowjob to thank him for the card. Predictable, but that's okay.

THE END.

Back to Stories