“Perhaps it was a sign that we shouldn’t have watched that movie,” Neil said.
“Wait, you weren’t liking it?” I said, nearly upset. I was enjoying the film, but Neil and I always had different opinions about movies. He didn’t like slow-burn films, like I did.
“Not really. I mean, the main chick was pretty hot, though. The sex scene was kind of mid, though.”
I rolled my eyes.
“So what do we do now?” Rudy said, “Got any board games or something?”
“Board games? Who even plays those anymore?” Neil said.
I ran through ideas for things we could do. I owned a few board games, but some were missing key pieces after I lent them to my nephews. I had no generator, so we had absolutely no power. Then, an idea hit me.
“I got something we could play, but it’s in the basement.”
The two men shrugged.
I lit the candle, and we walked down into the basement.
“This is something out of a horror movie,” Rudy said.
“I hope it’s an Ouiji board,” Neil said.
Rudy slapped his shoulder, “Shut up, man. You know I’m religious.”
We had reached the basement floor, “Come on, man. Don’t you want to talk to some hot ghost?” Neil said.
Both Rudy and I turned to him with confused looks.
“What? You haven’t seen Ghost? I’m sure a Ghost handjob feels great.”
Rudy smacked Neil lightly on the head, “You’re an idiot.”
We walked into the center of the room, where a sizeable rectangular-shaped piece of furniture was located. On top of it were some boxes and a large sheet covering it. I placed the candle on a table next to the wall and began moving some boxes. The boys then did the same.
I grabbed the end of the sheet and pulled it off to reveal a pool table.
“Is that a pool table? I haven’t played in years.” Neil said.
“I used to play this a lot when I used to go to Sunday School,” Rudy said.
“The last time, I played with some lovely ladies. But it was strip pool.”
“Right,” Rudy said.
The boys helped me clean up and set up the pool table. “So who’s first?” I said.
“Look, if this is what we’re going to do, I need more beer,” Neil said.
Neil took a candle and climbed the stairs to the kitchen. A few moments later, he turned with a few bottles of beer. We opened them up and drank.
The first match was between Rudy and Neil. I sat on the chair as I watched the men play. The wind kept blowing water against the small window in the basement. It didn’t seem like the storm was letting soon. I took out the weather app on my phone and checked the storm’s trajectory. The giant green blob was on the screen, slowly moving southward. Yellow and dark orange blobs on the screen indicated the thunderstorms, many of which were heading our way. It was going to be a long night.
The first game ended with Neil winning.
Four empty beer bottles stood next to each other on the small round wooden table in the corner of the basement. Rudy and I had finished one, while Neil had finished two and was working on his third.
Rudy and I had set up the pool table while Neil sat on a chair next to the wooden table, sipping on his beer. It had been a few years since I played pool. The last time was with my cousin, and we made the game a little explicit by working a little nudity into it. Each time we made a ball go into a hole, the other player would lose an article of clothing. My cousin and I had sex often; we both came out to each other and were each other’s first.
After a close match, Rudy ended up winning.
Neil stumbled to his feet to face Rudy. Three beers in, and the man was already getting drunk. Neil downed the rest of his beer and set it on the table, “That was good. Tim, why don’t you be a doll and fetch me another.”
“Slow down, man, we have all night,” I urged.
Neil shrugged, “It will make the night fun. We both know the fun stuff happens when alcohol is in our system.”
I rolled my eyes, “Fine, you want another one, Rudy?”
“Sure,”
I climbed the steps and entered the kitchen. We had plenty of beer, but Neil went through them quickly. I couldn’t believe Neil mentioned that fun happens when blood is in our system. A while back, Neil and I went to have some fun at a party. Both of us were drunk, but Neil was more. I remembered he asked me to suck his cock. At first, I thought it was a joke, but then he unzipped his pants. Neil and I had never talked about having sex with each other, but I guess alcohol had made him curious. I had sucked him off that night.
The next day, I asked him if he remembered what happened that night. He told me yes but that it was likely a one-time thing. His comment from earlier made me wonder if it would happen again tonight. Originally, Rudy and I planned just to have soda and juice, but Neil suggested beer. He was the one who funded the purchase. He had given me a substantial amount to buy a few packs of beer. If that were his goal, how would it play out with Rudy with us? Would he have Rudy join us? That was something I didn’t think Rudy would be down for.
I took three bottles of beer downstairs. The boys had made quick work of the match; only a few balls were left. Rudy was in the lead.
Rudy bent over the table, pointed the stick, and hit the ball. The ball rolled across the green surface and hit another ball into a hole.
“Not bad, Rudolpho!” Neil teased.
Rudy gripped his cue stick, “I told you, don’t call me that.”
“Oh, my bad. I forget that you hate your full name.”
“Don’t be a dick, Neil,” I said, trying to lower the tension in the room.
“You’d like that, huh?” Neil shot back.
I placed the beer on the table, “The fuck does that mean?”
Neil winked and grinned, “Nothing, just teasin’.”
I took a sip from my beer as I watched Neil pull back the cue stick and move it forward to strike the ball. The idea of having potential sex with Neil was causing me to get aroused. That moment with Neil stayed in my head for a while. It was a source of many late-night masturbation sessions. Although I was drunk, the memory of it was so vivid.
Rudy’s laugh broke me from my thoughts. I saw a tent in my pants, causing me to sit on the chair. Rudy wasn’t laughing at my boner but Neil’s failed attempt to score a point. Rudy was so religious that I never bothered to make any sexual advances with him. Plus, in my experience, sex amongst friends seemed to cause fractures in the relationship, which is why I rarely did it with friends.
The black eight ball rolled across the table and went into the hole in the corner, giving the victory to Rudy! “Heck yeah!” Rudy yelled.
“Nice,” I clapped my hands.
“You’re up,” Neil said. He held the cue stick before me.
Neil sat in the chair I was in while I went to set up the pool table. Rudy left to use the restroom. The storm outside wasn’t letting up. Strong winds and thunderclaps rocked the house. Thankfully, the candles we had set up were doing their job to illuminate the room.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Neil watching me. His legs were resting on the table. “What’s up, Neil?” I said, breaking the silence.
“Nothing, Just wondering.”
“Wondering about what?”
Neil took a long sip from his beer, “Just wondering if I should get another beer. I’m starting to get a little tipsy.”