So let This Man set the scene.
Last night, after having dinner with my son, D and L, This Man got a phone call from J, inviting me to have drinks with him and his friends at Bourbon Street. Since I'd been thinking about J all week--missing him even, I jumped at the chance to get out and hang with him and a couple of his buddies.
I get to Bourbon Street at about a quarter to midnight, just in time to be shuffled among the crowd as they were closing one part of the patio. I still hadn't found J, but I knew he was still there. It was when I stepped into another part of the video bar that I saw him--talking to another guy! Not just talking to him, but the guy was running his hands all over J.

What the fuck was this?!
Now I know This Man has never really been clear in setting boundaries as far as my relationship with J, but this wasn't something that I was prepared to deal with or, for that matter, be willing to tolerate. And what was the sudden stab of pain that was growing in the pit of my stomach? Could it have possibly been--Jealousy?
"Hey handsome, what's going on?" I asked, coming up from the left side.
"Well, hello...I'm good. This is my friend, David. He's from Texas." J has to nerve to say. Amazing how he was so nonchalant about it. This Man was so uncomfortable, but I refused to let J see it, but I have the feeling that it was written across my forehead.
"I'm gonna grab a drink. Do you want anything?" This Man told J and he definitely saw the sideward glance I was giving him.
"No, I've already had enough."
Anger! Next thing I know, This Man is shoving my way through the crowd with a bit more force than needed. I couldn't believe I was witnessing this shit! And why was I allowing it to bother me. Granted, the boundaries of J and my "relationship" have never clearly been defined, but I do know that I care about him. I care about him a lot. But I would never pull a stunt like this. J was trying to be really slick. So when I met back up with the group, This Man engrossed myself in a conversation with H & K, two friends of J's. It didn't help that they were commenting on what was going on, but I was pretending that it wasn't bothering me. It was then that J asked, in front of the group, "This Man, are you my boyfriend?"
Speechless! I was shocked! Where the hell did this one come from? J and his new friend, along with H & K were all looking at me. This Man had to respond with something.
"Where the hell did that come from and who wants to know?" that was all I could manage.
"Well, my friend here was just wondering what kind of relationship did you and I have."
"Well..." This Man was struggling for some time, "I care about you very much. I enjoy being with you and I think about you whenever we're not together. And really, it's not his business." That was all I could come up with and feel safe. Meanwhile, you have this guy just waiting for me to stumble so he could move in. There was only one way to settle this.
"But I want to know also. " J was truly going to pay for this one.
To be continued...

Mahalo