Currently, and Now!

After I pushed the publish button, I went out to the living room to roll up a cigarette. I heard the music ring out from the cell phone, not even a minute after posting. I had received a text message.

My psychic cry for attention paid off.

I flipped open the phone to reveal a text message from Squid, that simply read, "call TCB."

My first reaction was to panic, and to assume something has gone heinously wrong. Text messages can be deceiving that way. I remember a night out with S., amazingly without his attached-at-the-hip significant other (speaking of deceiving undertones, there is always a tension with me, concerning S. and his SO, mainly because they are that kind of couple, the type that cannot publicly function without the other in their presence. Man-time does not exist, or happens rarely. I'm used to it now, I accept it, the circumstances. That doesn't mean I'm always going to be quiet about it. I'm just sayin').

He happened to receive a text from B. and then stated simply, "I'm in trouble." I asked why, and he said, "the way she phrased her text, I know something is wrong, and I'm to blame. Its not the usual thing she says.."

Four texts later, an unspoken game had been played, each text he sent her was a reply with weighted undertones, trying to ascertain if she had indeed sent texts with weighted undertones as well.

I like how we do that, we try to read more into text messages than we actually could. Somehow this is all easier than actually calling the person to talk to them directly.

I digress.

So I called him immediately, trying to think of soothing phrases I could use depending on what the horrible news could be.

I recognized the blast of background noise right away. Lovejoys. My surrogate bar, the bar of my dreams. And drunken shouting, conversation, the sound of numerous beer glasses tinking.

Turns out my Austin friends were all drunk, and long story short, all proceeded to get on the phone and tell me to move my ass down south as soon as I could, which was so bittersweet. Squid puts a lot of pressure on me to do such a thing, but I understand, because I'm a stubborn fellow. She knows me, and knows I won't do such a thing unless I'm properly prodded.

I definitely need encouragement sometimes.

I was honestly just happy enough that they were thinking about me, drinking about me, missing me.

I got my attention fix...

And then went out to the bar here to sort of celebrate my friends' drunkenness. Luckily, there were some good peoples out at the bar tonight.

And now for another episode of Dexter before I go to sleep.