Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 23:55:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Freeman <mf900@yahoo.com>
Subject: Michael-and-Chance-5 Revised

Author's Note:

Hey guys!  Well, here's "MC5: I Will Survive" at long last.  I got it out
as soon as I could (smiling).  Fair warning: it's quite long (about twice
as long as MC4), so grab yourself a snack.  Hopefully, it will tie you guys
over until the next installment, "MC6: "Justify My Love," comes out because
it won't be out until next year!  I have too much to do before the new
year.  C'est la vie!  So I appreciate your patience.

As always, most of the installments contain musical selection and MC5 is no
exception.  So for your listening pleasure as you read I suggest the
following songs: "You Needed Me" (Fast Mix) by Boyzone; "Where You Are"
(Dance Mix) by Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey; and "I Will Survive" by
Gloria Gaynor.

Disclaimer and Legal Stuff: The following story deals with male-to-male
relationship and gay erotica.  If this offends you or is illegal in your
location and/or you are under the age of consent in your jurisdiction to
read such materials, then you should exit this page now.  This statement
releases the author of the story and the site wherein this story is posted
from any legal action or liability.

All rights reserved by author.  This series is not to be reproduced,
distributed, altered, or posted elsewhere without the expressed consent and
written permission from the author.  Copyright 2000.


                     "Michael and Chance 5:
                        I Will Survive!"
                              By
                       Michael T. Freeman
                            10/30/00


Previously:

"Thanks for going camping with me this weekend Chance!"

"It's my pleasure.  I love spending time with you, you know that!"

"Yeah, same here." I smiled.  "Ok, I'll meet you at the Student Health
Center at around three after my class tomorrow," I reminded Chance.

"Right!" Chance agreed as he quickly glanced around before giving me a
quick kiss and a tight embrace.  "I'll see you then, love."

I was exhausted when I got home.  I quickly unloaded my hiking gear, took a
quick shower, and hopped into bed for a short nap.  "What a great weekend!"
I thought to myself as I sprawled lazily on my bed.  I had the sun, sand,
and Chance!  What more do I need!  I smiled as I quickly succumbed to
sleep.

**********************************

Chapter 14: I Will Survive!

After my 2 o'clock class, I quickly biked to the Student Health Center.
Chance was sitting at one of the wooden benches in front of the building
entrance as I biked up to the bike rack.  He quickly got up to greet me
when he saw me approaching.  I promptly locked up my bike and turned to
give him a warm embrace.

"Hey, angel!  Glad you made it."  Chance smiled beamingly at me.

"Yeah!  Did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here a few minutes ago.  And since I didn't see your bike,
I figured that I'd wait for you out here."

"Smart man!" I winked at him as we walked into the health center.

We went up to the registration counter and informed the receptionist of our
desires to be tested for STDs.  She immediately instructed us to have a
seat and fill out the health history forms and one of the nurses will call
us soon.  After we turned in our forms, we waited for about 10 minutes
before one of the nurses called for Chance while another called for me.
Chance was instructed to sit at the station at the other end of the big
room.  We traded glances and smiles.

"Is he your boy-friend?" the middle-aged, medium set nurse asked me as she
smiled and plunged the big needle into my left arm and started to withdrawn
the first tube of blood.  God, I hate needles!

"Huh?!..." I hesitated as I was a bit surprised and stunned by her blunt
question.  It's the first time that anyone has referred to Chance as my
boy-friend, and it was surprisingly nice to hear.  I liked the sound of
that!

The friendly nurse noticed my hesitation, and smiled at me which made me
feel a bit more at ease.

"Yeah, he is!" I finally confessed, smiling shyly.  "He's my boy-friend."
God, it felt so good to say that!

"He's very cute!" the nurse smiled at me as she pulled out the needle and
put a bandage on my arm and put the two tubes of blood in a plastic bag.

"Yeah, he is!" I agreed proudly as I smiled and glanced at Chance.

"How did you know?" I asked curiously.

The friendly nurse chuckled lightly.  "I see young couples come in and out
of here everyday.  So I have learned to spot love birds a mile away." She
smiled at me.  "It's the way you two looked at each other, your glances and
smiles, and the lust and love in your eyes!"

I smiled shyly and thanked her.

"Come back in about 7 days; we should have all the STD test results,
including the HIV test," the nurse informed me.  "Oh, we also need a
urethral swab for the gonorrhea test and a urine sample for the chlamydia
screening.  Here take this, insert it into your urethra and then place the
swab in this plastic bag, and give it to me when you are done.  And here's
the plastic container for the urine sample.  Go ahead and use the men's
room to take care of all this."

I promptly went into the men's room to take care of business.  I quickly
did what needed to be done.  God, I hate doing the urethral swab!  After
I'm done, I came out of the men's room and gave the friendly nurse the
plastic bag with the urethral swab and plastic container with the urine
sample.

I then thanked the nurse for her services and kind words.  She surprised me
with a friendly hug, which I gladly reciprocated and wished me the best
with Chance.  I thanked her again and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
What a sweet lady!  Wish there was more of her around.  She has really made
my day!

I waited in the main lobby for Chance to finish with his testing.  A couple
of minutes later, Chance joined me in the lobby and we left the Student
Health Center.

"Thanks for doing this for me!" I smiled at Chance.

"No, thank you!  Thanks for loving me enough to ask that we both get
tested.  And I love you all the more for that!"  Chance smiled as we
mounted our bikes.

"Have you had lunch yet, Michael?"

"No, I haven't because of classes," I exclaimed.

"You want to join me for lunch?"

"Yeah, definitely!  What did you have in mind, angel?"  I asked.

"How does pizza sound?

"That's fine with me!  At Alberto's Pizzeria?"

"Sure!" Chance nodded in agreement as we biked towards downtown.

We arrived at Alberto's Pizzeria 20 minutes later and parked our bikes at
the bike rack.  The pizzeria wasn't too packed since it was after the lunch
rush hour.  I was pleasantly surprised to spot Stacy and Kyndred having
lunch at the far corner of the room and waved to them.  They immediately
gestured for us to join them.

"Hey, ladies!" I quickly hugged them.

"Hey guys!  Great to see you guys here!" Kyndred smiled radiantly.

"Hi, Kyndred, Stacy.  Good to see you again!"  Chance greeted my friends.

"Likewise, Chance!" Stacy exclaimed, smiling.

"Would you like to join us?" Kyndred offered.

I looked at Chance to gauge his preference.  Chance smiled at me and
replied on my behalf, "Sure, we would love to!"

"Great!" Stacy exclaimed as she and Kyndred made room for us.

"We just ordered an extra large barbecue chicken with pineapples and
veggies!"  Kyndred informed us.  "Do you think that will be enough?"

"Yeah, that will be fine.  I'll just supplement it with a side order of
salad and garlic bread."

"It's cool with me," Chance replied.

The waitress came shortly and took down our drink and additional orders.
She then returned with our drinks, salads and garlic bread a few minutes
later, and informed us that our pizza would be ready in about 25 minutes.
We thanked her for her courteous service.

We sat and chatted a bit while we waited for the pizza to arrive.  We told
Stacy and Kyndred about our little camping adventure this past weekend when
Stacy brought up their plans for my birthday celebration.

"We are thinking about taking you out for a light dinner at Golden Dragon
Palace since you love Chinese food on Saturday evening.  Then, we'll take
you to Club Mirage for drinks and some wild dancing in the City!" Stacy
exclaimed with a wicked smile.

"Wow, sounds great!" I smiled appreciatively.

"And of course, you are invited Chance!" Kyndred reached over and touched
Chance's right hand.

"Thanks, I'm looking forward to it!" Chance grinned.

Our piping hot pizza finally came and we chowed down as we casually
chit-chatted.  The girls seem to have really taken a liking to Chance as
they bombarded him with all sort of questions.  I guess they were fielding
him out to make sure he was deserving of me.  And of course, Chance passed
with flying colors!  I feel like the luckiest guy in the world being with
him.  The lunch finally came to close about an hour and a half later.
Chance and I said our goodbyes to the girls as they took off in Kyndred's
VW Beetle.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later tonight, Michael," Chance informed me as he
gave me a hug and got on his bike.

"Ok, bye Chance," I smiled as I mounted my bike.

"I'll see you later, angel," Chance winked at me as I waved goodbye and
biked away.

I can't wait until Saturday to celebrate my 21st birthday with my closest
friends and the love of my life, Chance, my boyfriend!  God, it's good to
say that.  Boyfriend!  (LOL).

The weekdays seemed to crawl at a snail's pace as I anxiously anticipated
the celebration of my birthday.  Wednesday slowly came.  Great, three more
agonizing days to go before the big celebration.  It had been a long,
exhausting day at school.  I had stayed up all of the night before to
finish a paper for my literature class, and I was completely exhausted.
Plus, I got a speeding ticket for reckless speeding on my bike on campus
this morning (yes, there is such a thing, believe it or not) because I was
in a rush to turn in my paper on time.  My anal retentive instructor
doesn't accept late papers, and the Campus Police Patrol didn't seem to
care for that excuse.  And if that's not enough, my old computer broke
down!  "Great, what else can go wrong?" I thought to myself.  Perhaps I
shouldn't have asked because at that moment my phone rang.  Chance was on
the other end of the line.

"Hi, Michael!" Chance greeted me.

"Hey, love!  God, it's good to hear your voice!" I exclaimed with a sigh of
relief.

"Yeah, you too, angel.  So how was your day?"

"Shitty!  I got a bike speeding ticket and my computer just broke down!" I
let out a deep sigh.

"Wow, I'm sorry, Michael!  I guess the Campus Police Department needs more
revenue this month," Chance retorted jokingly.  "Is there anything I can do
for you, love?"

"Not really, Chance," I smiled into the telephone.  God, I love him so
much.  He's always so considerate and thoughtful.  "But thanks for the
offer!  Just hearing your voice is enough to melt away the stress of the
day, and I can't wait to celebrate my birthday with you this weekend!" I
exclaimed excitedly.

There was a long pause.  Chance didn't say anything.

"Are you still there, Chance?"  I asked curiously, sensing something was
up.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm still here angel...," Chance mumbled, "Uhmm...love, I'm
afraid I have some bad news...uhm...I won't be able to celebrate your
birthday with you, angel.  I'm SO sorry, Michael!"

"Why...what's wrong?" I quickly asked, completely devastated by his
announcement.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!  It's just that I've been called to work this weekend at
the art gallery to fill in for Ethan because he contracted the chicken pox.
We're receiving a late shipment of paintings, and the gallery curator needs
my help installing the art pieces for next Monday's opening reception.  He
said he needs me to work pretty late this weekend," Chance explained.

"I see," I said, trying desperately to hide my disappointment and
devastation.

"Plus, I have a big art project due next Wednesday that is not turning out
the way I want it to, and I need to redo it.  And I also have a major
Ecology exam next Thursday that I really need to do extremely well on if
I'm going to pass that class.  So with all these deadlines and work, I
won't be able to make it to your birthday celebration.  Angel, I'm SO very
sorry.  I really want to be there for you, but I just have too much work to
do!  Please don't be mad at me, Michael!"

"I'm not mad Chance!  Just surprised!  It's really ok, angel.  I do
understand," I replied, trying to sound convincing, but I was really
disappointed.  I felt like someone had just pulled the rug out under me.
"Just great, just what I needed to top off a shitty day!" I thought to
myself.

"I'm very sorry, Michael.  I really am!"  Chance apologized again with such
sincerity.  "God, I hate doing this to you.  I know you were probably
looking forward to sharing your birthday celebration with me.  Please don't
hate me for this, Michael!  Please!  I love you so much, and I'm truly,
deeply sorry about this.  I promise to make it up to you, angel!"

God, he sounded so sorry and sincere, torn between his obligations and his
desire to celebrate with me.  My disappointment and devastation quickly
vanished as they are replaced by my love and understanding for him.

"It's okay, Chance. Really, I completely understand.  And of course, I
don't hate you!"  I reassured him.  "I know that you would be there if you
could.  And I do understand. So don't sweat it.  There's no need to
apologize, angel.  We can always celebrate after you are done with your
exam and project!"

I truly meant every word of it.  I was disappointed for a split second.
But I know how much Chance loves me, and he has other things that he needs
to attend to.  And I'm not going to interfere or make him feel guilty for
doing so because I love him that much and more.

"God Michael, I love you SO much.  Thanks for being so understanding!"

"I love you too, angel!  Don't worry about me.  Just get your work done,
and we'll celebrate afterward!"

"Ok, let's celebrate next Friday then.  I promise to make it up to you in
every possible way!"  Chance exclaimed excitedly.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked curiously as I sensed a devilish tone
in his voice.

"You'll see, very soon, love.  It's a surprise!"  Chance teased me.

"Pray tell!" Now I'm really curious.

"Sorry angel, I don't want to spoil the surprise.  However, here's a hint.
Remember what you wanted for your birthday?"  Chance asked me suggestively.

I smiled beamingly as I recalled what I told Chance on the beach about what
I wanted for my birthday.  I could hardly contain myself at the thought of
receiving my birthday present from Chance.

"Yes!" I said with a fat smirk on my face.  "Yes, I do!"

"Well, expect that and more, angel!" Chance was teasing me mercilessly.

"Okay, those thoughts will be enough to sustain me until then!"  I retorted
excitedly.

"Good, I'm glad you are excited about it because I can't wait myself!  I'll
called you after my exam next Thursday and give you all the details!"

"Ok, great!" I quickly replied.

"Listen, I'm going to isolate myself for a few days so I can focus on my
project and studies.  But I'll call you periodically!"  Chance informed me.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later, love."

"Alright, I love you, angel!"

"I love you too, Chance!  Goodnight."

"Goodnight, bye!"

With that we hung up as I fell back onto my bed and smiled at the thought
of the surprise that Chance has in store for me next Friday.  God, I just
can't wait!  Suddenly the phone rang again.  I quickly picked it up,
anticipating my love, calling me back!

"Hey love, missed me already?"  I asked presumptuously into the receiver.

"Well, what an affectionate greeting, little brother!" I heard the sweet,
angelic, playful voice of my older sister, Catherine, replying.  "Well, I
missed you too!"

I lightly laughed.  "Oh, hi sis, what a pleasant surprise!  Sorry, thought
you were someone else." I confessed embarrassingly.

"Apparently so!"  Catherine laughed lightly on the other end of the line.
"So how's my beautiful kid brother doing?"  Apparently, very well!  Who's
the lucky guy?  You must fill me in on this special love of yours!"

I snickered embarrassingly.  "You got it!  So how have you been?"

"Great, I'm in Rome right now, wrapping up a photo shoot assignment, and I
want to visit you this Friday and take you out for your birthday."

"Yeah, that would be great!" I exclaimed ecstatically.  "I would love that!
I've missed you so much.  It would be great catching up with you again!"

"Wonderful, I'm looking forward to it!  Catherine replied.  "Have Mom and
Dad or Eric called you yet?"

"No, what's going on with them?"

"Well, Eric is at some convention in New York.  Mom is with Dad in Tokyo on
business.  Unfortunately, I don't think they will be back in time for your
birthday.  They said that they will call you sometime today, I believe!"

"Oh, okay!"

"You're not disappointed are you?"

"Not really, I understand.  Besides, Stacy and the gang are planning a
birthday bash for me.  So even if they come, I'm not going to able to spend
much time with them," I replied.

"Oh okay!  How is Stacy doing?"

"She's doing fine!

"Good, tell her I said hi," Catherine requested.

"Sure!  So when is your flight scheduled to arrive here?"

"Well, according to my itinerary, it should be arriving at 4:30 in the
afternoon.  I'll email you my itinerary."

"That would be good except, unfortunately, my computer broke down today!"
I said wearily.

"Oh, really?  Are you going to shop for a new one soon?"  Catherine asked.

"Yeah, probably this weekend when I have more time!"

"Sounds good, but wait until I come, ok?  I want to help you find a new
one!"

"Alright, I'll wait!"  I replied.

"Ok, Michael, I need to go now, but let me give you my flight information.
Do you have something to write with?"

"No, let me grab a pen and paper!  Ok, got them...shoot!"

We hung up after Catherine gave me her flight information.  Wow, this is
turning around into a decent day.  It's been a while since I had seen
Catherine because she's always off somewhere in some exotic locations,
doing photo shoots.  She is a professional fashion photographer.  She
really has an eye for fashion and photography.  Catherine is the coolest.
She's 3 years older than I am, and she is absolutely beautiful on the
inside as she is on the outside.  And Catherine is great to be around
with. She's truly a free spirit: wild, crazy, spontaneous, fun-loving and
carefree.  She always knows how to have fun, and she never fails to lift my
spirits.  I love her energy!  And it's going to be great seeing her again!

Ten minutes later, the phone rang again.  I picked up the receiver as I
took of my shirt and lay on my bed.

"Hello!" I answered.

"Hey Michael, it's Stace!"

"Oh, hi Stace!  What's up?"

"Not much," Stacy replied, "I just want to know if we can pick you up at 6
o'clock this Saturday for your birthday dinner?"

"Yeah, that will be fine.  Oh, Catherine just called me.  She asked me to
say hi to you.  She's going to be here this Friday!  Would it be alright if
she joins us for dinner?" I asked as a polite gesture even though I knew
that Stacy would not minded.

"Of course, I would love for her to join us!  God, I haven't seen her for a
while!  How is she doing?" Stacy inquired.

"She's doing great.  She will be returning from Rome and will arrive here
at 4:30pm this Friday!"

"Wow, that's great!  God, I can't wait to see here again," Stacy exclaimed
excitedly.

"Yeah, me too!"

"Alright Michael, I need to go to lab.  I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, bye, Stace.  I'll see you later."

I hung up the phone and rolled back onto the bed.  I must have dozed off
because the next thing I knew I was rudely awakened by the annoying ringing
of my phone.  I groggily rolled to my side and reached for my phone on the
nightstand.

"Hello!" I mumbled into the phone.

"Yeah, kid brother!  How's it going?"  The strong, masculine voice of my
big brother greeted me.

"Hey Eric, good to hear from you again!"  I bounded up from bed.  "I'm
doing great!  How have you been?"

"Superb, listen...I have a bit of bad news for you, buddy.  Huh...I'm
sorry, but I'm not going to be able to make it home for your birthday,"
Eric informed me regretfully.  "I'm SO sorry, dude!  It's just that I'm
stuck at this convention in New York.  Please don't be mad at me!"

"Eric, it's fine.  I know that you would be here if you can help it," I
reassured him.  "Besides, Catherine is coming this Friday, so I'm
completely fine.  Don't worry about it!"

"Yeah I know.  I'm glad that one of us could be there for you bro.  Because
I really feel badly about it!"

"Don't worry about it Eric; I understand, really!"

"Ok, anyway, I need to go soon.  But I want to wish you a very happy
birthday, buddy.  I love you, guy!"

"I know, and I love you too, Eric!  I smiled sheepishly into the receiver.

Eric is the greatest.  He's 5 years older than I and is quite a bit
different from Catherine personality-wise.  He's not as spontaneous and
carefree as Catherine, but a bit more on the serious and solemn side.  He
tends to be more plan- oriented, perfectionistic, and meticulous.  And
nothing seems to be able to faze him.  He is strong and stable as a rock, a
great shoulder to lean on when I'm feeling down.  Also for some unknown
reasons he's extremely protective of me.  I don't know why, but he is!  I
guess it's just his nature to be that way.  Eric is truly the best older
brother I could have ever asked for.  And he means the world to me, and I
love him a lot!

"Oh before I forget, I gave Catherine my present for you, actually, from
all of us.  I hope you'll like it!"  Eric informed me excitedly.

"I'm sure that I will!  Thanks a lot!"

"Hey, my pleasure, little bro!  Listen, I got to run.  Have a great
birthday and play safe, ok!"

"Yes, of course, thanks!  You have a great one, too!  I interjected.

"Yeah, I will, you too!  I love you, dude!"

"I love you too, man.  Bye."

"Bye, Michael, I'll talk to you when I get back home!"

With that, we hung up.  I laid in bed for a few minutes before I decided to
get up and grab dinner.  I went into the kitchen and made myself a couple
of sandwiches and a bowl of spinach salad.  I quickly finished dinner and
started to clean up when my phone rang again.

"Hello!"

"Hi, honey, it's Mom!"

"Oh, hi Mom!  How are you doing?" I asked.  "How's Dad?"

"We both are fine.  We're in Tokyo right now on business!"

"Yes, I know.  Catherine and Eric called me earlier to wish me a happy
birthday!" I replied.  "And Catherine told me that you and Dad won't be
able to make it to my birthday."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry honey.  We won't be able to celebrate with you on your
birthday," my mom said regretfully.  "But we would like to take you out to
celebrate after we get back if that's all right with you?"

"Sure, that's fine, Mom.  My friends are planning a big celebration for me
anyway.  Plus, Catherine is coming to celebrate.  So it's cool; we can
celebrate my birthday after you get back."

"Great, honey.  Thanks for understanding!"

"It's no problem, Mom!"

"Honey, Dad wants to talk to you.  Ok, you have a great day and a wonderful
birthday.  I'll talk to you later.  Love you!" my mom said before handing
over the phone to my dad.

"I love you, too.  Have a safe trip back!"

"Thanks, we will.  I'll call you when we get back home.  Ok, here's your
dad."

"Hi son!" my dad greeted me.

"Hi, Dad!  How's it going?"

"It's going well, thanks.  How are you doing?"

"I'm fine.  I'm excited about my birthday celebration this weekend!"  I
informed him.

"Michael, I'm really sorry that we can't be there for you on your
birthday!"

"It's okay, Dad. Like I told Mom, I have my friends and Catherine to
celebrate with.  So I'll be fine," I reassured him.

"Okay well, I'm glad to hear that because I feel really badly about it," my
dad said regretfully.  "Michael, I have to get back to the meeting now, but
I just want to wish you a happy birthday.  I love you, son.  You have a
great day!"

"Thanks, you too, Dad.  I love you.  Take care!"

"Thanks, son.  Okay, we'll see you when we get back," my dad said before
hanging up.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later.  Bye!" I said before we hung up.

Friday finally came.  The wait is over.  I can now begin my birthday
celebration with my sister who is due to arrive later today.  It's still
early in the morning so I went for my morning cardio workout, rollerblading
for about an hour on campus, and finished with a short isometric workout in
the park.  After a light brunch at the local cafe shop, it was time to
head back home.  My apartment was a bit messy so I figured I better start
cleaning up a bit in preparation for Catherine's arrival.  I was done with
the cleaning by the late afternoon.  And after a quick lunch, I took a nice
long, leisurely bath, relaxing every muscle in my body.  Catherine was due
to arrive soon.  So I got dressed and headed for the airport.

I arrived about half an hour before Catherine's scheduled arrival time.  I
checked the flight monitor to confirm her arrival time.  Yeah, the flight
is on time!  Great.  A half an hour went by quickly as I sat and dream of
Chance's birthday present for me.  I sat there with a goofy, dreamy grin on
my face at the thoughts of what he may be planning for me.  The
announcement of Catherine's flight arrival snapped me out my daydream.  I
immediately got up and waited anxiously for her as the first group of
passengers got off the plane.  A good dozen or so passengers got off the
plane before I saw the beautiful silhouette of my sister approaching me.
She had a big grin on her face when she saw me.

I quickly extended my arms to greet and hug her.  "Hey, sis!  How was your
flight?"

"Good, no delays!  So I can't really complain," Catherine said as she
smiled beamingly at me.  "It's so good to see you!" she said as she kissed
me on the cheek.

"I'm so glad you're here.  I've missed you so much!"  I exclaimed as I
returned her kiss.  "Yeah, me too.  Let's go pick up my luggage!"

We quickly went down to the lower level to the baggage claim to retrieve
the luggage.  We soon retrieved Catherine's two bags.  I then asked her to
wait for me outside at the pull-up parking zone while I went to get my car.
Five minutes later, I pulled up to the curb where Catherine was waiting and
loaded her stuff into the trunk and took off towards home.

"So how's my little brother been doing?"  Catherine asked me with a big
smile.

"Great!" I said with sheepish grin. "I'm VERY happy!"

"I see.  It shows!"  Catherine smiled beamingly.  "God, he must be a very
special and wonderful guy for you to be so happy!" Catherine chuckled
lightly.

I laughed a bit before replying.  "Yeah, he is!  His name is Chance, and I
love him SO much with all my heart and soul.  I think he's the one,
Catherine, my soulmate!"  I turned and smiled at my sister.

Catherine's eyes widen and sparkled at my announcement.

"Wow, that's great, Michael!  I'm so happy for you!"  Catherine grinned.
"But is he deserving of you?" my sister asked in a protective tone.

I turned to her and smiled in appreciation for her concerns.  "Yes, he is
sis.  He's very deserving of me.  He makes me feel like the happiest and
luckiest guy in the world!"

"Good, I'm glad to hear that because my little brother deserves nothing but
the best!"

I simply smiled and we continued with our chit chat.  Half an hour later,
we arrived at my apartment where I quickly unloaded Catherine's stuff.

"Would you like something to drink?"  I asked as I closed my apartment
door.

"Yeah, cold water would be fine, Michael.  Thanks!"

"Alright," I nodded as I dug into the fridge and poured her and myself a
glass of water.  "So, do you want to go ahead and unwind a bit before we go
out for dinner?"

"Yeah, that would be great, Michael.  Let me catch my breath for a bit
before we head out!"

"Sure, no problem," I reassured her.

Catherine soon made herself comfortable as she stretched out on my couch
and relaxed as we continued to fill each other in on the happenings of our
lives.  Catherine asked me to pick one of my favorite restaurants for my
birthday dinner while she went to freshen up.  I thought about it for a bit
and decided on "Le Papillon Bleu" ("The Blue Butterfly"), a great French
restaurant in the City, since I was in the mood for some fine French
cuisine.  Catherine quickly agreed since she loves French food too.  I
immediately called and made a reservation for 6:30.  An hour later we
decided that it's time to get ready for dinner.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked my sister as came out of the bathroom,
wearing an elegant purple chiffon dress with beautiful diamond-laced,
back-cross straps.  She looked like a million bucks, donning an exquisite
pair of diamond earrings and a bracelet.

"Wow, you sure know how to dress, sis!  You look great!"

"Why thank you, little brother.  You don't look bad yourself!"  Catherine
smiled.

I was wearing an off-white dress shirt with a rich purplish, blue tie, a
cool gray blazer and a pair of dark gray pants with black leather dress
shoes.

"Ok, let's get out of here!" Catherine suggested as she grabbed her
exquisite beaded purse.

Just as I was about to lock the door to the apartment, Catherine stopped me
abruptly.

"Uhm...wait, Michael!  I need to make a quick run to the bathroom one more
time.  Won't you go on ahead and start the car, and I'll be right out.
Here give me your apartment key, and I'll lock up for you," Catherine
suggested.

"Alright!"  I said as I handed her my apartment key and left to get the
car.

A few minutes later, Catherine came out, and we were on our way to the
City.  We arrived at "Le Papillon Bleu" a little over an hour later.  I
pulled into the restaurant's circular driveway and parked in front of the
entrance as one of the valets approached the car and opened the passenger's
door for Catherine.

"Bon soir, mademoiselle (good evening, miss)!" the courteous valet greeted
Catherine as he ushered her out of the car while I got out and handed him
my keys.

"Merci, monsieur, (thank you, sir)" the meticulously groomed valet smiled
and took my keys.

I turned to Catherine and smiled as I held out my right arm for hers.  She
smiled and gladly took my arm as I ushered her into the restaurant.  "Le
Papillon Bleu" is truly a five-star restaurant.  The decor is incredibly
elegant and stately with fine French antiques and artifacts.  The place
exudes grandeur and opulence.  The owner spared no expenses when he
decorated the interior.  And of course, the extravagant interior ultimately
translated to a very pricey menu.  But hey, life is short!  A little
splurging now and then doesn't hurt!  And after all, this is a very special
occasion, right (smiling)?

"Bon soir (good evening), mademoiselle and monsieur!" the hostess greeted
us with a friendly smile.  "Do you have a reservation with us this evening?

"Yes, it's under Michael Chandler!" I exclaimed as I glanced down at the
roster.

"Oh, yes!  Party of two, is that correct?

"That's right!" Catherine interjected.

"Bon!  Jean-Pierre, here, will shows you to your table," the hostess
gestured to the handsome maitre d' who was standing next to her.

"S'il vous plait, please this way, mademoiselle, monsieur!" the
well-groomed, dark haired maitre d' gestured for us to follow him.  He was
wearing a white dress shirt with an elegant black tie, and a pair of black
slacks and black leather shoes.  He looked as great from behind as he did
in the front (smiling).  He pointed to a small round table and asked if the
table would be okay as he smiled sweetly at us.

"This will be fine!" Catherine replied with a flirtatious grin.  I can tell
that she likes what she sees. I can't blame her.  The guy is pretty
good-looking.  And he does have a very nice smile.  Simple and sweet.  The
courteous maitre d' quickly came around and pulled out the chair for
Catherine.

"Merci (thank you)!" Catherine smiled appreciatively.

"De rien (you're welcome)," he grinned as he gave us the menus.  "Can I get
you something to drink first as you peruse through the selections?" the
maitre d' asked in his sexy French accent.

"Oui, s'il vous plait (yes, please)," we both replied simultaneously.

"Ah, vous parlez francais ( you speak French)!"  the friendly waiter
exclaimed with a curious smile.

"Je parle un peu (I speak a little)!" Catherine snickered.

"I see," the garcon grinned.  "What can I get you to drink?"

"Uhm... I'll have the Perrier, please!"  Catherine exclaimed.

"Et vous, monsieur (and you, sir)?"

"Je voudrais un Orangina, s'il vous plait (I would like an Orangina French
soda, please)," I said in my best French accent (lol) which prompted a
smile from the handsome maitre d'.

"Bon!  I'll be right back with your drinks, and I'll take your orders
then," the cute waiter informed us.

"Merci!" I smiled as he courteously smiled back and left for our drinks.

"Ok, you can close your mouth now and wipe off the drool on the side of
your mouth!" Catherine jokingly exclaimed as she laughed lightly.

"Me?!!  You should look in the mirror, my lust-struck sis!" I laughed.
"Besides, someone else has already captured my eyes, not to mention my
heart!" I smiled shyly.

"I see!" my sister grinned beamingly at me.  "Well, spill the beans?  Wait,
hold that thought!" Catherine suddenly exclaimed.  "Let me use the ladies'
room first, and then I'm all ears!"

I nodded as Catherine got up and walked towards the restroom.  I scanned
through the menu while waiting for her to come back.  Catherine came back a
few minutes later with a smirk plastered on her face.

"So tell me more about this great love of yours.  I want details!"
Catherine asked curiously.

"As I said, his name is Chance!  I met him about 2 months ago, and I love
him so much, sis.  He's the most wonderful, loving, kind, caring,
beautiful, generous, magnificent, brilliant, and talented guy I've ever
met.  I think he is the one, my one-and-only, my true soulmate!  I grinned
uncontrollably as I thought of my angel.

"Wow, that's great Michael!" Catherine exclaimed as she leaned over and
kissed me.

"Thanks!" I smiled sheepishly.  "I have never been happier in my life!"

"Yeah, it shows!  I am SO happy for you, Michael!  Well, tell me more about
him!"

"Well, besides making me feel like the luckiest and happiest guy in the
world, Chance is absolutely beautiful, both on the inside and outside.  He
has a poetic soul and a heart of gold!" I said proudly.

"Wow, sounds like you're falling badly for him!"

I chuckled.  "I guess you can say that because that's what it feels like.
I've never felt this strongly for any guy before, sis.  It's completely
intoxicating and surreal."

Catherine smiled radiantly at me.

"He drives me absolutely crazy, Catherine!  I can't get him off my mind.
No matter what I'm doing, my thoughts never stray too far from him.  I love
and care for him so much!  With all my heart and soul! And every moment I
spend apart from him, my heart and soul ache so much that it actually
hurts!  It's nuts, I know, but that's how I feel!"  I exclaimed
passionately as I felt the overwhelming love I have for Chance.  I get this
way every time I think of my angel.  It's truly an amazing and
indescribable feeling.  It's one of those things that you have to
experience and feel for yourself to know what I'm talking about.  No mere
words can describe adequately and accurately the unlimited span and essence
of true, soulful love.  It must be experienced and felt, not described.

"No, it doesn't sound crazy at all.  In fact, it sounds very much like
true, divine love to me!" Catherine winked at me.

I nodded in agreement when the handsome garcon (waiter) came with our
drinks.  He quickly took down our orders and informed us that our food
should be ready in a little while.

"He sounds like a great guy, Michael!  I'm thrilled for you.  I would love
to meet him sometime," Catherine exclaimed.

"Sure...uhm...unfortunately, he's really busy this weekend so it may not be
a good time to meet him," I replied regretfully.  When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow evening to take a flight to New York City.  I have a photo
assignment there for a few days.  I'm meeting up with Eric before he flies
back here!"

"Oh, that's too bad.  I wish you could meet him.  He's the greatest!"

"Yeah, me too.  Definitely another time.  I would love to meet the guy
that's making my kid brother so happy," Catherine smiled.

"Sure, you bet!"

"So is he a student at the University?" Catherine asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's a Studio Art major with a minor in Modern Dance."

"Wow, that's great!  Modern dance, huh?  Sounds interesting."

"Yeah and he has a great body for it too.  He's a wonderful dancer and
artist."  I said proudly.

"Now you've really piqued my interest.  I can't wait to me him!"

I laughed lightly as the brown eyed garcon approached our table with a
tray of food.  He excused himself and placed our orders of salads and warm
French bread on the table.  He also uncorked a bottle of red wine and
poured a small amount for Catherine to sample.  Catherine lightly shook the
wine glass and sniffed the aroma before sipping it slowly.

"Tres bien (very good)!" Catherine complimented as the waiter smiled
and poured more wine into her tall glass and mine.

"I'll be back in a few minutes with your main courses," the waiter informed
us and left us to our food.

I had ordered a grilled chicken salad with tangy dressing while Catherine
got a fruit salad.  The French bread was excellent, perfectly warm and
right.  About 15 minutes later, the garcon came with our main courses.

"Well, bon appetit!" he exclaimed.  "Please let me know if you need
anything else!"

"Merci beaucoup, (thank you very much)" I replied with a friendly smile.

"De rien, monsieur!" he smiled and left us to our magnificently displayed
food.

I must admit, the portion was relatively small, but nevertheless, it was a
feast for the eyes as well as the tummy.  The food smelled great, and the
culinary display was a work of art.

We continued to chit chat as we ate our delicious meals. Catherine talked
about her photo assignment in Italy, and how great Rome was.  Her vivid
description of Rome made me want to go there right away.  It sounded like
such an exciting and beautiful city to visit.  God, I would love to go
there with Chance someday.  We continued to eat and catch up on the
happenings of each other's life. We ate leisurely for over half an hour and
were almost done with our meals when the cute waiter came and asked us if
we were ready for desserts.

"Dessert...what is he talking about?" I thought to myself.

"Yes, would you please bring it out in about 5 minutes," Catherine
requested with a wink which prompted me to wonder what's she up to since I
don't remember us ordering desserts yet!  The garcon (waiter) smiled
and nodded as he turned around and left us to finish our food.

"You already ordered desserts?" I asked a bit surprised.

Catherine simply smiled and continued to chew her food and refused to let
me know what she was up to.  Five minutes later we were done, and the
waiter promptly came to take away our dishes, and then before I knew it, he
brought out a beautifully displayed chocolate cake a la mode top with
whipped cream, hot fudge, chocolate curls, and a shiny red cherry and a
tall, slender red birthday candle.  Several other waiters have joined him,
and they began to sing "Happy Birthday" in French to me.  Needless to say,
I was utterly embarrassed as people nearby gawked at us.  I didn't know
what to do but smiled, hoping that this nightmare will soon be over.
Catherine grinned amusingly at me.  The fanfare soon was over as the
waiters quickly dispersed.

"I'm going to kill you for that, sis!" I exclaimed jokingly as I lightly
laughed.

Catherine simply smiled and laughed as she leaned over and kissed me.
"Happy 21st, Michael!
 I love you!"

I hugged and kissed her back.  "Thanks, sis!  I really appreciate it, and I
love you so much too!"

I smiled radiantly as Catherine pulled out a beautifully wrapped birthday
present from her small purse.  It looked to be the size of a CD.  Catherine
smiled and handled it to me.

"Here's a present from all of us.  Actually, it was Eric who worked on
putting it together since he's the tech wiz in the family.  We hope you'll
like it!"

I quickly ripped the beautiful wrapper and found a home-made CD-ROM inside
entitled, "Michael's Photo Montage."

"We decided to put together a pictorial video collage of your photos
throughout the years.  We worked together in selecting the photos, and Eric
translated them to digital and put together this CD for you.  We hope
you'll like it!"  Catherine smiled beamingly.

"Wow, I'm sure that I will.  God, thank you so much.  I love you all a
lot!" I replied grinningly as I looked at the CD- ROM.  But then, it dawned
on me that my computer was fried.

"God, Cath, I just remembered that my computer is fired!"  I said
disappointedly.

Catherine simply smiled and gestured for the handsome garcon to come
over to our table.  "Now what is she doing!"  I thought to myself
curiously.  The cute waiter quickly came with a much bigger present under
his arm and another plate of chocolate cake a la mode.

"Here you go, mademoiselle!" the waiter smiled and handed Catherine the
present and set down her dessert and excused himself.

"Well, there's no need to fret because I just got you a brand new laptop!"
Catherine informed me as I unwrapped my gift, completely surprised.

"Wow, I don't know what to say!" I smiled dumbfoundedly and hugged her.
"Thank you so much, Cath.  This is great.  Just want I needed!"

"You're welcome.  I'm glad you like it!"

"I love it!  God, this is awesome," I exclaimed with a goofy grin on my
face.

We ate our extremely rich dessert and conversed for another 20 minutes
before we decided to head back home because Catherine was feeling a bit
tired from the flight.  The drive back was pleasant.  It's a beautiful cool
night outside with a sea of stars, sparkling against the dark, navy blue
sky, illuminating by the silvery new moon.  We arrived home a bit passed 10
o'clock.  "Wow, what a night!" I thought to myself as I turned the door
knob to my apartment.

"SURPRISE!!!  Happy birthday, Michael!!!"  I was completely startled and
surprised by the unexpected birthday greeting as I was bombarded by
colorful confetti.  I was shocked to see my apartment completely decorated
with streamers, balloons, a birthday banner and, oddly enough, a disco
mirror ball (lol).

I was speechless to see over a dozen or so of my closest friends in my
apartment including Stacy, Essence, Kyndred, Trance and a few of my gay
friends.  However, I didn't see Brian, Stacy's boyfriend; I wondered what's
going on with them?  Stacy has mentioned that they were having more
arguments lately.  About what?  I'm not too sure; Stacy always seems a bit
hesitant about giving me details on their arguments so I never push it.

"Oh, my God...I can't believe you guys did this!!!"  Words finally escaped
from my mouth as a goofy grin formed on my face.

"Happy birthday, Michael!" Stacy and Essence exclaimed as they hugged and
gave me a happy birthday kiss, which I immediately reciprocated with much
appreciation.

"Wow...thank you!" I replied.  "I thought we were going to go out and
celebrate tomorrow."

"Well, we scrapped that idea when we found out that Catherine was coming!"
Kyndred replied as she and Trance came up and gave me a group hug. "Happy
21st, Michael!"

"Thanks guys!" I exclaimed appreciatively as the rest of my friends
showered me with hugs and kisses and happy birthday wishes.  "God, you guys
are awesome...thank you so much!  How did you get into my apartment?"  I
asked curiously.

They all smiled and chuckled lightly as they looked over to Catherine.
Catherine smiled innocently as she walked over and kissed me.  "Happy
birthday little brother!  I called Stacy before we left for dinner and left
the apartment door opened for her.  We had all this planned prior to my
arrival!"

I grinned and shook my head in disbelief.  I can't believe they did this.
I never would have expected it. Suddenly, I thought of Chance and my heart
sank for a few seconds because he wasn't here to celebrate with me.  God, I
would give anything for my angel to be right here with me.  But I quickly
pushed this sinking feeling aside because I didn't want to spoil the mood
or seem unappreciative of this thoughtful gesture from my wonderful
friends.

"I know that it's not officially your birthday yet until another couple of
hours.  But we figured we get a little head started on the celebration,"
Essence smiled and winked at me.

"You guys are the greatest.  God, I love you all!"

"Ok, enough of all this sappy babbling," Trance interjected with a little
chuckle. "Let's PARTY!"

With that he flicked off the lights and spun the mirror ball as Essence
turned on the colored spot lights and cranked up the music.  The awesome
dance mix of Boyzone's "You Needed Me" permeated the air.  I immediately
started grooving to this catchy, energetic tune as Kyndred and Stacy pulled
me to the center of the living room and started dancing with me.  This song
was followed by the dance version of Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey's "Where
You Are."  I danced my heart out as one great song merged into another.
God, they really know how to put together a great dance mix.  I think I
danced almost non-stop for over half an hour before I had to rest and grab
a drink.  As I rested on the couch, I saw that Trance was busy hooking up
my laptop to the TV.  I wondered what he's up to now.  But I soon figured
out that he must be setting it up for the preview of my digital photo
collage.  And sure enough in about 10 minutes, Trance announced that it was
time for the photo collage show.  I smiled sheepishly, wondering if I was
going to be embarrassed by what was on that CD.  Everyone quickly gathered
around the TV and made himself (herself) comfortable as the show began.

I leaned over to Catherine and whispered, "Cath, you guys didn't put any my
embarrassing baby pics on the CD, did you?"

Catherine simply smiled and kissed my forehead.  I know that familiar
wicked smile.  Oh, dear God, please no!  But it was too late, the show has
begun as the cute graphics appeared on the TV screen, "Michael Chandler's
Photo Montage," accompanied by some music which quickly faded out as a
video clip of my brother and parents appeared on the screen.

"Happy Birthday, Michael!" Eric and my parents cheered unanimously.

"We're really sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate your birthday with
you son," my dad declared.  "But we hope that you are having a great time!
Eric had this great idea of putting together this digital photo montage for
you.  We hope you'll like it.  If not, you can blame it on him!" my dad
chuckled as they all joined in.

"Sure, just blame it on me!" Eric laughed.  "Well anyway, happy 21st buddy;
I hope you'll like it.  And oh, Michael...don't worry, I didn't put too
many of those nude baby pictures of yours on the CD... so just relax!" he
winked as they all laughed, including my friends.  God, one embarrassing
birthday nightmare after another!  Thank God, it only comes once a year
(smiling)!

Then the first picture faded in.  It's a picture of me taken just a few
hours after I was born, followed by a few more of me cradled in my mom's
arms, then with my dad, followed by a picture of Eric and Catherine,
apparently fighting over who get to hold me first which sparked a few
laughter. And then, the first embarrassing nude picture appeared: me in my
bare birthday suit at the tender age of only a few months old, exposing my
family jewels (lol) to my closest friends to see which immediately ignited
an uproar of laughter and applause from my friends.  God, I just wanted to
disappear right then and there.  To make matters worse, some of my friends
whistled as Stacy interjected, "Look at little Mikey; doesn't IT look
cute!"  That promptly earned her a pillow to the back of the head.  I
covered my face in utter embarrassment.

The nude picture was followed by a few more tame ones before another
embarrassing one appeared which I thought was even worse than the other
one: it's a picture of me in a dress, holding a toy phone to my right ear
which immediately prompted an even louder uproar of laughter and applause.
Some of my friends were rolling on the floor with laughter while tears
streamed uncontrollably down their faces.  I was so embarrassed, but I
couldn't help laughing myself.  I laughed so hard that my abs hurt.  Now
you guys know why I'm gay!  I blame it ALL on that DAMN dress (smiling).
It's all because of that darn dress that my mom put on me...somehow, she
thought that it was cute at the time to see me in a dress.  I was so young
then, perhaps about 1 year old, that I actually looked like a girl with
that darn yellow dress on and medium-length hair (LOL).  The laughter
finally subsided as the picture slide off the end of the screen and another
one slide into view.  The photo collage show continued with chronological
pictures of me growing up, and I was relieved to see no more embarrassing
nude pictures when Catherine's cellular phone rang.  Catherine got up and
answered her phone as she walked away from us for some privacy.  I couldn't
really make out what she was saying.  The conversation was very brief.
Must be some kind of a business call.  Catherine quickly sat down and
stated that it was just a business associate.  I smiled and turned my
attention back to the photo show, which ended with a group picture of me
and my friends at last year's Mardi Gras Halloween Bash.

We all cheered as the last picture faded out, and Trance once again cranked
up the music even louder than before, and prompted us to dance again which
I gladly complied, being the dancing fool that I am (lol).  We jammed to
the music for about ten minutes when there were loud knocks on my apartment
door.  I quickly opened the door to see a police officer in a navy blue
uniform, standing in the doorway.  And a pretty darn good-looking one too I
might added!  He looked pretty young and stood about 6 feet tall with dark,
piercing brown eyes, thick eye brows and disheveled, black hair that drapes
over his rugged, manly face.

Figuring that the neighbors must have called the police and complained
about the volume of our music, I quickly turned to Trance who was standing
near my entertainment system and motioned for him to turned down the music.
Everyone stopped dancing and turned their attention towards the cop.

"Hi officer, is there something wrong!" I asked cooly.

"Yes, there is!" the attractive young officer replied in a deep monotonous
tone. "We got a complaint call about your loud music.  I need to ask you do
keep it down because it passed midnight!"

"Sure.  I'm sorry about that, officer!" I replied with a friendly smiling.
"Will do."

"Alright," the officer replied, finally cracking a slight smile and looked
up at the red birthday banner, "Are you the birthday boy?"

"Yeah, I am!" I smiled sheepishly.

"Well, happy birthday!" the attractive officer exclaimed as he suddenly
sported a mischievous smirk.  "Allow me extend my birthday
congratulations!"

Now I was a bit confused and before I could figure out what the hell was
going on, he made a grand swinging gesture with his right arm and shouted
to my friends, "Hit it guys!"  I immediately turned around to my friends
who had these goofy grins plastered on their faces, and suddenly I heard
the trill of piano coming from my entertainment system and the familiar
tune of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" playing as the mirror ball created
a dizzy kaleidoscope of colors on the floor.

And before, I realized it.  The impostor police officer has casually
sashayed his way into my living room as he mouthed the words to the song
while pretending to hold an imaginary microphone to his mouth.  I was
speechless as he grabbed my hand and led me to a chair that Stacy has
quickly set up in the middle of dance floor.  He motioned me to sit down
which I dumbfoundedly complied like a little child, hypnotized by the candy
man.  I plopped down on the chair with my mouth opened, still shocked and
dazed by the showmanship.  My friends corralled around me, forming a
informal circle, as they proceeded to enjoy the show at the expense of my
total embarrassment.  I have never seen so many goofy grins in my life.

And then, oh, my GODDD!!!  The handsome stud started to strip down,
unbuttoning his shirt slowly as he rhythmically swayed to the beat of the
music as my friends urged him on especially the girls and my gay friends.
I was SO embarrassed as I cupped my mouth to hide my goofy grin.  The
good-looking dancer gracefully flung his shirt at me, revealing an
amazingly defined upper body as he grinned devilishly at me and started to
unbuckled his belt.  Now the girls were really going wild as my other
friends laughed wildly.  Oh, my God!!!  This is too much.  One birthday
nightmare after another!

The male dancer slowly removed his black leather belt as he ogled at me
like a hungry tiger, ready to pounce on his prey.  Suddenly he made a
quickly motion with his arm and snapped the leather belt to the hard floor
before dropping it to the ground.  My heart pounded with nervous excitement
as he eyed me like a hawk and strutted towards me with the grace of a
feline.  I could hear my heart pounding off my chest as I felt a twitch in
my crotch area; a part of me was rising to the occasion (I can't help
it...it's physiology)!  God, this was too embarrassing.  I could hear
Stacy, Essence, Kyndred and the others cheering him on.

He is now about a foot or so from me as he teased me mercilessly with the
unbuttoning of his pants.  I casually untucked my shirt and placed my hands
over my crotch area, attempting stealthily to hide my growing member.  Dear
God, please help me!  After teasing me for several minutes, the pants
finally came off which immediately prompted a louder uproar of cheering
from the girls.  Thank God, he was wearing a boxer-brief-like swim trunk
which nicely held his package tightly in place instead of a thong or
something like that.  I looked away a few times as I shook my head in
disbelief and complete embarrassment and tried to wipe off the goofy grin
etched on my face.  But there was no escaping his crotch area, dangling in
front of my face.  And naturally, my eyes have a mind of their own and
would inevitably veer back to his package (smiling).  After what seems like
an eternity, the song ended and this birthday nightmare was finally over as
he smiled and wished me a happy 21st birthday.  My friends cheered him like
maniacs as he quickly put on his clothes.  I sat there for a few seconds as
I took in deep breaths to compose myself before getting up as my friends
gathered around me.

"I'm going to kill whoever idea this was!" I declared in my best
threatening, mafia tone as I tried not to grin.

Apparently my threat failed because my friends immediately laughed
including the handsome stud who is now completely dressed.  I walked up to
him as I saw Catherine handed him a check.  So she's the culprit!  Boy,
will she get it later!

The stud smiled at me as I finally reached him.

"Happy birthday, Michael!  I hoped that I didn't embarrass you too much!"
he smiled flirtatiously as he put the check in his pocket.

"Oh yes, you have most certainly did!  But I'll live." I replied with a
half grin and snickered.

"Well, I'm sorry," he said sincerely with a slight smile.

"Well, it has been pleasure...uhm..." I trailed off when I realized that I
don't know his name as I held out my hand to shake his.

"Winston!" he quickly interjected me.

"Right...well, it was a pleasure WINSTON, albeit, an extremely embarrassing
one!" I laughed.

Winston chuckled.  "Well, happy 21st , again.  It was nice dancing for
you!" he grinned.

I smiled and nodded as he started towards the door.  My other friends
quickly thank him for his little dance performance as he said his goodbyes.

As soon as Winston left and shut the door behind him and before I even got
a chance to recover from that embarrassment, I smelled the sense of burning
candles.  And sure enough, I turned around to see Kyndred carrying a
beautiful birthday cake with twenty-one red candles as my friends started
singing "Happy Birthday" to me.  So much for my plan to hang them for
putting me through that embarrassing ordeal.

"Happy Birthday, Michael!" they all chanted as I was instructed to make a
wish and blow out the candle.  I think you guys know what I wished for!  I
grinned beamingly as my friends cheered, and Essence started to take the
candles off and cut the cake.  We lounged around, ate cake a la mode
and chatted for a while.

Then, it was present opening time.  As it turned out, I received a few gag
gifts from my friends like a pair of edible underwear, a box of colorful
condoms including glows-in-the-dark ones (smiling) and the last one topped
it all: a door hanging sign that reads, "Do Not Disturb!  Michael is HARD
at work," with the silhouettes of two guys getting it on in the background
(lol).  I have Trance to thank for that lovely gift!  Why do my friends
have this need to tease me mercilessly about my sexuality? (LOL).  I also
received a few other very nice and thoughtful presents as well.

The party soon ended as my friends all chipped in to help me clean up
before leaving.  I thanked them all with hugs and kisses as they dispersed.
I truly appreciated the party and the thoughts and planning that went
behind it, including the strip tease.  I know they meant well and were just
having fun.  I completely understood and appreciated their thoughtful
gestures.  I truly feel lucky to have such an awesome group of close
friends.  They truly remind me what life is all about.  Anyway, it was a
little past 1:00 a.m. when the last of my friend left.  I was exhausted
especially Catherine.  She was helping me clean up when the phone rang.  I
plopped on the couch lazily as I reached for the phone.

"Hello," I answered.

"Hi angel!" the sweet voice of Chance greeted me.

"Hey love, I'm so glad that you called!  What a night!"

 "I'm sorry I missed your party tonight."

"You knew about the party?" I asked surprisingly.  God, I wondered if he
knew about the little strip tease surprise that my friends planned for me.

Chance lightly chuckled.  "Yes, Stacy told me about it and asked if I could
come.  But I told her no because I had to work late tonight, and needed to
go to the studio to work on my project afterward.  I'm still at the studio
right now, but I'll be heading home soon because I'm completely exhausted.
But I thought I would call you and wish a happy birthday before you go to
bed!"

"Thanks Chance.  I love you so much!"

"I love you too angel!  And I'm sorry again for not being able to be there
for you tonight!"

God, maybe it was a good thing that Chance wasn't here tonight.  I don't
think he would have appreciated seeing a male dancer performing in front of
his boyfriend.  God, darn it!  Now I have to somehow bring it up and tell
him.  Urgh!!!

"It's alright, love.  I completely understand."

"So how was the party, Michael?  Did I miss much?"  Chance asked casually.

"It was fine, angel....uhm.....my friends gave me a few interesting gag
gifts.  I'll show them to you the next time I see."

"Okay, sounds good.  Oh, before I forget, are we still on for Monday to go
to the Student Health Center for our test results?"  Chance asked.

"Yeah, angel!  Monday after my morning classes."

"Great!  Ok, Michael, I love you, and I'll talk to you soon.  I'm so tired
right now.  I better head home now."  Alright Chance, drive carefully.  I
love you.  I'll talk to you soon!"

With that we hung up and let out a deep sigh.  I immediately turned to
Catherine who was busy picking up trash, and stared her down.

"What?!!!" Catherine asked.

"That was Chance!" I said dispiritedly.  "And I just told him a white lie!
He asked me about the party and I couldn't bear to bring up the part about
the half-naked guy dancing in front of me!  God, Cath, why did you do this
to me?"

Catherine came over and sat next to me with a grave look on her face.

"God, I'm sorry Michael.  I didn't think about that.  When we found out
that Chance wouldn't be coming to the party we thought it would be innocent
fun to surprise you with a male dancer.  I didn't think it would complicate
matters!  I'm really sorry, Michael.  I really am!"

"It's alright, Catherine!" I said dejectedly as I led out a deep sigh.

God, what a mess!  I know that Catherine and my friends meant well, and
they were having a little fun.  So I can't really be mad at them for this.
I guess this is something that Chance and I have to work out together.  But
I don't look forward to telling him about this.  God, I hope he'll
understand.  Urgh!!!  I hate it when I'm in a tight bind like this!

To be continue...

Author's Note:

Well, there you have it guys, MC5!  Hope you've enjoyed it.  As I mentioned
earlier, "MC6: Justify My Love" will probably be released early next year
or so (lol).  I'm not too sure.  It's hard to gauge these tentative posting
dates when I never seem to run out of more pressing things to do (smiling).
Oh well, I'll do what I can.  Also, if you are interested in getting on my
mailing list for notification of future posting, just drop me an email.

Lastly, I would like thank James for helping me edit this installment.
Thanks buddy!

As always, I welcome your comments, suggestions and constructive
criticisms.  Let me know what you think of my story.  They can be sent to:
mf900@yahoo.com All flames can be forwarded to: trashcan.com (heehee.).
Take care!