Issue Number 1016 | Friends With Benefits | Advocate.com Friends With Benefits  |  | Advocate.com

||  COLUMN  ||
 
Friends With Benefits
What’s a little make-believe romance between acquaintances?
From The Advocate  October 7, 2008
Friends With Benefits

“That’s him,” Matty says through gritted teeth. “He’s right behind you.” Without hesitating, I seize Matty’s torso, push him against the bathroom wall, and shove my tongue into his mouth. Matty melts into the kiss. I grind my crotch into his, and he moans. Moments later, the bathroom door slams behind us.

I met Matty three weeks before at the same Toronto nightclub we’re in tonight. He’s a sexy 20-something with the metabolism of a piranha and the enthusiasm to match. It was your typical boy-meets-boy-for-the-night story -- eyes lock on the dance floor, bodies gravitate toward each other, and the next thing you know it’s morning and you’re looking for your socks on someone else’s bedroom floor.

We met for dinner a few nights later -- not so typical -- and both of us made a point of stressing that we weren’t looking for anything but friendship. He said he had just gotten out of a four-year relationship with an abusive, cheating boyfriend, and I was the first person he’d “met” since. I was only in town for a few months shooting a TV show, so anything more than friendship would be complicated -- particularly with someone, ahem, 10 years younger than me.

Our acquaintance has many perks. Looking at Matty is as addictive as his energy. And every 10 minutes he tells me how hot he thinks I am, which is exactly the ego boost I need to offset nine years in Los Angeles, where I feel like a complete turd. When he introduces me to his circle of friends, I’m given a hero’s welcome because Matty finally has a distraction from Jerry, the evil ex-boyfriend. These friends carried Matty through the years it took him to finally walk out, and they continue to stand by him as he pretends not to notice Jerry’s parade of new flings. 

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

Comments that do not concern specific articles in The Advocate or on Advocate.com will not be posted or published. See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.