I worked in a call center, taking calls from people struggling with credit card debt. I'd been doing the same thing for three years and I could do the job in my sleep. It was all about reading from a script.
So, I kept myself entertained through the Yahoo Groups I was a part of. I belonged to groups to talk about soap operas, to talk about my favorite TV show (Good Eats), to talk about books in general, and one group devoted to Stephen King's series, The Dark Tower.
This group was my favorite. There was quite a cast of characters, and they WERE characters. There was Hudson, the pervert. Morrison, the other pervert. Chris Preti, who seemed to live his life to shock. Karen, the most opinionated of the bunch. Peta, the kinky Australian. And Bobby, the class clown. The group tended to get off-topic and off-color quite often, but I always enjoyed the discussions. I was a lurker though, too shy to speak up, but I enjoyed the show.
Then, one day, the other lurkers revolted - they got tired of all the non-Dark Tower talk and complained to the moderator. And the moderator passed the complaints on to the group. And Chris, the worst offender, left in a snit.
Karen decided to start a new group, an "adult" group to accommodate all the off-color discussions. And Chris and Hudson and Peta and Morrison and Karen and Bobby all went over there to play. And I missed them, so eventually, I joined the group as well.
But that group was not a safe place for lurkers. Within a day, I was called out, and I started joining the conversation. And it was like I had found my home. I loved these people, my new friends. I found myself laughing again.
Then, one fateful day (August 21st, for those keeping track at home) Bobby posted something that triggered a classic spit-take. I responded with a chiding post, asking that they please keep the humor at a minimum while I was at work. I explained that my job entailed helping people with their credit card debt, and at the time I read Bobby's post, I was also listening to the tale of woe of a little old lady who had last her husband and was struggling to get by on her small income from social security�.and then I read his post and had a laughing fit, which I tried to disguise as coughing, but she didn't buy it and demanded to speak to my supervisor.
Bobby immediately responded with a heartfelt apology for getting me in trouble. My one word response "SUCKER!"
And then I got the shock of my life, because he emailed me off list.
He wrote to tell me that he was deep in credit card debt, and could I help him (I found out later this was a ruse on his part to get to know me, that he was intrigued by me and was just looking for a reason to get in touch with me directly)
I had always viewed Bobby as one of the "cool kids" - if the Group was a high school, he would have been the football captain. And I was one of the shy kids who sat in the corner in the cafeteria. I was so flattered, and I wanted to make sure I kept his attention.
So, I told him about how I was going to stop at Wendy's when I got off work to get a bacon cheeseburger�.and then proceeded to describe, using erotic imagery, just how succulent and juicy and wonderful I found a Wendy's bacon cheeseburger to be.
He was intrigued, and we started an innocent flirtation. Innocent because neither of us thought it would go anywhere.. It was just for fun, a diversion, it didn't mean anything.
But, I found myself dreaming about him, and our flirtation started to take a much naughtier turn. We went from email, to chatting on Messenger, to talking on the phone. Before this, I had never understood the allure of cyber sex or phone sex, but that all changed with Bobby.
But still, although I was becoming very fond of him as a friend, and I found myself very drawn to him physically, my heart hadn't become involved.
And then, during a very hard time for him, he wrote to me, and asked if I would just hold him. If I would just hold him in my arms and make him feel safe and secure. I opened my heart to him.
