December 19, 2008

When You See Me Smile

Gay internet dating sites have something called smiles or winks, which is a digital way of nudging a prospective date and seeing if he nudges back. It's a way to gauge someone's interest, some might say.

Don't send me smiles!, a lot of guys demand angrily in their profiles.

Why the smile? asked some guys in respond to receiving one, usually followed by a smart-ass comment.

Only I'm not looking for a smart ass. Be it a job interview or a blow job interview, in life, when I'm looking for someone, I'm looking for someone who can enrich my life and vice versa. The longer they can do that the better. The more we enrich one another, the more we both wanna smile. The more we wanna smile, the more we might ask ourselves: what other ways can we make ourselves smile?

When all the smiles are gone, and we can't dream up more ways to make smiles together, we thank one another, wish one another well, part company, and continue onward with our journey.

Two people can make one another smile for seconds, minutes, hours, months, years, a whole lifetime.

So when you see me smile, it's because something about you makes me wanna smile, and I'm wondering if something about me makes you wanna smile, and if there's anything we can do to make us both smile ... together.

More about Walt Loves the Bearcat, my fourth novel and a Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Best Romance.

More about Randy Boyd, the funky black poz novelist.