It's late when The Puppy, my live-in boyfriend, gets home. I haven’t seen him since I kissed him good-bye at 8:30 this morning. He takes off his shoes and gives me a kiss. If I’ve eaten already, I tell him where dinner is and ask him to put away the leftovers. After dinner, he hops onto Everquest 2 (aka Evercrack). I start shutting things down around 11 at the latest. I ask him what his weekend schedule is looking like as I pull my shirt over my head.
“Hold on, my girlfriend is talking to me,” he says to his friends online. Now that I have his attention he asks me to repeat the question. He does not look up as he answers. His attention is fixed on making sure his character is casting spells. I continue undressing. Naked, I bend over to pick up my discarded clothing. As I stand, I hear cursing from behind me:
“No! Noooo! Fuck! Fucking A!” I turn to find The Puppy glaring at the monitor. “My character was nearly killed. Thanks, Camile.”
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2009.