An American Homo in Paris

Concord Fountain

When Benjy tossed his laptop into his backpack, Ziri was kissing the blond woman on both cheeks, talking to her in French—no, not French, something else, Benjy anyway. Can't understand at all.But he likes the way Ziri speaks—with a mix of French and English accents, it's cute.The blond smiled at him, turned to Benjy, and spoke to him in English with a heavy French accent.That's when he realized that every time he'd been here to blog for the previous nine months, she'd always been talking to him in French.

"I'd be happy to lock your backpack in my office. Zili has the key, and you can come back to pick it up anytime you want, even if the café is closed."

"Bon①, Ben, let's go!" Zili smiled at him, and Benjie's heart suddenly "thumped" exaggeratedly.He thought, there must be nothing better than a "farewell to Paris" trip with a handsome French man.

①French: That's good.

"Wait, come here first." Benjie took out his phone, pulled Zili over, and took a selfie of the two of them.He quickly added the text and posted the group photo on Instagram.

A new adventure with new friends is about to begin #AHIP

"What's that?" Zeli asked, and they walked out of the café together on the streets of Paris.Hearing his words, Benjie staggered in shock.

"You don't know Instagram?"

Zili smiled, "Of course not, I'm asking you for the label." The Eiffel Tower stood in front of them, but he took Benjie and walked east along the Seine River.

"Oh, I'm blogging a 'Gay America in Paris②'. I tag all the photos I upload to Instagram so my readers can find them quickly."

②#AHIP is the acronym for "American HomoInParis".

"Wow, so you're a writer." Ziri gave Benjie a warm smile approvingly, "Is this what you do in cafes?"

Benji nodded, but he didn't really want to talk about the blog - he'd cried enough in front of this guy.

"What language were you speaking to Elaine in the cafe? It sounded like...like a language I'd never heard before."

"Kabyle." Zili shrugged. "Elene and I's family came here from Algeria before we were born. My mother always spoke Kabyle at home. Elaine's family insisted on French only." .So I teach her."

③Kabyle, the collective name for its North African colonies during the French colonial era, including today's Algeria and Morocco.

"You can speak three languages?" Benjie was a little dizzy.Most of the people he knew spoke only English, some not even well.

"There are four, actually. French, English, Arabic and Kabyle."

"Wow! Then you must be very smart."

Zili just shrugged again, "It's just that you are good at language. You are a writer, and you must have your own specialty."

Benjie was a little touched—Alan had never respected his profession, he never thought blogging required any talent—even if Benjie got the opportunity to work with a publisher.He wasn't good enough, he wasn't a real writer... since when had Benjy let these thoughts into his head and finally believed them himself?

"All I do is tell stories. Tell my story, the people I meet, and being gay. Not just on the blog, when I was in Idaho, I wrote for the local newspaper I’ve written articles and contributed to the website. I’d really like to be a full-time writer somewhere—say, for a major gay media outlet—but I don’t know if that will ever happen.”

"You still tell a story about a gay American in Paris?"

"Yeah, more or less, it should be. I mean, for most Americans, Paris is more than just a city. It's a wonderful feeling, you get lost in it. It's romance, it's adventure , is love, but also history.”

"But your experience in Paris was not what you said it was." Zeli interrupted him, gesturing with his hand, "You came to this place—for the man you loved—that's what you get. Romance and adventure. Look around you again—that's called history."

"True, but it smells like diesel and river water," Benji sniffled, "and urine."

Zili's heart tightened, "Isn't New York like this?"

Surprised by Zili's reaction, Benjy laughed, "I guess so. But I never really got into it."

Zili's smile faded. "I think the story is how we learned about each other. How about that English proverb, 'wear each other's shoes'?"

"Well, empathy ④. Wow, you really understood what I said." Benjie smiled, "It feels so good. Alan never—well, never did that."

④Walkamileinsomeoneelse'sshoes, an English proverb, literally translated as "walking a mile in someone else's shoes".

"Okay! We should make a new rule. You mentioned his name, didn't you? You have to complete—oh, how do you say that in English? A challenge." Zili's eyes flashed, "or choose to accept punish."

Benjie smiled. "What kind of challenge?"

"When we get to Place de la Concorde, you're going to go into one of the fountains and sing a Lady Gaga song."

"No way!" With this idea, Benjie's intestines twisted together, "First, I can't sing. Second, I don't know any of Lady Gaga's songs. Third, it's too cold, right? By the way, what is the punishment?"

"First of all, this method is already very good. It would be more shameful to choose another one. Second, you are a gay American in your twenties. You at least know the song "Roman Dies ⑤". Third, I will let you Warm it up." Zili raised his eyebrows, "The punishment is a kiss."

⑤Bad Romance, Lady Gaga's masterpiece, is deeply loved by the gay community.

This put Benjie on a red alert.Sure, the guy was good-looking, and Benjy was single for the first time since college, but he wasn't the type to get over an ex by lying under another.Benjie walked on, his cheeks burning hot.He turned to Ziri and called, "You're crazy. T'esfou. Look, I still speak a lot of French."

⑥ French: You are crazy.

"I may be really crazy. But you are responsible for putting it on YouTube!"

Benjie stopped and turned around.Post it on YouTube, and it sounds less like a punishment and more like...yes, a challenge. YouTube is where netizens challenge each other.

"I might be able to sing "Romans Die" just barely."

Zili clenched his fists, "Wow!"

***

YouTube Video: Gay America in Paris

One of the challenges after a breakup

A handsome French man is smiling for the camera.

"Okay! Friends and fans of Benjy. I'm Ziri from Saint-Denis, and I'm Benjy's tour guide for today." The camera pans to the left and Benjy's face comes into view.

"Hello! Little bitches!" The camera turned to Zili again.

"Well! Benjie's boyfriend broke up with him, woo--! And he's leaving Paris tomorrow. So I'm giving him an unforgettable farewell tour. In this journey, as long as he says Ellen With this name, he must accept a challenge or be punished once."

Benjie's face appeared in the camera again, "Speaking of punishment, he meant that I had to kiss him." Benjie made an exaggerated vomiting movement towards the camera.

The camera pans because Ziri is laughing.

Benjie continued: "Guys, if you're new here, please read on, click subscribe by the way, and you'll see all the shame I'm up to. Old fans—although since 2012 After 'Karaokegate', I swore I'd never sing again, but I've pretty much uttered the swear word anyway so... well, here we go..."

The camera shakes a lot, and then it falls on Benjy, who zooms out and can be seen rolling his trousers above his knees and taking off his shoes.After giving the camera a wink, he burst into the fountain and began singing.

--Expand More--

BengalLad1989: My girlfriend thinks you are cute, but this video is really explosive.

CarrieandMike: Benjamin!What?Ellen broke up with you?The son of a bitch!

DerekA: This dude is not very good at singing, but he is very serious

JennyIRead: I really like you and this guy named Ziri.Let's kiss first!

CarrieandMike: Benjy loves Ellen, there's no doubt about it.

JennyIRead: Here's a video of a boy singing and dancing in a fountain!Omg they are both so cute! #ZJ

--Expand More--

***

Zili was not disappointed that Benjie chose to accept the challenge.Benjy had already dashed into the fountain, singing "Romain Die" as if he were auditioning for France's Got Talent.He's just amazing—even though the songs aren't in key, they're just amazing.He twisted his hips and made microphones with his hands, really putting himself into it.You have to admire such a dedicated guy.

A large group of tourists stopped to look at him, took pictures, and applauded him when he finished singing. Everyone was laughing, and the atmosphere was very enthusiastic.Someone wanted to put money into his hand, but Benjie waved his hand and declined while putting on his shoes.His smile made him dazzle, and it hit Zili's heart accurately.One thing's for sure - he'll have to come up with another crazy, audacious challenge, leaving Benjy with no choice but to accept his punishment.But how to get Benjy to say Ellen's name on the subway?

"I can't believe I actually did this." Benjie sighed, but still smiled. "You are such a negative example."

"You're great!" Ziri complimented sincerely. "You make me want your kisses even more."

Benjie rolled his eyes, "All right, all right, whatever you say. I'm going to upload this video now."

After he finished uploading, he started heading north.

"Where is your favorite place in Paris?" Ziri asked, hoping to get a clue where they were going next. "Bar or food?"

"It's really good food; I'm actually kind of addicted to ham sandwiches. But I think -- I think my favorite thing is everything that's old here. It's so old. I mean, these are the best in Idaho It’s all out of sight. I think I’m going to miss it when I’m gone.”

Zili couldn't imagine what Benji said.He spent the entire first half of his life in Paris and its surrounding areas, where he has been in a city with thousands of years of civilization.It was in the streets he walked and in the words he said.History is real here.He liked the way Benjy appreciated the city.Damn, why is this guy leaving tomorrow?

"What about your least favorite place?"

Benjie lowered his eyes and his smile disappeared. "Nobody hugs me here. At home, my friends, we all — it's so stupid, I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Zili's heart twitched a little, "No, it's okay."

"Friends in my family would give each other hugs. Hugs all the time. When we were happy, when we were sad; or just saying hello. My friend Carrie, she would give us big hugs, just To say hello. But here, it's just handshakes and kisses. Sometimes, you really need a hug, you know? You just need someone who can..."

He sniffled and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so homesick—but I wish I didn't have to leave. I can't wait to go home, but I also want to be with my love." people live in Paris."

"It's nothing." Zili held his shoulder, although he was not very used to hugging, but he also wanted to do his best to comfort this man.

Benjie sniffled again and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." He pulled Benjy closer and put one of his arms around Benjy's shoulder.It's a half hug.But Benjie turned around, wrapped his arms around Zilly's waist, pressed against him, and buried his face in Zily's shoulder.Whoa, that's a total hug.The contact with this robust body made Zili swallow the exclamation he was about to utter.He kept reminding himself that Benjy had just left his lover, that he was sad, that he was looking for comfort.But damn it, hugging and being held feels good as hell.It's intimate -- it's crossed a line for him, but he wants to cross more, as much as he can.He tentatively hugged Benjie gently, but Benjie hugged him back tightly, and then let him go.

"Thank you." Benjy gave him one last hug before letting him go completely. "I really need a hug."

"You're welcome." Zili lowered his head, "Now I understand why Americans love hugs so much."

Benjie smiled and wiped away his tears again.Ziri took his arm.

"I wonder where we're going next. Allons-y⑦!"

⑦French: let's go!