I Am the One Who Has You Now

"I love him," Cai argued. "Just, lately things have been..."
"What?"
Cai put his bottle on the floor and pushed himself up on one knee. "It's nothing."
Maryanne wrapped her hand around his arm. "I'm pretty sure you don't think it's nothing."
He sagged back to the floor. "It's just that lately, he's been..."
"Distant? Cold? Acting suspicious?"
Cai sighed. "He's been really irritating."

Struggling with the "long-term" part of "long-term relationship," Cai attends a party where he evades his partner, bitches to his best friend, makes the same resolution for the dozenth time, and has an intimate encounter with someone who may or may not be a mysterious stranger.

Contents include: LTR ennui, Christmas lights, and the best holiday party you've ever been to.

This 5,000-word story was previously published in Shousetsu Bang*Bang.