Stuff (The Bristol Collection) (27 page)

“Tonight,” he announced one Thursday morning, while they were lounging on the bed drinking tea, both dressed in the almost identical outfits of tweedy trousers, pale shirts and braces that had become their unofficial Cabbages and Kinks uniform, “I’m taking you out to meet my friends. They must all think I’ve died and gone to queer heaven or something. We need to strut our stuff and show them the reason I’ve been out of action for a while.”

“Tonight? Where?”

“Thought we could go down to OMG. It’s a bit of a cheesy dive, but everyone should be there on a Thursday, as they play all the cheesy nineties classics. It’s always fun for a boogie.”

“You want me to go dancing?” Perry’s face went so white, the freckles stood out like cinnamon on a latte.

“Yep, but it’s fine if you’re a crap dancer. No one’ll be paying too much attention. Well, okay, they might because they’ll be curious, but if you just stick to me, I’ll dance enough for the two of us.”

“I don’t know. It’s a bit short notice.”

“You got other plans then? Other than sticking your cock into me? And I’ll let you do that before we go and when we get back if you’re a good boy and come with me. You might even get a bonus handjob in the gents’ if it’s not too crowded.”

Perry closed his eyes, and his mug tilted, dangerously close to spilling tea all over his lap. Mas reached out and took it from him. “Careful now. Don’t want third-degree burns to my favourite part of your body.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Yes.”

Perry looked like he was trying to pluck up the courage to say something Mas was going to find unpleasant. Fuck. Mas’s heart took a nosedive. Best beat him to it. “You don’t want to meet my mates or something?” Perry gave him a guilty look. Fuck-fuckity-fuck. Looked like this wasn’t a real relationship after all. Mas tried to keep the hurt out of his voice, like Jasper had said. Don’t scare him off. “It’s okay. We could go somewhere else if you wanted. Just thought it might be good for you to meet a few other gay guys. You know, join the brotherhood of bummers. After all, you were the one talking about needing to come screaming out of the closet. But you know, that’s fine. You don’t have to. I understand if you want to just keep things casual. No strings. I’m fine with that.”

“That’s not it. It’s just…well, dancing. I’ve always been rubbish at it. Two left feet. It’s embarrassing.”

Mas crossed his arms. “Everyone can dance. Not necessarily all that well, I grant you, but they’re not going to be handing out prizes. All that matters is you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I don’t enjoy it, though.”

“Okay, well, there’s always a few people sitting on the sidelines. We like to get there early, grab a table and take it in turns to dance.”

“Is the music loud? I won’t be able to hear people talking.”

“Look, if you don’t want to come and meet my friends, that’s fine. Just come out and say it.”

“It’s not that. I’d like to meet Lewis and Jasper again. It’s just, I’m not good in crowds. Big groups of people I don’t know make me nervous. And I’ve never been to a nightclub, but if they’re anything like my old school discos, I don’t want to know.”

“I can guarantee it’d be nothing like a school disco.”

“So no whirling lights, loud music and people kissing in dark corners, then?”

Fuck. “Okay. You’ve got me there.” Mas leapt up and paced around the room, dodging to miss all the hanging sculptures. Bloody hell, his feet were itching to dance, but he didn’t want to force Perry into a situation that made him horribly uncomfortable. Then it struck him. “Right. If a club’s out, then how about a meal with Jasper and Lewis? And if we go to Divas, there’s a tiny dance floor so I can strut my stuff after we’ve eaten, and the rest of you can just sit and drink your after-dinner coffees. Well, you and Jasper can. Lewis is a pretty good dancer. Reckon I could persuade him to join me.”

Perry nodded slowly. “And is this a gay restaurant?”

What was the right answer here? Was Perry scared of the idea of going somewhere gay, or was he more worried about going out in a straight place with his very obviously gay boyfriend in tow. “Do you want it to be?”

“I want the truth.”

Bugger. Mas hedged his bets. “It’s in Old Market, and it’s run by a lesbian couple, so it’s very gay friendly, but I’m sure there’ll be a good few straight couples there too. It’s not going to be full of men humping each other, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Will your ex be there?”

“My ex? Oh, Grant?” Mas turned to hide his grin. He hadn’t mentioned the bloke in the last week, but Perry had clearly been stewing it over. “Nah, he won’t be there. He lives in Surrey most of the time. Just comes over here for work now and again.”

Perry’s brow smoothed out, thank fuck. “All right, then. This Divas place sounds acceptable.”

“Acceptable? Wow. Don’t go overboard. I’m blown over by your enthusiasm. Christ. Who stuck the fucking flagpole up your jacksie anyway?” He regretted the words the instant they were out, but Perry only looked sheepish.

“I’m sorry. I’m just… Not used to any of this.”

“I know. Fuck. I do, really.” Mas pushed his hands back through his hair. He was going to need to wash his hair again the rate he was getting finger grease in it. “I don’t mean to push you. I just love a good night out, and I haven’t had one in ages. Not that it hasn’t been lovely spending time getting to know you, but I’d love to go out and show you off now.”

“You want to show me off? Why?”

“Because you’re the first decent boyfriend I’ve ever had?”

“But I’m a reclusive weirdo who doesn’t have the first clue about being gay.”

“Trust me, you’re doing fine. And anyway, it turns out I’ve got a kink for reclusive weirdos. Used to well fancy Jasper, and he’s another one.” Oh shit. Was Perry going to get all jealous over Jasper too now? That could be awkward if they were meant to be spending the evening with them. Time to backpedal. “But there’s nothing between us now. I mean, he’s cute and all, and I’ll probably flirt with him tonight, but you know I flirt with everyone, right? So don’t go reading nothing into it. You’ve only really got to worry if you find me with my tongue down his throat. Which isn’t going to happen, trust me. Lewis would kill me first.”

“It’s okay if you want to go out clubbing and kiss other men. You don’t owe me anything. It’s not as if we’ve made a commitment to each other.”

“Oh.” Just a bit of fun. That was what Mas had said back at the beginning, wasn’t it? And he should be happy that Perry was giving him permission to play around. That was the kind of relationship he’d always said he wanted, wasn’t it? An open one, where he wasn’t being restricted to one partner and manipulated into someone else’s idea of the perfect boyfriend.

Trouble was, he’d always wanted an open relationship with someone who thought the world of him and loved him. And someone who’d want to watch. Maybe to join in on the occasional threesome. Not someone who’d happily let him go off and play on the side. Where was the fun in that?

Don’t be needy. Last thing he wants is a fucking bunny boiler for a boyfriend.
Mas pulled himself together as best he could and used the duct tape of determination to hold all his emotions in check, but it still felt like he was falling apart. “I’ll go downstairs. Got some stocking up to do. And I’ll give Jasper a call later. Check they’re not already doing something.” Maybe he could just let Perry off the hook that way.

And then maybe he’d just have to go out dancing all on his lonesome. Because if Perry didn’t care about what might happen if a hot young piece of stuff with elastic morals like himself went out alone, then perhaps Perry wasn’t the kind of man worth staying faithful for after all. Shame that thought didn’t give Mas the slightest bit of comfort.

Chapter Thirty

What had just happened there?

Perry stared at the door after Mas disappeared through it, leaving a distinctly uneasy atmosphere in his wake. Perry ran through their conversation in his mind, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong, because Mas had clearly not been mollified by Perry’s explanations, no matter what he professed about it all being fine. Try as he might, though, he really couldn’t see the problem in what he’d said. Okay, there was that little white lie about not being able to dance, but there was a grain of truth to his claim. After all, he certainly didn’t know any modern dances, and he was fairly sure waltzing wasn’t the done thing at nightclubs.

This relationship thing was hard work. Perhaps Perry really wasn’t cut out for it.

He finished getting dressed slowly, barely paying attention to what he was selecting, too busy thinking through what his life would be like without Mas in it. Perhaps he should encourage Mas to find someone more suited to him. Someone who enjoyed the same kinds of things in a night out. Bloody hell, how about just someone who enjoyed a night out full stop?

He could just picture Mas on the arm of some young, confident, beautiful man. They’d look great together, and they’d laugh and smile at the same things. Mas deserved to have that, didn’t he? And Perry definitely wanted Mas to have everything he deserved. Life had given him a rough deal so far, but he was a tenacious little fighter, and he could go on to do amazing things with the right people around him.

But that would leave Perry all alone again. His hands stilled on his tie. Could he face that? Losing all this warmth and companionship? Or worse yet, maybe seeing Mas come into the shop with this other man by his side. That would be horrendous. Utterly, heart-stoppingly horrendous.

He yanked his tie hard, almost choking himself in the process. Blast. He’d always been all right with being alone. He should be able to face it again. He’d still have his creations for company, along with his regular customers. And there were more of those now, thanks to Mas’s tireless work.

He headed down the stairs slowly, a dismal plodding pace that suited his mood perfectly. But then he heard voices filtering out. Mas had left the bottom door open. He’d have to have words with him about security. He knew how Perry felt about customers coming into the private parts of the building.

Mas’s voice halted him in his tracks. “Don’t you fucking dare. Get out!” he was yelling.

Mas was in trouble.

Perry ran down the remaining stairs and vaulted over the handrail at the bottom to save precious seconds. What if some thug was threatening Mas with a knife? Or worse? Perry wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to his precious Mas.

He burst through the door to see some man with his arms round Mas, the two of them struggling.

“Leave him alone!” The fencing foils were no longer by the door, but Perry grabbed an umbrella instead. It had a wicked-looking steel point.

He brandished it at the blond intruder.

“What on earth are you doing?” the man said. There was something familiar about his voice…

“Perry, it’s bloody Lewis.” Mas shoved him away, and now Perry could see it was indeed Mas’s friend.

“Oh.” Perry lowered the umbrella. “I thought you were in trouble.”

“I was. This big lummox here was insisting on a hug, and I didn’t want one.”

“You needed one.” Lewis smoothed down his rumpled shirt. “And besides, Jasper made me promise to give you one.”

“You’re the last man in the world I’d want to give me one. Besides, I’m getting all I need from my hero here.” Mas bounded over to Perry and lavished an embrace on him. Perry dropped the brolly and returned the hug, utterly perplexed but willing to go along with whatever had caused this latest mood swing.

“So, you two are okay now, are you?” Lewis asked, one of his eyebrows doing an exceedingly good job of conveying scepticism. “I’m not going to get any more emergency calls from Jasper to come and talk sense into you?”

Perry peered down at Mas, who gave him a sheepish look from under lowered eyelashes. “I just might have sent Jasper a text saying I was going out tonight to pull, and did he want to join me.”

“A classic cry for help,” Lewis announced. “This is Mas’s way of doing things. Emotional histrionics when he doesn’t get his own way about something. You’ll get used to it. At least his moods blow over quick enough.”

Mas stiffened in Perry’s arms. “Hey, I’m here in the room too, you know?”

“I’m just trying to explain something to your boyfriend so that you don’t end up driving him away with your ridiculous behaviour.”

Mas started talking at exactly the same time as Perry. “I am not ridiculous.”

“He’s not ridiculous.”

They looked at each other, and Mas grinned. “Maybe just a little bit ridiculous at times.”

Lewis leaned back against the counter, his arms folded. “Glad we’ve got that decided. For what it’s worth, I think you two are probably a perfect match for each other.”

Perry wanted to tell the patronising bastard to clear off, but good manners won out. And besides, it did seem like Lewis was genuinely on Mas’s side. Or at least, on Jasper’s side, who was on Mas’s side, so perhaps it all amounted to the same thing. And since Mas was currently plastered against him in a way that suggested his umbrella wielding would be getting a hero’s reward, he was inclined to be magnanimous.

“Thank you so much for calling round,” he said, offering his hand. “Mas and I were wondering if you and Jasper could join us for drinks tonight. You had somewhere in mind, didn’t you, darling? The Oh Em Gee, wasn’t it?”