“To show me the progress you’ve made. Yes, I know.”
“Yeah,” said Adrian, smirking. “That, too.”
* * * *
Lenny parked his SUV in the usual spot, hidden beneath the low-hanging tree. By the light of the headlamps, Adrian had begun to explain the changes to the front garden as they drove past the full skip sitting in the lane—now covered with a tarp sheet in case of overnight rain—through the open gate and down the driveway. But the blustery wind buffeting the newly pruned trees and bushes, viewed in the headlight’s glow, did not do the work justice. Eventually he decided Lenny should wait until morning, for the weather to calm and for the clear light of day, to see the transformation for himself.
As soon as Lenny moved past the threshold with his holdall and closed the front door behind them, Adrian had him pressed up against the wall. Lenny’s bag hit the floor when Adrian brought their mouths together. How had he managed to go his whole life without discovering the magical power of lip-on-lip action? Lenny still tasted of beer and steak, but Adrian focused his mind on the brush of their tongues.
“Whoa, hold up, Ade,” said Lenny, chuckling but gently urging them apart, scanning something behind Lenny’s head. “What’s the rush? We’ve got all weekend.”
“You’ve been away for a week. A whole bloodyweek. And I’m fifty later this year,” said Adrian, trying to pull Lenny’s shirt over his head. “Before long I won’t even be able to get it up. So I’m taking what I need, while I still can.”
Lenny burst into muffled laughter when Adrian pulled the shirt over his face.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Lenny, giving in and helping Adrian remove his shirt. “You’ve got more energy and stamina and appetite than someone half your age, so quit with the sob story. I haven’t even showered yet—”
“I don’t care. Don’t make me carry you up the stairs.”
“Okay, okay. But can I have a quick look at the living room first?”
“Quickly, then.”
Adrian reached past him and flicked on the lights to the living area. Still smiling, Lenny strode past Adrian and stood in the middle of the completely opened-up space, turning a full three-sixty. Adrian watched him with mounting pleasure, Lenny’s eyes marking out what had been done during the week—the complete removal of one wall that used to section off the corridor and the kitchen, the plastic sheeting along the back of the house, filling the hole where the sliding patio doors would fit, the sanded-down floorboards and woodwork.
“Security-wise, are we going to be okay with plastic sheeting on the back of the house?” asked Lenny.
“Security-wise,” said Adrian, matching Lenny’s business-like tone, “there’s absolutely nothing to steal in the house—apart from that dresser, and I’d like to see anyone try—so they’d be wasting their time. And even if they did get past the plastic, they’ll be confronted by me. Or worse still, Toni. So I pity any poor bugger who does try to break in. And remember, by next Friday the new doors and windows will be installed and the place will be completely secure.”
Lenny turned and grinned at Adrian.
“Is that your way of telling me to stop worrying?”
“That’s my way, Mr Day,” said Adrian, stepping closer and grabbing Lenny by the arm, pulling him towards the stairs, “of telling you to stop talking and to get your damn clothes off.”
By the time they reached the top of the stairs, both men were down to briefs, each holding clothes in their arms, Lenny still clutching his large carryall. Adrian led Lenny purposely to the back bedroom, where a light burned, because he wanted him to sleep there and view the remodelled back garden by the morning light.
But first things first.
Adrian had never experienced anyone like Lenny, the complete trust he gave, the way he actively sought to reciprocate sexually. All his past encounters had been one way—even those he hadn’t gotten paid for—and his objective had always been to make sure the other person left satisfied in as short a time as possible. Some habits had become ingrained. Lenny, by contrast, insisted they take their time. And what had initially seemed exasperating had become a revelation and a total turn-on, exploring, experimenting and memorising the other’s body, remembering touches, and kisses, and ways to elicit gasped reactions.
Adrian had been with men of all ages, young and old and in between—but nobody like Lenny. Everything about him aroused Adrian—the man’s natural woody scent, how nothing appeared to faze him in the bedroom, and more than anything, the way he pushed Adrian’s boundaries of intimacy and left him ravenous for more.
Before they slept, Lenny insisted on taking a shower then laid out his clothes for the morning. Once again, he had brought the bare minimum. Track bottoms and trainers, socks and underwear, a couple of sweatshirts and tees. In bed with Adrian, he wore nothing, not even briefs. And Adrian did the same. As they settled back in the bed and lay next to each other, Lenny threaded his hand into Adrian’s, another cosy quirk that had begun to mean the world to Adrian.
As they lay there in silence, both not quite ready to sleep, Adrian filled in the silence.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I showed Toni the Polaroids Freya gave you. Told her the story of Luke. Only fair really, as she agreed to sleep under this roof. Some people might have freaked out.”
“And? Was she fine?”
“Yeah. Nothing fazes Toni. Strong as they come. But she was visibly upset about Luke.”
Lenny went quiet beside him. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up Luke, especially after the fantastic sex they’d enjoyed. Perhaps he should just let Lenny savour the house and the present. But Toni had suggested things neither of them had considered, something Adrian wanted to discuss with Lenny in person.
“Do you think Luke was in love?” he asked.
Lenny turned his head on the pillow and scrunched his eyebrows up at Adrian.
