“A boyfriend, then?”
“No boyfriend.”
Adrian didn’t want to talk about his situation. He had dealt with his fill of messy and complicated things at far too young an age and didn’t need any more now.
“Bloody hell. That sounds lonely.”
“I do okay. I get what I need, whenever I need it.”
“Yeah, don’t you just. That huge fucking cock of yours is addictive. Why do you think I keep coming back for more?”
Both men continued to eat in silence. When Nick put down his half-eaten food on the coffee table and picked up his beer, Adrian spoke.
“So you’re bi, then?”
“Suppose so. Whatever that means.”
“Aren’t you worried she might find out? I mean, surely I’m not the only bloke you’ve fucked around with behind her back? Norwich isn’t exactly huge.”
“She won’t find out,” said Nick decisively, finishing his beer and crushing the can in his hand.
“Good luck with that. Do you go with other women, too?”
“Never. Why is that so difficult for people to understand? You know what my perfect scenario would be? To fuck Jan while someone like you fucks me from behind. Just the thought makes me hard. Don’t suppose you’d be up for it if I—”
“No!”
Nick snorted and continued shovelling food into his mouth.
“Worth asking. What do you do for fun, then, Ade?”
“Work.”
A silence fell between them. Nick dropped the empty beer can onto his plate.
“I need to piss,” he said, standing unsteadily.
“You know where it is. I’ll call the cab company.”
“I can do that. I have a speed-dial number plugged into my phone. Let me pee first.”
Without waiting for a response, Nick stumbled down the corridor to the bathroom. With Nick gone, Adrian boiled the kettle, pulled down the biggest mug he could find and added two heaped spoonfuls of instant coffee. Nick needed to sober up a notch before facing his wife. Once he’d finished clearing their plates, he filled the mug with hot water, stirred, and brought the drink over to the small coffee table. Nick had still not reappeared.
“Nick, are you okay?” he called out.
After five minutes without getting a response, Adrian headed to his bathroom to find the room empty, and pee over the toilet seat. In his bedroom next door, he found Nick lying face down diagonally across the double bed, snoring softly. Not only that, but he had managed to remove his trousers and lay there with them around his ankles, his underpants pulled down to his knees to reveal the beautiful smooth globes of his arse. Just then, the handphone on the bed next to him began ringing, with one word appearing on the display. JAN. Adrian put his hand on Nick’s shoulder and shook him roughly.
“Nick! Wake up, you idiot.”
Adrian’s efforts produced only a couple of gulped snores from Nick, who remained asleep. After a moment’s hesitation, Adrian picked up the persistently ringing phone and answered. Before he had a chance to speak, a shrill voice hurled expletives at him down the phone. Once she had calmed down, Adrian began to talk.
“Hi there, Janice. This is Adrian, Nick’s—um—school friend. We met on the high street. No, no, don’t panic, nothing bad has happened. Nick had a bit too much to drink and turned up at my flat, and now he’s passed out, fast asleep. I’ve been trying to wake him and pour him into a cab, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I can’t even get him to wake up. Yes, I don’t mind letting him sleep it off here, I suppose. His car’s outside, so he can drive home in the morning. No, it’s fine. I understand. You take good care.”
After ending the call, Adrian stared down at the sleeping beauty. Had he been a less honourable man, he might have slipped on a condom and had his way with Nick, which was the reason Nick had come round that night. But that boat had well and truly sailed.
After pulling off Nick’s shoes and jeans, and pulling up his underpants, Adrian arranged him more comfortably on the bed. Once finished, he grabbed a blanket from his bedroom closet and made himself as snug as possible on the settee.
With the light still burning from a standing lamp, his thoughts drifted back to the face of Lenny Day.
