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Oh God. Ollie and Si were yammering on about
school days, the essential ingredients of Thai food, which
of the two clubs in town won on style points, and whether
Big Brother really had exhausted itself for good. Ken was
thankful he could be relatively quiet for a moment. He felt
like he was in a small, squashed bubble in the middle of
the noisy pub. The customers were lively, the music was
great but loud, and he was in the middle of what promised
to be a really embarrassing situation. All he could do was
withdraw for a moment and regroup.
The disappointment had been like a blow. But if he
really thought seriously about it, what had been the
chances that the man he was being set up with was actually
the man he wanted? Million to one chance. Well, maybe
not a million, because Ollie was local like the rest of
them, he knew them from school, he had a job at a
restaurant... But still pretty huge odds. And Ken had taken
those coincidences, added them together and made the
million odds work in his favour.
Robbie nudged up on the other side of him with the
drinks. Ken handed them around the table, earning another
warm grin from Ollie. But it was Robbie who leaned in to
chat to him.
"He's not bad, is he?"
"Ollie? No, I mean, yes. He seems like a good bloke."
Robbie laughed, though not as heartily as usual. "Not
the geeky tosser he was in school, anyway. He says his
flatmate in Oxford has a couple of free tickets for that
science exhibition at the Ashmolean, he'll be happy to let
me have them. Steve says he'd like to go."
"Look, Robbie--"
"I know, I know, Steve and I broke up, right? But to be
honest, Ken, I think there's a chance we'll give it another
try. He was...you know...my first and everything." Robbie
shifted awkwardly on his chair, oblivious to Ken's own
distress. "It's not like we're student and tutor anymore,
there's no reason we shouldn't get off together. Got a lot in
common. And we know where the fuck we went wrong
first time around, right? He was a tosser, I was a tosser,
both of us were total bloody..." Words temporarily
seemed to fail Robbie. Maybe he was trying to think of a
more romantic term for a tosser.
"No, that's not what I meant," Ken said. "You can go
out with anyone you like."
"Yeah? I know we made a bloody melodrama of the
whole break-up scene. Him up-ending that pint over my
head. Me falling over that chair and smashing it. And I did
apologise for you getting in the way of that punch, didn't
I?"
"Yes," Ken said, drily. "Several times. But if you want
to go again, mine's a double tequila, thanks."
Robbie snorted with laughter. "But seriously, what do
you think? You don't think I'm a--"
"Tosser?" Ken laughed. "You like him, you always
did. Go for it. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Yeah? What's up?"
But Ken never got the chance to say.
"Ken!" Simon slapped him on the shoulder. "Ollie and
I are going to Club Retro for their 80s night, anyone else
want to come?"
"Another night, kids," Robbie said. "I'm only here for a
while. I've got things to see, people to do." He was making
serious inroads into his pint, apparently keen to go and
find Steve and revive their romance as soon as possible.
"Me neither, thanks," Ken said. "I'll stay here for a bit,
too, listen to the music." Too bad if Si was annoyed with
him not following through with Ollie, but you couldn't
force these things, could you? And Ken couldn't help but
notice that Si seemed to have dropped his ideas of
matching up Ken, and replaced them with a healthy interest
in Ollie himself.
"Then I hope you two don't mind keeping my friend
company for a while," Ollie said, cheerfully. "He's a
fellow serf from the restaurant trade. We used the same
catering agency for a summer job. And as we were both
off duty tonight and in need of a drink, I said he could mix
in with us for a while. Is that okay?"
"Not like we bloody bite," Robbie muttered.
"Much," Simon added, and flushed again when Ollie
laughed appreciatively.
"He's not into 80s music, I must admit, he prefers this
kind of live acoustic stuff. Like you, Ken."
"Sure. Um...Where is he?"
Ollie gave a dismissive wave. He was keen to get
going. "He left his coat in my car, had to go back and fetch
it. I think--yes, there he is, just come back into the pub. I'll
collect my keys off him as we leave. Maybe see you all at
the club later if you change your mind?" Ollie grabbed up
his jacket, and nodded a distracted goodbye to Ken and
Robbie. "I think you'll probably remember him from
school. Hang on, Si, yes, I'm coming."
Simon and Ollie sank into the crowd of customers
around the stage, finding a route through to the exit. Ken
couldn't see the car keys exchange at the door, but he'd
barely had time to think about turning back to watch the
next singer, when a young man approached from the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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Oh God. Ollie and Si were yammering on about
school days, the essential ingredients of Thai food, which
of the two clubs in town won on style points, and whether
Big Brother really had exhausted itself for good. Ken was
thankful he could be relatively quiet for a moment. He felt
like he was in a small, squashed bubble in the middle of
the noisy pub. The customers were lively, the music was
great but loud, and he was in the middle of what promised
to be a really embarrassing situation. All he could do was
withdraw for a moment and regroup.
The disappointment had been like a blow. But if he
really thought seriously about it, what had been the
chances that the man he was being set up with was actually
the man he wanted? Million to one chance. Well, maybe
not a million, because Ollie was local like the rest of
them, he knew them from school, he had a job at a
restaurant... But still pretty huge odds. And Ken had taken
those coincidences, added them together and made the
million odds work in his favour.
Robbie nudged up on the other side of him with the
drinks. Ken handed them around the table, earning another
warm grin from Ollie. But it was Robbie who leaned in to
chat to him.
"He's not bad, is he?"
"Ollie? No, I mean, yes. He seems like a good bloke."
Robbie laughed, though not as heartily as usual. "Not
the geeky tosser he was in school, anyway. He says his
flatmate in Oxford has a couple of free tickets for that
science exhibition at the Ashmolean, he'll be happy to let
me have them. Steve says he'd like to go."
"Look, Robbie--"
"I know, I know, Steve and I broke up, right? But to be
honest, Ken, I think there's a chance we'll give it another
try. He was...you know...my first and everything." Robbie
shifted awkwardly on his chair, oblivious to Ken's own
distress. "It's not like we're student and tutor anymore,
there's no reason we shouldn't get off together. Got a lot in
common. And we know where the fuck we went wrong
first time around, right? He was a tosser, I was a tosser,
both of us were total bloody..." Words temporarily
seemed to fail Robbie. Maybe he was trying to think of a
more romantic term for a tosser.
"No, that's not what I meant," Ken said. "You can go
out with anyone you like."
"Yeah? I know we made a bloody melodrama of the
whole break-up scene. Him up-ending that pint over my
head. Me falling over that chair and smashing it. And I did
apologise for you getting in the way of that punch, didn't
I?"
"Yes," Ken said, drily. "Several times. But if you want
to go again, mine's a double tequila, thanks."
Robbie snorted with laughter. "But seriously, what do
you think? You don't think I'm a--"
"Tosser?" Ken laughed. "You like him, you always
did. Go for it. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Yeah? What's up?"
But Ken never got the chance to say.
"Ken!" Simon slapped him on the shoulder. "Ollie and
I are going to Club Retro for their 80s night, anyone else
want to come?"
"Another night, kids," Robbie said. "I'm only here for a
while. I've got things to see, people to do." He was making
serious inroads into his pint, apparently keen to go and
find Steve and revive their romance as soon as possible.
"Me neither, thanks," Ken said. "I'll stay here for a bit,
too, listen to the music." Too bad if Si was annoyed with
him not following through with Ollie, but you couldn't
force these things, could you? And Ken couldn't help but
notice that Si seemed to have dropped his ideas of
matching up Ken, and replaced them with a healthy interest
in Ollie himself.
"Then I hope you two don't mind keeping my friend
company for a while," Ollie said, cheerfully. "He's a
fellow serf from the restaurant trade. We used the same
catering agency for a summer job. And as we were both
off duty tonight and in need of a drink, I said he could mix
in with us for a while. Is that okay?"
"Not like we bloody bite," Robbie muttered.
"Much," Simon added, and flushed again when Ollie
laughed appreciatively.
"He's not into 80s music, I must admit, he prefers this
kind of live acoustic stuff. Like you, Ken."
"Sure. Um...Where is he?"
Ollie gave a dismissive wave. He was keen to get
going. "He left his coat in my car, had to go back and fetch
it. I think--yes, there he is, just come back into the pub. I'll
collect my keys off him as we leave. Maybe see you all at
the club later if you change your mind?" Ollie grabbed up
his jacket, and nodded a distracted goodbye to Ken and
Robbie. "I think you'll probably remember him from
school. Hang on, Si, yes, I'm coming."
Simon and Ollie sank into the crowd of customers
around the stage, finding a route through to the exit. Ken
couldn't see the car keys exchange at the door, but he'd
barely had time to think about turning back to watch the
next singer, when a young man approached from the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]