Bradley Stoke

After a few seconds of reverie, Michael seemed to almost shake himself back to reality and laughed, "Hey, we're boring Ollie... we can talk about this another time... we've plenty of opportunities..."

Wesley threw me a look as if to say, "Why are you still here?" But it was gone almost instantly and he nodded his acceptance brightly, muttering to Michael, "Yeah... whatever... we've loads of time..."

Then Michael said something that struck me - still strikes me - as rather odd. He turned to me and said, "Hey, Ollie... don't look now, he's coming back over to our table... but do you think that waiter - the one with the red bow tie - is coming onto me?"

I turned to glance up at him as he appeared at our side, offering us yet another bottle of wine. I noticed that he seemed slightly friendlier and more chatty towards Michael, but his interest seemed well within the bounds of professional conduct.

When he'd gone, I shook my head. "He might be semi-interested, mate, but he's not exactly throwing himself at you..."

Michael feigned a look of being bitterly disappointed. "Damn! I'm losing my touch! Thought my luck was in, there..."

I laughed, though not quite sure exactly what it was I was laughing at, but Wesley just stared at him, a look of intrigue across his face. He said, "You're not serious..."

Michael shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time I'd picked up a waiter..."

Wesley looked incredulous. "But you're married... you're joking, right?"

Michael shrugged again, laughing slightly like this was the most normal thing in the world and Wesley was being particularly slow on the uptake. "Yeah, I'm married. But I can screw guys too..."

He threw me a look as if to say, "Where did they dig this guy up from?" Then he laughed and, I guess to piss Wesley off more than anything else, I returned the same look and laughed back.

Michael added, "It's not like I'd be cheating on Wendy... it's not like it would mean anything. It'd just be a bit of fun between two guys..."

Wesley looked at me and, while his eyes were averted, I saw Michael stare at him intently, scanning the lad's face as if he was looking for some sign that Wesley might be amenable to this idea. Until that moment I hadn't really understood where Michael was heading. I'd thought that maybe he was playing a joke on Wesley and bringing me in on it, or that he was just trying to shock the guy. But then I realised that Wesley wasn't the only one with ulterior motives; in fact, that Wesley's ulterior motives were still in kindergarten in comparison with Michael's vastly more advanced collection.

Wesley looked back at him and Michael smiled innocently, taking a few swigs from his wine glass. Michael said, dabbing at his mouth with his napkin, "You must have played around with other lads sometimes... you must know that it's just a bit of fun..."

Wesley looked cautiously towards me again, perhaps suspecting a trap; that Michael was, for whatever reason, trying to get him to admitting to playing around with other boys. Or maybe Wesley was unsure of how to respond: maybe he'd never done that kind of thing. He didn't seem like the kind of person who'd venture from the straight and narrow, even in a guilt-ridden five minutes behind the school bike sheds, unless his precious career could benefit from it.

Michael turned to me again, and said, laughing, "You must have done that kind of thing, Ollie... I mean, you can't tell me I'm the only guy who ever joined in with a circle jerk and stuff..."

I shrugged. This wasn't my concern so I could be honest. "Yeah... I've played around sometimes. Girls are my thing, I must say, but I've had some good times with other guys from time to time..."

Michael beamed at me, his eyes warm and intense. I thought maybe I should take the opportunity to suggest myself for promotion at that moment, except that I wasn't particularly looking for one right then.

He said, "And the waiter...? Would you go for him?"

I shook my head, grinning at Michael. "His arse is too flat... a guy's gotta have a fuckable arse..."

Wesley looked shocked at what I'd said and Michael stared at me, wide-eyed and mouth agape. I thought for a second that I'd gone too far.

But then Michael roared with laughter and slapped my shoulder, agreeing heartily with what I'd said. "Yeah.. yeah... that's exactly it... it's gotta be just right...."

He turned to Wesley and explained, "I mean, if it's a woman, there's an emotional dimension to it, so the physical side isn't so important. But if it's a guy, well - like Ollie said - it's a purely sexual thing... the physical side is crucial..."

Michael turned back to me and slapped my shoulder again, nodding and grinning at me. I wasn't sure that I had actually said what he seemed to think I had, but I smiled back and shrugged.

He turned back to Wesley and said, "A guy's gotta look right, Wesley..."

Wesley seemed like he was out of his depth. He clearly wasn't sure if this was joke or if it was serious. I suspect the wider implications hadn't yet dawned on him.

He muttered to Michael, "He has to have a... how did you put it... a fuckable arse?"

Michael grinned broadly and nodded. "Yeah... it's got to be fuckable... eh, Ollie?"

Wesley asked, "And what makes a guy's arse... fuckable?"

Michael stared at him. "You know when you see one, mate... it's round and firm and... well... fuckable... there's no better word..."

Wesley looked around the restaurant, obviously confused by this but trying to act like he was okay with it. He asked, "You mean like that other waiter's arse, the one standing near the kitchen doors...?"

Michael shook his head. "Naah... I wouldn't touch his with a ten foot pole, mate. I mean round and hard and... you know... something a bit more like yours, Wesley..."

Wesley turned back to him and looked even more surprised. "Mine? I've got a fuckable arse?"

Michael nodded and grinned. "Oh yeah. Well fuckable."

Wesley's look of surprise changed into a look of horror. I think at that moment he finally realised what the deal was going to be and that fawning compliments and adulation were not going to be enough.

He nodded slowly and said, almost under his breath, "Okay..."

Then the two of them fell into silence and I thought I ought to break things up, at least for the moment, by suggesting we get the bill.

As he was signing the cheque, Michael muttered distractedly, "Anyway, about that London job... I'll keep you in mind for it Wesley... we'll see how things go over the next couple of days but I reckon a recommendation could easily be yours..."

I looked at Wesley and he looked at me. I smiled pleasantly, like I hadn't a clue about what was going on between the two of them, but he was too wound up in his own thoughts to return it.

Nothing much happened until we got back to our room. Chat in the taxi revolved around the sights and sounds of London with Michael repeatedly hammering home the point that it would be great to live there.

At one point, I asked, with a smile of apparent concern on my face, "What about your girlfriend, Wesley? Would she be okay about moving up to London?"

Michael went quiet at that point; he was interested in hearing the answer to this one.

Wesley shrugged. "It's not that serious. She might want to move up with me, if I got the job, or she might want to do her own thing. It's not a big deal to me..."

I almost asked, again pleasantly and innocently, "Not serious...? But I thought the two of you were planning dinner parties...?" But I thought that would sound too sarcastic and so just nodded and kept quiet after that.

I heard Wesley talking to Michael about the London job in the bathroom while they were brushing their teeth and taking a piss and stuff. I was in bed by then, feeling a little sorry for Wesley - even though I still thought he was an irritating arrogant prick - for the simple fact that something he dearly wanted was almost within his grasp but to reach out would mean taking a step he wasn't comfortable with.

I was thinking, "Stick with Paula, mate... she tried to call you... she was thinking of you... stick with her and bollocks to Michael and bollocks to the London job..."

But Wesley was hooked like a fish on the end of a line.

There was no stopping him.

I heard him saying, "So do you think you might want to recommend me...?"

And Michael saying, between spitting the froth from his toothpaste out into the sink, "I dunno... we'll see how things go... over the next couple of days..."

Then Wesley: "I'm very... ahm... versatile..."

And Michael: "That's good to hear... I just need to see you demonstrate it a little..."

A minute or so of silence, broken only by the sounds of one of them pissing into the toilet bowl.

Wesley: "Thanks for saying I've a nice arse, by the way. No-one ever said that to me before..."

Michael: "Yeah, it's a hot one. Like I said, very fuckable..."

Wesley giggling and then saying: "Maybe we shouldn't talk about it in front of Ollie... he might get freaked out..."

Michael: "Naah... you heard how cool he was about the idea of guys getting together... I think we could go a lot further, if you wanted to, Wesley, and he'd still be okay with it..."

Then silence again.

They came out of the bathroom, still quiet with one another, and I turned over in bed so that I could see what was going on between them. This was getting very interesting...