Stuff (The Bristol Collection) (22 page)

“Ignore them. Bunch of nosy bitches. Yeah, I’m talking ’bout you, Alison,” she directed at a thin, rather well-dressed blonde who huffed and walked away. “Stuck-up cow thinks she’s better than everyone else just coz her husband’s so rich she don’t have to work or claim any benefits, but I ain’t ashamed of being a working single mum. Come on, though. We can sit in the square. It’s a nice morning. Could do with the sunshine.”

In the daylight, Brunswick Square did look rather different from the tawdry place where he’d first spotted Cherise plying her trade after dusk. They settled on a bench, facing into the sunshine. Perry closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and the bright light turning the insides of his eyelids orange. Then he sat bolt upright with an unpleasant thought.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You probably have somewhere you need to be.”

“Take as much time as you need, sweetie. I’m in no hurry. First punter’s not till half eleven.”

Perry settled back against the bench, pondering how much to reveal. “You remember me talking about Mas? The man who’s helping me out at the shop.” When Cherise nodded, he continued. “I don’t understand him. I thought we were fine, and then he went all weird on me.”

“Weird like violent weird? Nasty weird?”

“No, nothing like that. More like hurt weird. A total overreaction to nothing. I don’t get what it was that set him off like that. And then he started ranting about me not taking risks, and pulled his clothes back on and stormed out.” Belatedly he realised what he’d just admitted, but Cherise didn’t seem at all surprised.

“Hmmm. Did you get the feeling he wanted something different in bed?”

“No. I don’t think so. He seemed to be really into it.” Perry reviewed his memory, his cheeks heating as he pictured Mas splayed out before him, face contorted in ecstasy. If he couldn’t talk to Cherise about this, though, who else could he share it with? “He wasn’t faking. And he said he liked to bottom best. In fact, he said something about me being really good at…erm…
it
. No, it was something to do with what we were talking about. Something about me coming out, and him wearing makeup, and I can’t figure out what I said wrong.”

“Is he highly strung? Bit of a drama queen?”

“No. Well, maybe. I don’t really know.” Perry worried at a flake of paint on the bench armrest as he pondered Mas’s personality. “He does tend to get quite emotional about trivial things.”

Cherise pursed her lips. “I might not know the bloke, but it sounds to me like it’s just one of them mood swings. Nothin’ to worry about. I reckon if you give him half an hour, it will all have blown over, but I don’t mind comin’ back with you for a little moral support. Lord knows if he’ll want to meet me, but I’d love to check out the man who’s managed to turn your head. And besides, I’ve been wanting to see where you work.”

“You’ve always known where I work. You could come in anytime.”

“Sure, sweetheart, but I wouldn’t do that unless I was invited. For all I know, you could be happily married and just sneaking around behind your wife’s back.”

“I wouldn’t do that!”

“Maybe not, but you wouldn’t be the first. Some folks just can’t find everything they need in one relationship, and I ain’t in a position to judge them for it.”

“Mas said his last boyfriend was married.”

“To a woman?”

“I think so.”

“Point proven. He needed a bit of man in his bed too. Just like you do now. Ain’t no going back for you now you’ve tasted cock, eh?”

Perry blushed and ducked his head. Was that really the case? Would Perry ever go back to being averagely heterosexual? Perhaps not, but the thought wasn’t as alarming as it probably should have been.

“Now, do you want me to come back with you, or can you handle him by yourself?”

“Would you mind? I’d like you to meet him anyway.” Mas probably hadn’t been criticizing Cherise when he made that comment about trading his arse for room and board, but Perry wanted to see them both together to be sure. If Mas couldn’t accept Perry’s only other real friend, then he didn’t know what he’d do. For a moment, he contemplated sharing that with Cherise, but he didn’t want to prejudice her against Mas either. He had a feeling that Cherise could probably be rather intimidating when she wanted to be. No, best keep that one to his chest. “I also want you to see what he’s done with the place. It’s looking fantastic already, and I know he’s not finished yet.”

“My pleasure, sweetie. My pleasure.”

Five minutes later, and Perry went to unlock the shop door, only to have it pulled open by a beaming Mas wearing a decidedly frilly apron and brandishing a pink feather duster. “Uh, hello,” he said, before awkwardly shoving his key back in his jacket pocket.

“Honey, you’re home! Mwah, mwah.” Mas air-kissed his cheeks. “Oh, and you’ve brought a friend with you. Shall I put the kettle on? I’m Mas, by the way. And you must be… Let me guess. Oh, are you Cherise? I’ve heard all about you, darling. How utterly fabulous.” The air-kissing resumed, but this time Cherise was the recipient.

What the hell was Mas doing? It was a ridiculously camp performance, and Perry couldn’t help thinking it must be some kind of a test. But a test for what? Then he noticed the sheen on Mas’s lips and something clicked inside his brain. Oh, so that’s what it was all about, was it?

“Well, aren’t you a cutie?” Cherise said. “Perry told me you were, but you’re not what I expected.”

“Oh, did he make out I was some butch stud-muffin?” Mas said, sending Perry a decidedly arch glare, but this time Perry saw the plea behind it. Okay. So this was a performance, and it was a test, but for some reason he didn’t mind. Not when he could see it was all because Mas needed reassurance.

He reached out and hugged Mas to his side. “All I remember saying is what a lovely chap you were. I’m not interested in butch. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

Mas stared back up him, his eyes looking even larger and more watery than ever. “You think I’m perfect? Really?”

Is that what he thought? “Perfect for me, anyway. That’s the only criteria I can really judge by, tho—”

His sentence was cut short by Mas flinging his arms around his neck and landing a lavish kiss on his lips.

“You are the sweetest man I’ve ever met. I’m not even going to take you to any gay bars now. Don’t want you to go getting all jaded like everyone else. And besides, I want to keep you all to myself.”

Cherise made a cooing sound. “Well, aren’t you two just the cutest thing ever? I think I’ll just be leaving you now. You seem to need some
alone
time. You boys show me the shop some other time.”

Perry was about to agree, when Mas disengaged himself and hopped over to Cherise. “Oh no, you don’t get away that easily. Perry and me can have plenty of
alone time
later, but right now I want to do some showing off. Perry’s got some amazing stuff, and now you can actually see it for a change.”

“You sure?”

“Quite sure. Besides, I’m still stinging from last night. You know how thick he is? Ouch! My ring’s burning like crazy, and it ain’t often that happens these days, I can tell you. Makes me feel like a virgin again. He do that to you too?”

Perry watched, horrified, as Cherise linked arms with Mas. He’d wanted them to get along, but not
that
well. Cherise winked at Perry but addressed Mas. “Oh sweetie, I know exactly what you mean. The man goes at it like a jackrabbit. Wish there were more like him about. I always come at least three times before he’s finished.”

“Ooh, you lucky bitch! I wish I could do that whole multiple-orgasms thing. Sometimes being a man really does suck.”

“Excuse me,” Perry eventually managed to force out, “but could you please not talk about me like I’m not in the room?”

Mas rolled his eyes. “See, he’s such a modest bloke, he’s even embarrassed by us swapping notes.”

“You’re still doing it!”

“Well if you don’t want to hear us talking about you like you’re not here, how about you go upstairs and make us some tea? Or coffee, if you have any. How do you take yours, Cherise?”

It seemed like he’d been given his marching orders. Perry walked back upstairs slowly, trying to figure out if he was irritated, embarrassed or just plain amused. But then he remembered Mas acting all feisty, feather duster in hand, and he had to laugh. The sound echoed up and down the stairwell, surprisingly loud, and it was followed by the sound of a jubilant “Yes!” from downstairs.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mas kept up the flirty banter with Cherise until he heard the door shutting at the top of the stairs, then folded his arms and fixed her with his sternest glare. She crossed her arms and sent it right back at him.

“He’s mine now,” Mas said. “Don’t you dare go trying to tempt him back or I’ll… I’ll rip your hair extensions out.”

“And what makes you so sure I’m even going to try?”

“Because he’s Perry! Who wouldn’t want him? And besides, you’ll be losing money, won’t you?”

Cherise shrugged using just her lips, which was kind of impressive. Mas needed to practice that one next time he had a free moment in front of a mirror. “Sweetheart, I ain’t that desperate for his sixty a month, trust me. I know I might not be the youngest and fittest working girl out there, but I’ve got a bunch of steady johns. I’ll survive. What’s more important to me is that
you
treat him right.”

“Me? He’s the loveliest, sexiest bloke in the whole world. Of course I’m going to treat him right. For fuck’s sake!”

Cherise grinned then, which fucked Mas off even more. “You really think that about him? Honey, he’s cute and all, but he ain’t that much of a catch. He’s skinny and awkward, and he’s always broke.”

Bitch!
“I don’t care about any of that. To me he’s perfect.”

Cherise pursed her lips then, looking him up and down. “Okay, then.”

“Okay what?”

“Okay, you’ll do. I wasn’t sure if you were just taking advantage of his good nature, but it sounds to me like you’re smitten.”

“I am. Totally and utterly.”

This time when Cherise smiled, it didn’t irritate him. “Oh honey, I can see that. You might have a harder time getting Perry to see it, though. He’s pretty crap at picking up on emotional stuff, you know?”

“Bloody hell, you’re telling me!” They shared an understanding look, and Mas relaxed into gossip mode. “This morning he didn’t seem to have a clue what he’d said wrong. And I know I do fly off the handle sometimes, but it never lasts long. He shouldn’t take it too seriously.”

“What did he say wrong?”

Mas squirmed. “Okay, he didn’t exactly say anything wrong, but it was the way he looked at me when I talked about wearing makeup and wanting to be a ballerina. That was back when I was little, not now,” he insisted in response to Cherise’s chuckle.

“Your lips are telling a different story, hon.”

Mas rubbed his lips together, feeling the oily stickiness of the lip gloss. “Okay, I admit it, I still wear the makeup now and then, but just for clubbing and parties. It’s not everyday wear. I only put this on to prove a point.”

“And he proved his right back, didn’t he?”

Mas nodded reluctantly, then dropped his gaze to the jacket he was fondling. “You think he loves me?” he asked softly, half afraid of hearing the answer, whatever it was.

“Oh sweetie, are you that far gone already? You’ve not known him long.”

“Sometimes you just know.” Mas picked at the seam of the pocket. There was a bit of loose stitching at the corner. “Haven’t you ever felt like that? You know, love at first sight? Or almost first sight. And anyway, I didn’t fall in love straight away. Took a few days to get to know him properly. That’s not really first sight at all, is it?”

“I don’t know… Yeah, okay, maybe the one time. Chad, his name was. He had that whole bad-boy-charm thing going on, and I thought he was as into me as I was into him. But I was young and foolish, and he was a no-good alkie, and now I’ve got three kids and no dad to help out. He sends a few quid maintenance every month or so, but only coz the courts made him. I don’t love him no more, that’s for sure.”

“I might be young, but I don’t think I’m foolish. Perry isn’t like that. I’ve only ever seen him drink half a pint, and he left about an inch of that.”

“I know, sweetheart. Perry’s no Chad. But still, I think it’ll take him a while to work out whether he feels the same way as you do. He’s sort of slow about that kind of thing.”

“Emotionally constipated, I know. I’ve just got to be patient. Story of my fucking life.”

“You could always try to speed things up.”

“What, like shagging him senseless every chance I get? I’m kind of already doing that, but I suppose I could ambush him in the shop sometime when it’s quiet.”

“I was thinking more of stirring things up. You got any exes still on the scene? A bit of jealousy never did any harm. If he thinks he has a rival, it might make him realise how strong his feelings are.”

“That sounds kind of sneaky and underhanded, and—oh shit!” The stitching of the pocket finally gave way in his hands. “And now I’m bloody well wrecking his stock. That’s hardly likely to make him fall in love with me, is it?” He pulled the jacket off the hanger roughly. “Like we really need anything else to add to the broken-clothes pile.”