Read Stuff (The Bristol Collection) for Free Online Page B

marketing.”
    “I’m not good at that kind of thing.”
    “No shit, Sherlock. You even got a business card?”
    “No.”
    “And since you don’t appear to be selling much of anything, I don’t suppose you can afford to pay someone else to do the marketing for you.”
    “No.” Perry slumped back against the roof.
    “Hey, I’m sorry.” Mas brushed up beside him and put an arm round Perry’s shoulders. An arm! The heavy weight was utterly unfamiliar. A little like wearing a scarf, but really not much like it at all. Perry kept still, absorbing the sensation. Did he like it? Maybe. He wasn’t itching for it to end, at any rate. And while Mas was that close, he could enjoy the scent of him too. There was a faint hint of something spicy, with tones of vetivert and musk. How much of that was Mas’s natural smell and how much was cologne he didn’t really want to think about. Anyone who was that fragrant naturally deserved to be admired, but Perry kept his olfactory pleasure to himself. He had a feeling it really wasn’t the done thing to compliment other men on their scent. Not unless you were actively trying to flirt with them. Which he certainly wasn’t.
    “Sorry for what?” he eventually asked, when it appeared Mr. Loquacious had said all he was going to say.
    “You know, pushing to make you confess your weaknesses. Lewis says I do that a lot. Says my compulsive nosiness is a strategy to draw attention away from my own inadequacies and poor choices. But I reckon that’s a case of the pot calling on the kettle. I mean, he’s just about the worst for it with all this therapy nonsense. Always wanting to know what I’m feeling and so on. Most of the time I tell him I’m feeling up his boyfriend under the table.”
    “You have a therapist?”
    “Me? Do I seem like I need one? No, wait, don’t answer that. Nah, Lewis is just a friend. Well, sort of a friend. I’m not sure how much he likes me, on account of the thing I used to have with Jasper.”
    “Jasper?” Perry was at sea in this conversation, but at least Mas seemed to be able to hold up his side with minimal input from him.
    “Jasper’s his boyfriend. They’re all super lovey-dovey right now. It’s kind of cute, but a bit sick-making at times.”
    Mas’s expression was at odds with his words, Perry noticed. There was a wistfulness that just didn’t gel with the attitude. Had this Jasper been important to him? He’d never dare pry to find out. Instead he just extricated himself carefully from Mas’s arm and turned to look down at the street corner.
    The empty street corner.
    “Look, I think your gorilla’s gone.”
    “Gone? Did you see which way he went?”
    “I just turned around, and he wasn’t there anymore.”
    “He’d better not be waiting out of sight.” Mas chewed his lower lip for a moment. “Fuck it. I’ve got to get home at some point. Need a change of clothes for a start. And I’m not going to let that bastard rule my life. Right. Cheers for helping me hide out and everything. It’s been fun.”
    “Fun? Erm, yes, of course. A pleasure to meet you.”
    Mas stared at Perry’s outstretched hand, his eyes twinkling. Then he grabbed it, kissed the palm lavishly, and scrambled back up over the roof with a “See you soon, Perry the Pirate,” thrown over his shoulder.

Chapter Five
    Mas walked up the stairs to his flat, jumping at the creaky boards and shadows. He tutted at himself for being such a scaredy-cat, and for wishing he’d managed to persuade Perry to escort him to his door. But then he’d have looked utterly pathetic, and that would have put the bloke off for good.
    Not that it would’ve mattered, really. It wasn’t like they stood a chance together. The nice ones were never interested in a proper relationship with him. Mas sighed and pushed his door open. It jammed on something. He shoved harder, and whatever it was gave way. An envelope, with his name written on it in horribly familiar spikey handwriting.