Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Josh picked up his m agazine again and went back to reading.
Jez finished his coffee in silence, but his thoughts were deafening.
Chapter Seven
In late Novem ber it was Shawn’s birthday. There was no way Jez
and Mac could get away with stay ing in when all their m ates were going
out to help Shawn celebrate, so they invoked the special occasion clause
in their pact and agreed to j oin the others for once.
It felt weird getting ready to go out after so m any nights in. They
were going clubbing, but there was no dress code; casual would be fine.
Even so, Jez m ade m ore effort with his appearance than he had done in
m onths. He showered and dressed in his best j eans and a black T-shirt that
hugged his torso and em phasised his narrow waist and wide shoulders.
His shaggy, dirty -blond hair didn’t need m uch sty ling, so he j ust com bed
a little wax through it to keep it from going fluffy. He stared in the m irror
critically. Not bad. He tilted his face so the light caught the golden brown
stubble on his j aw. Yeah. He’d do.
Jez went down to the living room where a whole gang of people was
hanging out. As well as his housem ates there were also several other
friends of Shawn’s, m ost of whom Jez had m et before. They were all
getting stuck into the booze—preloading to save m oney on overpriced
beers in the pubs and clubs they ’d be hitting later. There were a ton of
bottles on the coffee table, beer, wine, and cheap brands of vodka and
whisky, and various m ixers. Upbeat m usic poured out of the speakers, and
Jez felt a thrill of excitem ent. He’d got used to stay ing in, but tonight was
going to be fun. Being a herm it had its downside.
Judging by the loud conversation and raucous laughter, he had som e
catching up to do on the alcohol front. He m ade his way to the table and
poured him self a vodka and coke—light on the coke, heavy on the vodka.
He took a swig and felt the burn of the alcohol all the way to his stom ach.
“Jez, m y m an!” A heavy hand clapped on his shoulder, and he
turned to see Shawn, flushed and clearly pissed already. Knowing Shawn,
he’d probably started at lunchtim e. “You’re com ing out later, y eah?”
“Yeah. Gotta help y ou celebrate no longer being a teenager, haven’t
I?” Jez raised his glass, and Shawn bum ped it erratically with the can of
Special Brew he was holding.
“Too fucking right, m ate. ’Bout tim e y ou and that pussy Mac cam e
out and got som e action. You’ve been j oined at the hip for weeks. People
are starting to wonder about y our brom ance, y ou know.”
Jez’s stom ach lurched but he schooled his features into am used
indifference. He scanned the room quickly for Mac to see if he was
listening. Sure enough, Mac was watching their exchange from the sofa,
and he wasn’t doing a good j ob of hiding his discom fort. His j aw was
tense as he glared at Shawn.
Jez decided to front it out, but he kept his tone light. “Don’t be a dick,
Shawny. You know we’ve had our reasons for stay ing in this term .
Any way, we’re com ing out tonight. Wouldn’t m iss it.”
But Shawn frowned, drunk and aggressive. “I should hope so. I’m not
having y ou stay ing in on m y birthday. That would be so fucking gay.”
Jez’s body tensed at the word. Shawn didn’t m ean it literally. It was
one of those things people said—a stupid insult that Jez had probably
thrown out him self hundreds of tim es over the y ears. But now it m ade his
palm s sweat and his heart pound with the irrational fear that som ehow
Shawn knew.
Jez caught Mac’s ey e for a split second before looking back at
Shawn’s stupid, belligerent face. Mac appeared as stunned as Jez felt, so
he was clearly going to be no help here. Jez tried to find the right
response, afraid he’d say the wrong thing or give them away by his
expression or the tone of his voice. But before he could gather his wits
and find som e words, distraction cam e from an unexpected quarter.
“Stay ing in isn’t gay, Shawn,” Josh drawled from behind Shawn.
“We’ve been through this. Will y ou please stop with using that as an insult
for every thing? As the resident gay, I’m getting tired of hearing it.”
Shawn flushed. “It’s j ust an expression,” he m uttered, but at least he
had the grace to look guilty.
“Well, it’s a stupid one.” Josh’s ey es narrowed as if daring Shawn to
argue m ore.
There was an awkward pause. Jez was suddenly aware that the
chatter had died down. Most people in the room seem ed to be listening to