Phil doesn’t seem convinced, but there’s no way George will talk in front of all of them, so he gives up for the time being.
‘Fine… Back to you, Ledwell.’
‘And back to you! What are you saying?You’re with a guy?’
‘No! Nothing serious. It’s casual, just for fun and—’
‘For God’s sake, Philip!’ Alex slams his bottle onto the table. ‘You’ve got a girlfriend!’
‘Yeah, yeah, I’m a tosser. Not a scoop.’
‘I need new friends.’
‘You need cake, Alex. Do you want some cake?’ George gestures at the kitchen. ‘There’s—’
‘No amount of sugar is gonna save this evening!’
Alex stands up, his fists clenched against his thighs, like the sorcerer he impersonated back in the day, about to conjure his powers to defeat evil. Until he starts crabbing between the sofa and the coffee table, and loses his impressive lustre.
‘Where are you going?’
‘For a walk! In that stupidly long corridor leading to the bathroom!’
‘Hey…’ Spencer twists his fingers. ‘Is it easier to meet guys? Maybe I should try if my date is a disaster.’
‘Sure,’ Phil says. ‘I reckon you’d be popular in gay clubs.’
‘Really? You second that, Chaz?’
‘I wouldn’t know…’
‘Oh, same. I’m speculating, I don’t go there.’
Phil smiles at Alex who’s reappeared in the door frame but spins around with a scandalised grunt.
‘I’m fuming, but I’m dying to hear about your boyfriend, Charles! Wait for me!’
‘You frequent gay clubs?’ George asks Phil. ‘And you call that being careful?’
‘Never in London. It’s always been more of a holiday thing. Didn’t think I’d meet someone close to home I can’t seem to get tired of, but shit happens.’
‘It’salways been…?’ Charles blinks again. ‘What does that mean? How long have you been… Well…’
‘Bi? Don’t know. Forever, I guess. I acted on it four years ago. I fancied him, went for it, enjoyed it, didn’t question it.’
‘And you never said a thing?’
‘Didn’t want anyone to make a big deal of something that’s not one to me.’
‘Very fair and very Phil of you. But it would have been such a smaller deal to me if… I knew and could talk to you about what I was going through.’
Phil shrugs, fatalistic and unapologetic.
‘So when you say it’s casual, do you—’
‘No, we’re not discussing my case. I’m sorry I stole your limelight for a minute. You wanted to talk about your relationship, that’s huge, so tell us more about Loris. Do we know him?’
‘No. Well, George does.’
