by JL Merrow
Then Mal’s phone rang.
Mal was a bit pissed off when he got the call, cos he’d been on cloud nine and he’d had a feeling him and Jory had been about to have a truly epic snog, but there was a good chance it was Mum ringing to tell him he was an uncle. He dived into his pocket, realising even as he pulled out his phone that the ringtone was “Manic Mechanic.” Dev.
Then again, did he really want to miss taking a call from Dev when he was actually sitting in Dev’s ancestral seat? Well, on Dev’s uncle’s lap in Dev’s ancestral seat, which sounded dead pervy when he thought about it.
He grinned as he answered. “Yo, bro.”
“Hey, how’s it going?” It was noisy in the background, like Dev was ringing from a café with hard, echoey floors and a lot of loud people in it.
Mal raised his voice to make sure he’d be heard. “Good, yeah. Fell down a hole in the ground last night and had to be rescued, but apart from that, I’m good.” He shared a glance with Jory, who was wincing a bit. Hopefully from the reminder about last night and not cos he thought Mal had a bony arse.
Dev laughed. “Never change, mate. Never change. Listen, I’m ringing from the services on the M5. Me and Kyle are driving down. Set off early to beat the traffic, so we should be with you in a couple of hours.”
“What, today? Thought it was gonna be middle of next week.” It was fucking aces to hear he’d be seeing Dev again so soon—but that was, like, really soon.
“Yeah, well, Kyle got fed up hanging about at home when we could be hanging about by the seaside.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Knackered from the crap meds, but he’s good. He says hi. Or he would if he wasn’t . . . you know.” Mal did know. When a nap attack hit, Kyle could sleep anywhere. “So, yeah, we’ll be down the pub when we get here, or I will be, anyhow. Kyle’s gonna see how it goes.”
“Can’t wait to see you, mate.” Oops. A bit of emotion might have slipped through there.
Dev’s voice softened. “How you been? Apart from falling-down drunk?”
“Uh . . .” Mal glanced at Jory. “It’s complicated? But, uh, mostly good.”
Jory gave him a look.
Mal melted. “Scratch that. Fucking awesome.”
“Do I wanna know? You can tell me tonight. Tash been taking good care of you?”
“Christ, yeah. For the love of God, tell her to lay off when you get here, yeah? I can iron my own kecks. If I wanted me bloody kecks ironed, which seriously, who even does that? Mum’d have a right go at her for not letting me do it all myself.” He hesitated, but if Tasha wanted Dev to know she was pining over Ceri, she’d probably rather tell him herself. “Even old Jago keeps being nice to me. It’s doing my head in.”
“You love it really. I gotta go, but I’ll see you tonight.”
“Counting on it.”
Mal hung up. “So, that was Dev.”
“I kind of gathered.” Jory stroked Mal’s hair, which was so bloody sweet he could hardly stand it. “I guess I won’t be seeing you tonight.”
“Not this afternoon, neither. They’re only a couple of hours away. Um. I know you wanna meet Dev soon as, but—”
Jory was shaking his head. “I can wait. I’ve waited twenty-five years. And I’m more concerned about you right now.” He paused. “But you’ll mention me to him?”
Mal nodded. “Can’t promise he’ll go for it. That sister of yours did a proper number on him. But I’ll do me best, yeah?”
He tried to sound confident, but inside he was a tangled mess of nerves. Yeah, of course he was going to be glad to see Dev again, but . . . timing, much? He’d have felt a lot better with at least a couple of days to get him and Jory sorted before having to introduce the bloke to Dev.
What if Dev didn’t want to see him? That was going to be well awkward.
Shit. Mal was starting to remember all the reasons why getting involved with Jory had seemed like a bad idea.
But no way was he going to give him up now.
When Dev walked into the pub around lunchtime, Tasha let out a squeal so loud they probably had complaints about it over in Ireland. “Oi, careful.” Mal rubbed his ear on the side nearest to her. “I think I just lost an eardrum.”
Tasha shrugged. “Meh. You got another. Dev! Babe, it’s been so long.”
Dev sauntered over as she slipped out from behind the bar so he could give her a hug, a proper one, her feet off the floor and everything. “Looking good, Tash, looking good.”
“Your hair’s longer. And, ow, your stubble’s got sharper. Oi, lemme go.” They were both grinning wildly.
Mal held back, cos Dev might be his best mate but him and Tash were family. It wasn’t long, though, before Dev let go of his little sis and turned. “Mal, my man. How’s it going? Whoa, check out the pimp cane.” He eyed the walking stick propped up against the bar.
“Up yours, mate. And it will be if you don’t watch out.” They shared a hug that was a lot manlier—no squealing, just bro-type back-slapping—while Tasha ducked back behind the bar and started pouring Dev a Coke.
“Where’s Kyle? You leave him back at the cottage?”
“Nah, we walked down together. He’ll be here in a bit. Wanted to give Zelley a good run around on the beach after all those hours cooped up in the car.”
Huh. Mal kept forgetting some people had pets they could take with them when they went away. “How’s he doing? Now he can’t hear you telling me.”
“He’s good. Seriously. He was pissed off about the meds, but he’s a lot more chill about that sort of stuff than he used to be.” Dev smiled soppily, the big soft git. “So how’s it been with you? Really?”
“Uh, good. Well, you know. Swings and roundabouts . . .” Mal dried up. Which was in direct contrast to his hands, which were sweating harder than an overweight pig that’d taken up marathon running. In Hell. He wiped them on his jeans.
Dev narrowed his eyes. “Come on, then, what you done?”
“Uh . . . We don’t have to get into that now.” Mal crossed his fingers.
“Get into what?” Christ, Dev was like a dog with a boner. Kept humping your leg until he got what he wanted.
“Tell him,” Tash said. Traitor.
Mal sighed. “I met your uncle.”
“That bastard? What did he do to you?”
“No. Not him. Well, yeah, I met him too, but . . . the other one. Jory. He’s younger. And nicer.”
“And?”
Tasha leaned over the bar, eyes bright and her tongue practically hanging out. “And he shagged him, didn’t he?”
Mal groaned. “Cheers, Tash. That’s exactly how I wanted to break it to him.”
Dev stared. “You slept with my uncle? Fuck, bruv, I thought you had some standards.”
“Oi, he’s not like the other one, all right? He’s a good bloke, Jory is.”
“Uh-huh? No offence, but I’m gonna need evidence before I believe that about anyone called Roscarrock.”
“He wants to meet you. Get to know you. And, uh, he’s got a kid. Your cousin.”
Dev’s face had that closed-off expression Mal hadn’t seen for a while. Say, since back when Dev had first met the Roscarrocks. “I got loads of cousins.”
“Yeah, but Gawen’s cool. He’s twelve and he’s really into computer games. Dead bright too.”
“What about his mum?”
“Uh, she’s not so cool. Well, she kinda is, but . . .” Yeah, best not going there. “But they’re divorced. Uh, getting divorced. They’ve been separated since like before he was born.” Mal realised how that might sound to Dev and hurried on. “But Jory didn’t abandon them or nothing. He’s a great dad to Gawen. He’s gonna be a teacher at his school from September.”
“He’s all right, honest,” Tasha put in. “When we was worried about Mal last night, he dropped everything to drive round trying to find him. Despite having reasons not to.” She shot Mal a filthy look which, yeah, he probably deserved.
“Oh yeah? A
nd what was all that about, anyhow?” Dev frowned. “You mean you weren’t joking about having a fall? What you done to yourself?”
“It was only a little one. I’d’ve been fine if the weather hadn’t been so shit.”
“And if you hadn’t been pissed out of your skull,” Tasha put in flatly.
“Cheers, babe.”
“Anytime.”
“Oi, you were out on the piss? On your own?” Dev’s face was darkening in a way that said brace yourself for thunder, lightning, and all four horsemen of the apocalypse.
“I wasn’t on my own!”
Tasha snorted. “Yeah, that was the problem.”
“Was this that Roscarrock bloke?”
“No!”
“That was the problem too.” Tasha made a face. “Him and Jory was on the outs, and this older woman got Mal drunk and took advantage.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Mal protested, cos it really wasn’t fair on Kirsty.
“I tell it like I see it, babe.”
Dev shook his head slowly. “Jesus, you two are doing my head in. Look, just tell me about this bloke. My so-called uncle. Are you and him together or what?”
“Yeah. We sorted it out.” Mal couldn’t help smiling as he thought about Jory.
Dev rolled his eyes. “Right. So now tell me, if he wanted to meet me, how come he never bothered till now?”
“Cos he didn’t know. Swear to God. I didn’t believe it at first, but that brother and sister of his—” Mal realised he was slagging off Dev’s mum and swallowed, but fuck, Dev knew what she was like. “They don’t tell him nothing. And they tried to run his whole life. Treat him like a kid even though he’s in his thirties and he’s got a kid of his own.”
“You can sorta see why they’re all fu—mucked up, though,” Tasha said. “Their dad took a long walk off a short cliff right behind their house.”
Mal shuddered. “Tasha, do something for me, will you? Never volunteer to work for the Samaritans.”
“Fu—stuff you. I’d be brill. And stop changing the subject. You gotta meet him, Dev. Well, you’re gonna anyway, seeing as him and Mal are in lurve.”
“It’s serious, then, you and him?”
Mal shoved his hands in his pockets. “Pretty much. Yeah.”
“So what were you and him on the outs about?”
Aw, fuck. “I told him we couldn’t be together.”
“Because of me?”
“Yeah. No . . . I’ve just been really fucking messed up, you know?”
Dev’s expression went all soppy again, and he gripped Mal’s arm. “Hey, it’s okay, bruv. You got every right to be. But this bloke, he makes you happy, yeah?”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does. Still dunno how it’s gonna work, but . . . we’re gonna give it a go.”
Dev sighed, but he was smiling too. “Guess I’ll be seeing him, then. And oi, none of that,” he added when Mal opened his mouth to say No, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. “It’s like, word of mouth, innit?”
“Uh?”
“’S how we get a lot of business down at the garage. People bring their cars in, they’re happy with our work, so they tell their mates. And then they bring their cars in. So, like, this Roscarrock bloke—”
“Jory,” Mal interrupted.
“—Jory, yeah, he’s like the garage.”
“What, and I’m the car he’s serviced? Cheers, bruv.”
Dev laughed. “You know what I mean. He’s given your engine a good seeing to—”
“Seriously, this metaphor needs to die. It needs to die right now—”
“—and now you’re recommending his services to all your mates.”
“Listen, mate, if you even think about asking Jory to have a poke around under your bonnet—”
Kyle turned up at that point, which was just as well. He looked good—tired, but good. Zelley was a chocolate brown shadow at his heels. Mal bent down to make a fuss of her, with a lot of Who’s a gorgeous girl, then? and that sort of thing. Then he grinned up at Kyle. “Oh, you here and all?”
“Good to see you too,” Kyle said easily. “How have you been, Mal?”
Dev shouldered in as Mal straightened to give Kyle a welcoming hug. “That’s Uncle Mal to you and me now.”
“Have I missed something?” Kyle had his lawyer-look on his face.
“Just a bit,” Tasha said, and cackled.
Mal threw up his hands. “Jeez, I can’t face going through that again. Imma go pee. I may be some time.”
“Don’t worry, babe, we’ll fill him in with all the juicy details,” Tasha called after him, as Mal scarpered up the stairs as quick as he could.
After he’d visited the bathroom—he really had needed a pee—Mal escaped into his room and sat down on the bed. He needed a bit of space. Everything had gone good, and now . . . Now he wanted to sit quietly for a mo and try not to think about how badly it could all have gone.
Dev wasn’t pissed off about it. He was going to give Jory a chance.
And Jory was going to give Mal another chance. Despite all the fuckups, all the stupid crappy things he’d done, Jory was giving him another chance.
Mal let himself fall back on the bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. He wondered what Jory was doing.
Then he realised he could just bloody well ask him, grabbed his phone out of his pocket, and sent a quick text: U there?
The answer took a little while to come through. Where else would I be?
Mal smiled. Dev here. Up 4 seeing u.
Waiting for a text to buzz through, Mal almost dropped the phone when Jory rang him instead. “Yo?” Mal’s voice didn’t shake, he was proud of that, but his heart was pounding in his rib cage as if it wanted to come out and play.
“Hi.” Jory’s voice on the other end was like the perfect mug of hot chocolate, all warm, rich, and comforting.
“Hey.”
“So you persuaded him? I’m . . . I don’t know what to say. But thank you.”
“Tash helped. And he said if I like you, that’s good enough for him. Only, uh, he said it with metaphors.”
“Well, as long as it wasn’t similes.”
“Poncy overeducated git.” Mal paused. “Uh, don’t take that the wrong way.”
Jory chuckled. Over the phone, it sounded all breathy and did weird things to Mal’s insides. And other bits. “There’s a right way?”
“Duh. There’s always a right way and a wrong way.”
“So what would be the right way?” Jory’s voice was all teasing.
Mal swallowed. “Uh, just to be clear, are we talking about Dev or are we having phone sex?”
“Now that you’ve brought up my nephew, I think I can categorically say we’re not having phone sex.”
“Well, shit. Um. So, I haven’t, like, made any arrangements, but are you free tomorrow?”
“Would that be for meeting Dev or for phone sex?” The teasing tone was back.
Mal was torn. “You’re a lot pervier over the phone, you know that?”
Jory laughed. “That’s because you can’t see me turning red.”
“Oh yeah? How far down does it go?”
“You want me to check for you?”
Mal was going to say Yeah, baby in a low, growly voice. Somehow what came out was totally different and all high-pitched and squeaky. “I really fucking wish you were here.”
There was a silence that lasted just long enough for Mal to start to panic. Then: “Me too. Funny how far a mile or so can seem. I mean, it’s not much further than my walk to work, but . . .”
“Yeah.”
“I could come down, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t be the best idea?”
Mal tried his hardest to convince himself that Jory coming down to the pub would be the best idea ever, but . . . “Nah. Give Dev a chance to settle in. Get ready for it. But tomorrow, for defs.”
Mal had planned to give it half an hour and then go back down, but Tasha came up to find him before he got th
at far. She poked her head around the door with her eyes shut. “Babe? You having a wank?”
Mal moaned loudly. “Oh yeah, that’s it, shit, gonna come so hard . . .”
Her eyes flew open. Mal grinned at her from where he was sitting on the bed, fully clothed. Not wanking, cos he wasn’t daft. He’d have locked the door for that. “Made you look.”
Tasha stuck up her finger. “I knew you weren’t really. Wanker. Are you ever coming down again? Cos I ain’t bringing your lunch up here.”
“Yeah, I’m on my way. I just needed to chill for a bit, you know? You said lunch, right?” He batted his eyes up at Tasha hopefully.
“Ready and waiting. Emphasis on waiting, so get your arse in gear, yeah?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
“That’s what you said before, and I didn’t believe you then either.” Tasha cackled and disappeared.
Mal heaved himself off his bed and plodded down the stairs. His ankle hardly hurt at all now, and the swelling had gone down. Which was good, obviously, but it made him feel even more embarrassed over last night’s little adventure. He patted his thigh and, ow, yeah, the bruise was still reassuringly painful. He hadn’t been a total crybaby over nothing.
Dev and Kyle were sitting at a side table in the bar, already tucking in to a couple of ploughman’s lunches. Mal slid into the empty seat where his own lunch was laid out. “It’s all right. You didn’t have to wait,” he said to be a git.
“Nah, we knew you’d only feel bad about it,” Dev said with his mouth full. “You eating that cucumber?”
“Nope.” Mal scooped the four or five slices up onto his knife and dumped them on Dev’s plate, taking a pickled onion in trade. Kyle would thank him for it later. “So what’s the plan for today?”
“Settle in, laze about a bit, hope the weather picks up. You?”
“Not really got any plans.”
“Aintcha seeing that bloke of yours, then?”
“Well . . . I saw him this morning. Thought I’d spend the day with you two, since it’s been so bloody long.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. Can’t promise we ain’t both gonna fall asleep on the sofa, mind.”
“No worries. I’ll bring my Sharpie.”
Dev laughed. “Oi, Kyle’s the only one allowed to put a dick on my face.”