Page 38 of The Weight Of It All
Which he wasn’t. Friend, maybe. Boyfriend, definitely not.
I wasn’t ready for that.
Reed opened the door and stepped out. “What about these?”
I stared at his face, not even looking at his jeans. “Did you want…? Are you interested in him because I?”
“What?”
“Chihuahua b? I mean the sales assistant guy.”
Reed looked horrified. He pointed out into the store and whispered, “That guy?”
I nodded.
Reed balked at first then laughed. “Uh no. No. No. He’s not my type.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank God. I didn’t think so, because you called me babe in front of him, but I thought I should ask. I mean, I just sent him packing with my bitch brow, and I thought maybe I shouldn’t have.”
“Your bitch brow?”
“Yeah, you know…” I gave him a demonstration, waving at my face like it was onThe Price is Right.
He made a pained ooooh face. “I see.”
I nodded. “I should probably apologise,” I said, looking out to where the sales guy had gone.
Reed just laughed. “Oh, Henry. Don’t worry about him.” He chuckled for a while then turned around and lifted his shirt to show off his arse. “How about these?”
“Very nice.” Then I actually looked at the jeans. “Yeah, they’re great. How do they feel?”
He bent each leg at the knee again, which was apparently the Reed gauge of denim flexibility. “Mmm.”
“You like the first pair best,” I stated.
“What do you think?”
“I think the first pair were better too.”
He smiled again and disappeared back into the change room. When he was done, he paid for his jeans, and the sales guy had lost a little of his sparkle. Well, he was still smarmy and desperate, and he was giving Reed serious bedroom eyes, but Reed just thanked him and we left.
When we started walking back up the mall, Reed gave me a sad smile. “Thank you for playing along with the whole ‘babe’ thing. I thought if he knew we were together, he’d back off.”
“Oh, that’s fine. No problem. He was keen, that’s for sure. Did you see how he was looking at you when he was serving you just now?”
Reed visibly shuddered. “This might sound conceited, but it happens more than I’d like to admit, and I hate it. At first it was flattering, now it’s just awkward. And some guys don’t get the message. I guess they assume most gay guys are up for a quickie or whatever.” He blushed a little. “But that’s not my style.”
“Mine either,” I admitted. “Not that guys hit on me like that. I don’t exactly have that problem.”
“Ah, that’s because you haven’t made them your citrus tart.”
I snorted. “Oh yeah, it brings all the boys to the yard.”
Reed laughed, and then right there in the middle of the Pitt Street Mall, a Hellmouth opened. “Henry?”
Oh no.I knew that voice…
Reed turned to the sound of my name being called, but I froze. I wasn’t ready for this.
