Page 51 of Kicks
“Hello? Eddie? Is everything all right?”
Hearing Billy’s voice made Eddie realise how sure he was about pursuing him. Scott had a point. It was unquantifiable.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I wondered what you were doing?”
“Now? Nothing much. Having a flick through the Sunday papers, mainly. Why?”
Fuck, he’s a proper grown-up.
“I rang to ask if you’d fancy a stroll. Don’t worry if you’re busy or have Crystal to take care of.”
“I think I can leave her alone for a while if she promises not to play with matches. Hey,” Billy said. “She threw a pillow at me.”
Eddie instantly visualised it.
“I’d love a stroll. Where do you want to meet?” Billy asked.
“The pier? Two o’clock.”
“The pier. I like your style, sir. See you then.”
“Bye.”
Eddie terminated the call, his central nervous system going haywire inside him.
“What did he say?”
“He liked my style.”
“Aww,” Scott said. “Shame it’s my style.”
Eddie got to his feet. “We’re interchangeable. You know that.”
“This is true, Edward,” Scott replied. “I bring the style and you bring the sense.”
They had been like an old married couple for years. Tyler had somehow managed to find a place for himself in the middle. Their previous flatmate had rubbed Scott up the wrong way. Still, he had redecorated the whole flat before running off to suburbia with a wallpaper designer from Glasgow.
“If you could see your way to giving out some more of your style wisdom,” Eddie said. “How about helping me pick an outfit for excursion you’ve engineered.”
Scott clapped his hands together. “Fun!”
“But, Scott?”
“Yes?”
“Cover yourself up.”
“Fine. Hand me your dressing gown. You really are a prude. If you do bag this man, you realise it’s summertime.”
Eddie frowned. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“It might be difficult to have sex in the dark. That’s all I’m saying.”
Eddie got up and held his hand out for Scott. “Nobody is having sex,” he replied. “It’s a walk on the pier, for fuck’s sake.”
Despite the usual squabbling with Scott, Eddie had to admit that he had done a good job in choosing his outfit.
The sun was high in the sky. Eddie wandered down the promenade in denim shorts and a bold striped shirt. The colours of mustard, olive green, red and blue made quite the statement. Still, he always liked to make an impression so didn’t really spare much thought.
