Page 42 of Fool Me Twice
They ordered their meals—steak and ale pie for Si, and a halloumi burger for Zig—and got some drinks in, then found a table.Si took a swig of his Diet Coke and looked wistfully at Zig’s cider.“Burrow Hill.That’s proper stuff, that is.”
“Yeah?I thought it sounded like something a hobbit would drink.Go on, you can have one sip.Just one, mind.You’re driving.”
Si laughed.“Nah, I’m good.You enjoy it.Bet you don’t get that in London.”
“Not in any pub I’ve worked in.”
“What was it like, the place you were working in before you came here?”
Zig shrugged.“You know.Like any other pub.Some of the other staff were pretty okay,” he added, thinking of Ani.Then he cursed mentally and braced himself for the inevitableWhy did you leave, then?
It didn’t come, although their food did, and there was a break in the conversation while plates were handed out and sauces provided.
Si didn’t let the subject drop, though.“What about at the Prince of Wales?You getting on with them all right?Ange is great, ain’t she?”
“Didn’t know you and her were mates.”Zig took a bite of his burger.Not bad, with plenty of mushrooms.
“Not mates as such, but I’m a regular, ain’t I?Think she’s got the wrong impression of me, mind.She seems to reckon I’m some kind of Lothario.”Si frowned.“Is that the bloke I mean?”
“If you mean a bit of a player, then yes.Guess I’m lucky I caught you between boyfriends.”All right, so Zig was fishing for info.Why the hell not?
Had Si’s face gone a bit pink?“Not really had any,” he muttered, and ate a forkful of pie.
Zig put his fork down in surprise.“Notany?In six years?A fit bloke like you?Come off it.”That couldn’t be right.“What, you decided hookups were the way to go, then?”
“What?No.”Si stared at his plate.“There just ain’t been anyone, that’s all.Not since you.Never really been anyone I wanted to, you know.Go out with.Mates, yeah,” he added quickly.“Nothing more than that.”
“Bloody hell.I know it’s a small town, mate, but seriously?No one you fancied at all?Ain’t you ever heard of Grindr?”Zig’s chest was tight with way too many emotions.Shock, with a touch of guilt on the side.Incredulity.Pain, for Si being all on his own.And, cos he was a bastard like that, a shameful bit of pleasure that Si had, what, waited for him?Yeah, right.Get over yourself.
Si shrugged.“Don’t really get Grindr.How do people look at a picture on their phone and want to get naked with the bloke?They don’t even know him.He could be a proper dickhead.”
“Most people on Grindr aren’t too bothered about personality,” Zig said wryly.“But there’s other dating apps, ones that are more about actual dating.You could chat for a while, get to know the bloke, and...”And why the hell was he trying to persuade Si to find blokes who weren’thim?He had another bite of his burger to shut himself up.
Si paused, a forkful of chips halfway to his mouth.“S’pose.It all seems a bit of a palaver, though.And chatting online, it ain’t like meeting someone for real.”
Zig grinned.“You’re an old-fashioned gentleman at heart, aren’t you?”
“Oi.No taking the piss.You see if I hold any doors open for you now.But what about you?Bet you’ve had dozens of boyfriends since we were together in London.”
Did Si’s voice sound sad, under the surface cheer?It was hard to tell, and he’d bent his head to his food once more so Zig couldn’t see his eyes.“Not so many, as it happens.Turns out the dating pool in prison ain’t that great,” Zig said with painful honesty.
He didn’t usually talk about his time inside.It was no one’s business.But with Si...With Si, he felt he could stop trying to pretend it’d never happened.
Si had gone still.“Zig...”
Zig cocked his head.“What’s up?”
“You didn’t, like...”Si’s voice oozed unhappiness.“You know.Get attacked?”
“What?Shit, no.No.It ain’t like all them stories you hear about US jails.And I was in a good nick.Nobody even got shivved, not while I was there, anyhow.Worst thing that happened was a fistfight overBritain’s Got Talent.”Zig grinned.“Turns out some peoplereallylike dog acts.And some people really, really don’t.”
Si smiled at his pie.“I’m glad.That it weren’t too bad for you.”
“Some people would say I got off easy.”Dad would, no doubt about it.Him and Trent had both got longer sentences in worse jails.Thank God they didn’t know he’d raised the alarm, or they’d have spent their years inside plotting bloody revenge—
Zig startled as Si’s large, warm hand landed gently on his arm.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump.”Si lifted his hand, but Zig grabbed it and held it tight.
