Page 83 of The Dramatic Life of Jonah Penrose
“A strip show makes it sound so uncouth, Jonah,” she tutted. “But, yes, lots of abs and bums.” She giggled. “Maybe even a willy.”
Jonah lifted the roses to cover his face as he groaned. “Wow. Okay then, Mum, have fun.”
“You don’t want us to walk with you to the venue?” Dexter asked. “It’s not a problem.”
“No, no, don’t be silly,” she said, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss Dexter on the cheek before doing the same to Jonah. “I don’t know why you’re so mortified by penises, Jonah, honestly. It’s not like you don’t have one of your own, and I’m sure you’ve seen his plenty of times.” She gestured at Dexter.
“Okay, Mum, that’s enough, go, have a good time. But, um, well...” He struggled for words.
“I’m strictly on the orange juice, love,” she said and hugged him again,crumpling the roses slightly, and cupped his cheek as she looked in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Jonah. Dad would be too.”
“Thank you.”
“Enjoy the rest of your night, boys. I’ll see you for breakfast in the morning.” And with that, she swung her handbag over her shoulder and sauntered off down the road toward Covent Garden.
“She’ll be fine,” Dexter said as they watched her go. “You’ve got to let her live her life, Jonah.”
“I know. I just worry about her.”
“That’s normal. But from how she was today, I think she’s really found her feet.” He smiled. “She is quite the person to watch a show with,” Dexter said. He put his arm around Jonah, and they started toward the bus stop; it was Dexter’s turn to have his preferred method back to Camden. “She kept grabbing my knee and squeezing super tight.”
“Any excuse to get her hands on you.” Jonah laughed. “She always tells me how handsome you are.”
“Sounds like she’s going to have her hands full with a lot of other men tonight.”
“Who knew leaving Cornwall would bring out the man-eating side of my mum?”
“I think it’s kinda sweet, actually.” Dexter smiled. “To see her so happy. She really is doing well.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jonah said as he ran his fingers over the petals of the roses. “Thank you for these. They’re beautiful.”
“You were outstanding tonight, you deserve them. Seriously, I think I had goosebumps throughout the entire show. It’s quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever seen in the West End, and I’m not just saying that because my boyfriend is one of the leads.”
“Wow, such a glowing review from the one-and-only Dexter Ellis.” Jonah grinned at him. “No criticism to be found.”
“Well, actually, you were behind—”
“Stop.”
“You didn’t—”
“Dexter.”
“Only like, a millisecond behind in ‘Two Ladies.’” He stopped to stand in front of Jonah and tucked a curl behind his ear before leaning forward to kiss him.
“Was I actually?”
“No, but I need to keep you on your toes, can’t have you thinking you’re going to win an Olivier for best actor in a musicalagainnext year. We both know that award’s mine.”
Jonah smacked his hand against Dexter’s chest with a groan before laughing. “Well, we’ll see, huh? You’ve got a month before your opening night. Best polish those tap shoes if you even stand a chance of being nominated.” He let Dexter hold his hand again as they meandered down the road, taking their time; they finally had time to take. Jonah listened as Dexter talked about the show, about the parts he liked the most, about the costumes he wished Jonah might bring back to the bedroom. As they waited at the bus stop, their bodies huddled together, the smell of red roses danced between them. Jonah took a deep breath and closed his eyes and let London carry them home.
