The Apprentice
by and © N Fourbois
Chapter 2
They were seated almost immediately in Domino's. Their waiter was obviously a student trying to earn a crust to keep down his student loan. His black trousers framed by a white shirt and white apron emphasised his bubble butt and so distracted Eric and Kieran from the job in hand, which, after making their selection, was to make arrangements for Kieran.
"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to stay in that big house all alone at the moment. Whether you're guilty or innocent, this business is going to prey on your mind at times and so it's a good idea if I'm around. I know it's not so comfortable, but since I sometimes have to do work at home, it would be better if you came and stayed with me. What do you think of that?"
"Okay, but how about if we stayed at your place during the week and you stayed at ours for the weekends?"
"Fine. It will certainly be more comfortable. You know how small my flat is just for one." At that moment their pizzas arrived with lashings of tomato purée sauce. They gave the little waiter the run around because they enjoyed watching his butt. At one stage Eric knocked his fork on the floor so that they could watch him bend down and pick it up, then go and fetch a clean one. "Doesn't he remind you of Brent Corrigan?"
"Who?" said Kieran.
"Brent Corrigan. A cute little American film actor, hung like a stallion. I'll show you a picture when we get home. If you're going to be gay, Kieran, you need to get to know some of these cuties - eye candy as we call it. Where were we? Ah, yes, your accommodation. When do your mum and dad get back?"
"At the end of the month."
"Okay, that gives us a little time for them to get used to the idea you're gay."
"I think Mum might know already. It's just one or two odd things she's said."
"Right, so that might not be such a big hurdle. When we leave here, I'll take you back to your place and you can get together what you'll need till the weekend. Then I'll pick you up on my way home. All right so far?" Kieran nodded.
They carried on eating their pizza before it grew cold.
"How are we going to tell Mum and Dad?" This was obviously the biggest thing on Kieran's mind.
"I'd better do that."
"Could you, Uncle Eric?" That 'uncle' came out again at a strategic moment. It made Kieran feel childlike and therefore vulnerable. For him it wasn't the right situation for them to act as equals.
"Yes, I think that makes sense, for if there's an explosion, I'll take the brunt of it and by the time they get to talk to you they'll have had time to cool down. Not that I think there will be. Sister Colleen was quite philosophical when I came out. Your grandfather would barely speak to me until your grandmother won him round... after a few days, mark you, and you'll know how your father will react better than I will.
By this time the pizzas had been consumed.
"I'm sorry, Kieran. This has been more of a business meeting than a celebration. I'll make it up to you over the weekend."
"There's no need to. You've been fantastic enough as it is. I thought you were going to bollock me."
"It's not my place to do that. Okay, this is what I am going to do: e-mail your parents on your mum's personal e-mail in case they get to an internet café or a library, then copy it to their hotel for relaying. I won't tell them anything except to get in touch with me and give them a list of phone numbers and times in case they haven't got the information at hand. Waiter!" Within ten seconds the waiter was at their table with a smile that would melt icebergs. "Could I have the bill, please?" They watched his tight little arse snake its way to the till area. He brought back the bill in a wallet on a saucer. Eric asked for the credit card machine. After completing the transaction he put a tip on the saucer in cash, which, from the look on the waiter's face, must have been on the generous side.
"I'll just get your receipt, sir," which puzzled Eric since the card reader had already issued it. In a trice he was back with a large wrapped Belgian praline and a business card for each. Then he withdrew. Eric was sure he was putting on a show. He looked at the card and read 'You were served by Orlando.' Kieran looked at his. It said the same, but he turned his over and there written on the reverse was a mobile phone number. Eric turned his over. It was blank. Kieran tucked the card away safely in his wallet. As they left, Orlando was nowhere to be seen.
Eric and Kieran climbed into the car. Eric looked at his watch.
"I'm a bit pressed for time," said the uncle. This time the traffic lights were with him. He pulled up outside Kieran's house and watched until he had the front door open. With a smile Kieran waved goodbye and went inside. Eric pulled into the office car park at a minute to two. Back in his office he had a word with his secretary (shared) and asked if there were any messages. Since there weren't, he sat down at his desk and typed out an e-mail to his sister and brother-in-law, instilling a sense of urgency while not wanting to alarm them. He gave no hint of the emergency, more to pique their curiosity than to protect Kieran at this stage. He also put a message on his sister's mobile. Then he got on with the wash-up from the client he had seen in the forenoon. At five to five he tidied the paper clips on his desk, shut down his computer and joined the stream of workers heading for the car park. There had been no contact from Kieran's parents so far.
He reached Kieran's house in good time and the boy was ready for him with his bags.
"Make sure you've got some sports kit with you, Kieran. It's my night for the gym." Kieran disappeared inside again and after a couple of minutes reappeared lugging a bulging Sainsbury's reusable carrier bag with the toe of a trainer peeping out of the top. When they reached Eric's home, he unlatched the door and helped Kieran carry his luggage in.
"Put it in the sitting room. I've got to sort out the spare room for you." Before doing so he dialled 1571 on the phone. "One message. He pressed 1. It's your mother." He listened. "She must have got the time zones muddled. She'll ring again at nine tonight, our time." Eric pressed 3 to delete the message and put the phone down. Kieran looked at his watch. "Come on, lad, let's sort out a bed for you."
They went to the spare room and Eric lifted off a number of boxes and stowed them on top of the wardrobe, under the bed and in the broom cupboard.
"I'm afraid it's hardly luxury - a camp bed with a flock mattress, no springs, army surplus. Give me a hand with the sheets." He brought a pile of bedding from the airing cupboard. "We'd better put this on first."
"What's that?"
"A mattress protector. I know how much you teenagers wank... now don't deny it." Kieran blushed. "... and it will stop the mattress from getting stained." They laid the bottom fitted sheet on top of it and tucked it in.
"Yeah, Dad had a word with me about wank stains on my sheets once. It was soo embarrassing. I told him it was wet dreams."
"And did he buy it?"
"I don't know, but I had to use paper handkerchiefs if I couldn't control myself."
"And being a rampant teenager with all those hormones rushing round your body, you couldn't." Kieran blushed again, adding
"And with the thoughts of boys I had in my head. That didn't help much, either."
"Don't worry. We've all been there, but might not be as willing as you to admit it. I certainly have, and your father too, but he would have been fantasising about girls, no doubt. Mucky little sod. You don't say that to him by the way."
Eric looked at his watch.
"Come on, Kieran, time we got going. Grab your kit." Once they were underway in the car he started to explain things to his nephew. "I'm booked in on a session from seven to eight. I'll book you in as my guest and as a potential new member. I only have to pay a quid for you then, but you only get that once. After that you're supposed to join while if you come as guest you pay full rate."
"How often do you go?"
"Only once a week. I can't really afford the time to go more often. And Monday night is gentlemen's night and as that means men only, the evening is taken over more or less by the gay community. It's quite fun really. It'll be interesting for you because you'll know whether you feel comfortable among them or not." Eric parked up and they took their kit into the club. Kieran was duly booked in and they went off to the changing rooms. "We'll get a takeaway on the way home. Hardly a celebration for your coming out, but circumstances rather overtook us there."
Kieran was visibly impressed when he saw his uncle dressed in a lycra one-piece which came down to above the knees. It made him look like a teenager again. In addition he wore towelling sweatbands round his forehead and wrists. Wearing his school PE kit of loose white shorts with lycra shorts underneath and a light blue nylon singlet on top, Kieran felt rather underdressed. Eric took him out into the main hall and introduced him to Olaf, the personal trainer he shared with umpteen others. He asked Kieran his age and gym experience and said that he would show him how to use the various apparatus, but he must keep off the weight machines until he was more experienced with the others. Meanwhile Eric got on with his circuit.
Kieran was not unconscious of the fact that he was coming under scrutiny from some of the other members. It did not unnerve him, but rather made him feel good, proud. After all, wasn't that what he was doing earlier in the day to Orlando? And that made him feel less uncomfortable when he caught himself checking out the other guys in the room. With the physical effort he was putting into his gym activities and the mental distraction of the eye candy around him he found that he had completely forgotten about the trials and tribulations that had been testing him earlier in the day. Eight o'clock soon came around and Olaf returned him safely to Eric.
"Hope we see you again, young man," said Olaf, and that's exactly what he meant. Kieran and Eric went to shower. Although communal, the shower room had subdued purple lighting, the sort used in public lavatories to prevent druggies from finding a vein to pursue their activities, and so Kieran felt safe from prying eyes. Not, as was said earlier, that he minded. He was rather proud of his physique and now that he had come out he was anxious to flaunt it.
Outside the gym and on the way to the car, Eric asked
"What's it to be, Kieran? Indian, Chinese or fish and chips?"
"Chinese sounds good to me," he replied. They set off and Eric pulled up outside 'The Wicked Wok'. He ordered a meal for two, knowing that there would be ample, even with a ravenous teenager in the house, although he might be hungry again after a couple of hours.
"We'd better get on with this or it will be cold. It's going to be interrupted by your mother's call anyway. Get the cutlery while I warm a couple of plates. It's in that drawer there. You can have chopsticks if you like, but I'll stick to a knife, fork and spoon, thanks." While the washing up bowl filled with hot water, Eric started to undo the plastic boxes. He immersed two dinner plates in the water. When they were warm he dried them off with a tea towel and put them on the table.
"Help yourself. Don't worry about what they are. Take some of each. There's flied lice with egg and prawns, duck in a sauce, chicken nuggets in batter, sweet and sour pork, a variety of sauces, mixed veg and as many of those prawn crisp things as you want."
They were both hungry as they hadn't eaten since midday.
"Well, what did you think of your gym session, Kieran?"
"Great. A bit more exciting than what we do in PE lessons at school and I felt I'd achieved something too tonight. Good job I had my lycras on under my shorts. One or two of those guys made me feel really horny and despite the exercise I got hard a couple of times."
"Yes, if you're going to come to the gym again, I think we shall have to do something about your kit. I heard one or two complimentary remarks, though, but they had nothing to do with the way you were working out. So, my little stud, you made an impression."
"Tell me something, Eric. Do you go to the gym to look for a boyfriend?"
"You cut to the quick, don't you? I don't want a boyfriend at the moment. I haven't the time to commit, but I do often use it as a dating agency. But it's strictly one-night stands. The great thing is that you meet people from all walks of life."
"Isn't being a chartered accountant a bit of a dampener?" Kieran hesitated when he saw the look on his uncle's face. "I er... mean the reputation of..." he continued getting into deeper water.
"And I suppose excluded schoolboy isn't?"
"Touché." At that moment the telephone rang.
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