Syed inhaled deeply, smelling the familiar warmth of Christian's skin and half opened sleepy eyes. He could feel Christian's arm beneath his neck, cradling him and smiled, carefully shifting his weight, knowing that he would wake and subtly pretend it hadn't gone numb in the night, would surreptitiously flex and straighten his muscles until the feeling returned, not wanting Syed to know that he had suffered to protect his comfort.
Curling his fingers into Christian's chest hair, Syed let his lids close, bright sunlight pouring across them on the bed, shining through the window, the curtains, that they had never got round to drawing, flapping gently in the quiet breeze from the sea.
Christian yawned, his rib cage rising beneath Syed's cheek. Voice rumbling into Syed's ear, he drawled drowsily,
"Morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Like the truly shagged. Had a really weird dream that a magician kept quoting poetry at me, pulling rabbits from his trousers and tickling me with them…"
"Ha! You're weird. What time is it?"
As Syed crawled over his body to reach their watches on the bedside table, Christian ran his hand down the length of his spine and slapped his buttock.
"Ow. Half past nine." Syed wriggled back and lay on top of him. Noticing the expected stealthy movement, he asked, brow furrowed with concern, "has your arm gone dead?"
"Nah…" Christian lied, ignoring the tingling pins and needles. "My cock's not dead either."
"Ah, so that's what's sticking in my stomach then. I wondered."
Christian grinned,
"Are you hungry?" He asked.
"Starved." Blinking innocently, lashes brushing against Christian's, Syed slowly licked his lips. "I fancy Waffles, They're waffly versatile…"
"Shall I call room service?"
"Oh I don't think we need them just yet. I can have an appetiser…"
Uttering a little growl of delight, Christian gripped Syed's hair as he slid down to take him in his mouth.
Christian rubbed at his hair vigorously with a towel and smiled at the comatose Syed. Wondering whether to wake him, he leant over the bed and a droplet of water fell onto Syed's face, making him snuffle and stir, wrinkling his nose.
"Did I fall asleep again?"
"You came, very noisily, told me you loved me and then passed out. I've sent down for some breakfast…"
A polite knock at the door made Syed sit bolt upright and scrabble for the sheet to cover himself.
"…Which has arrived. Ha ha! You're such a filthy demon in bed and yet, sometimes, so terribly, terribly prim." Christian tied the towel around his waist and headed for the door, reassuringly adding over his shoulder, "don't worry. I won't let them in… Hi! Thank you. I'll take that."
Christian clattered past with a tray, easily carrying the heavy weight out onto the balcony and Syed clambered out of bed to follow him, pushing back his tangled hair.
"What did we get? Did you…"
"Get waffles? Course. And maple syrup. Bacon and eggs for me."
"Sunny side up?" Syed found a pair of pants on the floor and put them on inside out, salivating, too hungry to care. He dragged out a metal chair and sat down opposite Christian, eagerly lifting the metal cloche from one of the plates.
"Over easy." Christian poured out two cups of coffee from the pot and passed one to Syed with a grin. "This is the life, eh Sy?"
He studied Syed's open, happy, expression, the absence of worry and stress, thinking that it was how he always wanted him to be, that no matter what sacrifices he had to make, he needed to preserve his look of freedom forever.
"It surely is. Shame we can't always live like this."
Syed dripped a generous dollop of syrup onto his waffle and took bite, white teeth making a semi-circle in the crisp ridges.
"Yes…"
Absentmindedly, Christian reached to wipe a golden drop of sticky sweetness from the corner of Syed's top lip with his finger. Offering it to him to lick, he muttered, "bubble" so softly that Syed didn't hear.
"Yummy. I suppose we'd better be making tracks soon. I'd like stop off at the mosque on the way, if you don't mind? I won't be too long."
"No. Of course I don't mind. I should get back though; you take your time… Might be an idea to have a shower first."
Syed pulled a face at him.
"Duh. No shit. Are we getting a cab, or shall we walk along the beach?"
Wanting to opt for the latter, to delay the inevitable return to his responsibilities, Christian sighed, answering pragmatically,
"It's quite a way and we've got all our new stuff. Jane will probably be getting her knickers in a twist. She needs to sort things out, get ready to leave."
"Boo. You're right. She's so excited, isn't she? How long is it since she saw Bobby? She'll hardly recognise him."
"No." Realising Syed was on the point of noticing that his mood had dipped, Christian made a sudden lunge for his plate. "Can I have one?"
"Bug off and eat your bacon… Oh go on then."
Laughing, Syed picked up one of the sticky waffles and pressed it firmly onto Christian's chin.
Standing in front of the rusty insect screen, Christian let his hand drop to his side. He recalled Syed leaping from the cab, how he had watched him through the back windscreen, hovering at the side of the road, momentarily confused by the direction of the traffic. An obvious fear, that a cop might appear and tell him off for jaywalking, made him wait dutifully for the lights to change before, with a wave and his hair flying, he sprinted out of sight. He had seemed the very epitome of joy and when he disappeared from view, Christian felt a heavy, inexplicable, wave of sadness, incompleteness, as if his soul had gone with him.
From inside the house, he heard his mother call for Jane, the sound thin and wheedling. He yanked open the screen, the base of it catching on the wooden boards of the porch, emitting a screech that made him wince. Pulling himself to his full height and squaring his shoulders, he told himself he was a twat and stepped over the threshold.