They may not mean to, but they do - 8. Eight

Monday evening was more than fine, the weather was almost glorious. So, when Keith arrived, Bart and Greg were already taking advantage of the opportunity and sitting by the pool. Now more comfortable in his skin, Keith stripped off quickly and dived in. Soon there were drinks and food, and talk.

"I’ve met someone."

"Do tell" / "The bloke you met a couple of weeks ago" – Greg and Bart almost simultaneously.

But once he’d said it, Keith went a bit red and felt shy. "It's only been a couple of times; we went walking on Saturday and sort of got into it on the moors."

"Dirty bugger!"

"Good on you."

Keith was now bright red, "And we met for lunch yesterday. I’ve said I’ll play in a charity football match a mate of his is organising next week." There was more questioning, but it was light-hearted, and Keith never had a worry that Greg and Bart were not supportive.

"Thing is, he’s staying with his brother at the moment."

"The vicar?"

Keith nodded, "And even if the lads at the house knew I was seeing a bloke."

"You’ve not told them yet", Bart shot in.

Greg put a restraining hand on his arm, "Not everyone comes out the closet when they’re twelve like you, some of us move at a slower rate."

"OK, sorry Keith. Go on."

"Well, I just don’t think I could manage to do it, you know, with Jiri, Jack or someone in the next room. Hearing stuff."

Greg nodded, "Walls like paper, I bet. I can understand that."

"So, we’re going to have to go to a hotel."

Bart smiled, "Very…" But Greg’s hand on his arm prevented him from finishing the sentence. Instead, the two looked at each other, communicating without words.

Bart leapt up, "Of course! Come on, we’ve got something to show you."

Keith got up, went over to his clothes and pulled his jeans on. He followed Greg and Bart to the house, but they went to the back, to the outside staircase which led up to the flat they’d created on the first floor at the rear. This older wing may have originally been a barn, but it had long been incorporated into the main structure. Greg and Bart had created a huge open kitchen for themselves on the ground floor, and above, a large studio flat to rent out. Keith hadn’t seen it since he’d finished the electrics and done the snagging.

It was simply one large room, bar the bathroom, with cooking, living, and sleeping areas. The furniture was all new, ‘Best IKEA’ as Bart commented, but it was frankly far nicer than the mismatched match-stick stuff in his current place. The room was painted in tones of grey, stylish but a bit cool for Keith’s taste. Still, it took all sorts and who was he to comment when compared to the alarming pattern on his current bedroom curtains.

"What do you think?"

"Nice. Will make someone a nice pad. It’s come on well." Keith went over to inspect some of his last-minute work, to check it was OK.

"Would you like it?"

Keith brought his head up sharply and stared at Bart, "You mean rent it? I couldn’t afford."

Greg waved his hands, "Less of that. It's not a money-making exercise. We want someone in here whom we like, whom we trust and whom we like having around. And you can pay what you are paying now, or less. As long as we cover costs and put a bit aside for contingencies, that’s fine."

"But", only Keith couldn’t think of any buts, he was a bit overwhelmed.

Bart came over and put his hands on Keith’s upper arms, a not quite hug, "We like having you around, and I’m sure we’ll like Thomas. You need to start making a life for yourself and thinking of yourself a bit more. And we love you and want to help." Keith nodded and thanked them.

They talked logistics but essentially Keith could move in straight away. He’d pay for his share of the house during his notice period but would not be there. And he didn’t have much stuff. He could finish work early on Wednesday and bring everything over in one go. There was more to talk about, and some celebratory bubbles to drink, but Keith’s head was spinning.

As soon as he was back in his bedroom, he phoned Thomas to tell him the good news and ask whether Thomas would like to come over on Saturday. Thomas was almost as pleased as Keith was, and the two started making plans.

--oOo—oOo—

Keith didn’t really need to be at the building supplies, but he’d finished his first job early (just some snagging) and had time. There were things he wanted, not urgently though, and in truth, he was using it as an excuse to chat to Jaz. Their previous conversation had been nagging at him. As luck would have it, she was nowhere around, then she appeared from behind the counter and as she walked out, she smiled at him and said see you outside.

"You’re just in time, going on me break, fancy a coffee?"

"OK, where?"

"Costas’ place, at the end of the road. Nip there in your van", the latter said as if it was obvious.

Keith smiled, "If you say so!"

It wasn’t far, just enough for Jaz to ask if he’d been joking the other day, and for him to confirm that he hadn’t. Costas proved to be a pleasant young guy with a strong local accent, but he made good coffee. They leaned on the side of the van.

"You used to have a girl-friend?" Keith nodded. "Play for both teams then?"

"Nah, don’t think so. It’s just. Well, it took time for me to realise. Wasn’t a good place to be gay when I grew up."

"Oh aye. So, how’d it feel now? You liking the change?"

Keith blushed a bit, "Makes a lot more sense ‘n stuff, but it's difficult telling folk. I go from leaving a girlfriend to getting a boyfriend."

She laughed, "So have you?" Keith looked puzzled. "Got a boyfriend?", she rolled her eyes at him.

"Sort of, we’ve only met a few times. But yes, I have."

She grinned, "Good on you! Your family know?"

Keith shook his head, "No close family left."

"Shit. Sorry, put me foot in it there didn’t I?"

"It’s Ok, was a few years ago."

"I know it’s a horrible thing to say, but it makes life easier. A mate of me boyfriend, Den, told his parents and they’re not speaking any more. His mates were all fine with it, just his Mam and Dad." She shook her head, "Look, I’d best be heading back but I’m glad you’re doing OK. And I want to hear more about that man of yours." She grinned. He gave her a lift back and told her about moving into the flat at Greg and Bart’s. "Christ, you jammy bugger, living in a place like that."

"It’s just one room, and all modern, like, inside. Only outside is old."

"Still, lucky devil. We’ll never afford that. Where is it again?"

"Outside town, four mile away, right by the A1".

She grinned, "Handy. Still, nice place but what do you do if you run out of milk?"

Keith looked puzzled, "We get it delivered?"

"Fucking hell, if we did that it’d be nicked in a flash. But I’m a townie, can’t see us living in the country. If we could afford it, we’d move into the centre of Leeds. Like things buzzy we do. Ta for the lift!"

All in all, Keith felt quite pleased with himself. That hadn’t been too embarrassing, had it?

--oOo—oOo—

Keith gave his formal notice at the shared house, and told Jack, who was the one that organised the rent and such. Everyone was pleased that he’d managed to get a place he could afford, and through clients, too. So, the general reaction was ‘jammy bugger’.

Tuesday evening, Den had organised some footy, only a casual kickaround but it was an excuse to get together and have a drink or two afterwards. Of course, the talk was of Keith’s new flat, but there were other bits of news too, girlfriends coming and going, Jan’s sister at home’s new baby and the like. Then Den asked Keith what he’d got up to at the weekend, as he’d disappeared. Keith thought about lying, but it was difficult. So, he said, none of your business and then someone commented, ‘Keith’s got a new bird’, and the others started ganging up on him with chants of ‘Tell, tell’. It was good-humoured, and ordinarily, Keith would not have been bothered. But it disturbed him now. Hughie came to his rescue, telling them to pipe down a bit. And Keith said there might be someone, but it was all a bit new, and he wasn’t sure if there was anything to report. Hughie then offered to get a round in, and everyone’s minds were suddenly on other things.

But as they were all leaving, Hughie managed to get Keith on one side and asked him if everything was OK. Keith smiled, thanked the bloke and said that in fact, it couldn’t be better. He now had a flat of his own, and on Saturday would be entertaining. Only afterwards did Keith realise Hughie hadn’t asked for details and didn’t assume that Keith’s guest was a woman. Gender was carefully avoided. Had Hughie guessed?