Camp Echo - 10. Chapter Ten - Coke for Germany (second edition).

Living with Aeriol you never knew exactly where you were, what would happen next, who might arrive on the scene. Max knew Jake, but he didn’t like him. Aeriol's brother acted like he was in charge, he always knew better than you did. He had done whatever it was you thought might be your idea, and of course, before anyone else.

Aeriol was under the influence of his big brother. He may have tried not to be, even acted like he didn’t care, but when Jake was around Aeriol did what he said. Maybe it had always been like that, Max didn't know. What he did know was that Jake was an arsehole, and worse, he was trouble.

When they first started sharing a flat, not the one they lived in now, but another around the corner, Jake lived there for a bit. Max had to share with Aeriol and his brother, he hated it. Things got more complicated when Max and Aeriol got⊙ involved ⊙with each other. Remember at home Aeriol shared a bedroom with Jake, but what the almighty Jake didn’t know was that Aeriol was into boys. It took a lot of manoeuvring to get Jake out of the flat, and for a long time he would still keep coming round.

What got rid of him for good was when he brought back two Irish guys, who stayed the weekend. Nothing strange about people showing up and even staying a couple of nights, sleeping on the floor. Everything was free and easy, well, as regards some things. The two guys seemed nice enough, Max was a bit put out at the place being crowded, but they all got stoned together, and it was just two nights.

Aeriol, however, saw the gun, a hand gun, in Neil's holdall. Max never saw it, but he believed Aeriol, and it freaked him out. When there was a story on the news about two guys the police were actively seeking, who where believed to be on the mainland and no longer in Belfast, paranoia was setting in. Aeriol and Max put two and two together. Neil and his mate never hid the fact that they’d taken the ferry from Belfast to Liverpool.

Neither Max nor Aeriol did anything other than breathe a huge sigh of relief when Neil and co. left. It’s not quite true they did nothing. Nothing vis a vis the authorities, but Aeriol flipped out. Max was witness to the angry argument he had with Jake. Aeriol told his brother not to come around anymore or bring strangers here. It really did all blow up that night after Neil had left. And if you know anything about the history of the UK and Northern Ireland, the pun is anything but funny. In a boiling rage Aeriol told his brother he was, “fucking crazy” inviting two guys who were IRA to stay at their flat.

That was the last either Max or Aeriol saw of Jake for some time, until he turned up again out of the blue. It wax Max who went downstairs to answer the front door.

“Jake,” was all he said by way of greeting.

Surprise was definitely one reaction, displeasure another. Jake was the last person he wanted to welcome in, but he had little choice. Jake was Aeriol’s brother. He opened the front door.

Jake smiled.

“How’s it going?” he asked, like they were the best of friends and nothing had ever happened to change things.

What the fuck does he want? Max followed him up the stairs.

“Aeriol,” Jake saw his brother before Max could say anything.

Aeriol, who was warming his hands in front of the ancient gas fire, turned. The look on his face was blank. No expression, not anger, certainly not smiling, not even surprised. “What are you doing here?” Aeriol stared at Jake.

Max closed the living room door and sat down on a bean bag on the floor opposite Jules. Jake didn’t answer his brother's question, instead he nodded to Jules.

“Alright, Jules?”

Jules nodded, but remained quiet. The atmosphere was icy and it wasn’t just the ineffective fire having that effect. As Max regarded Aeriol, it looked like he was getting angry.

“I’m not staying,” Jake announced, which immediately defused the encounter.

Jake moved around the room, looking at things, idly picking up this or that object.

“Nice incense,” he said, taking the packet and sniffing.

“Jake. Why are you here?” Aeriol was straight to the point.

The question Max definitely wanted answered. Jules was the silent witness.

“I’ve got some friends I’d like you to meet.”

“Who?”

Max wished Aeriol hadn’t asked that. He was being drawn in.

“Well I’m going to meet them tonight. At Starways. You’re invited.”

“Invited?” Aeriol looked at him.

“If you want. They are looking to do a deal.”

“What sort of deal?”

“Buy some stuff. They’re over from Germany. Only for a couple of weeks. They want to do a deal and get back to Germany.” Jake told him.

Aeriol looked like he was thinking, which to Max meant he was considering what Jake was saying.

“Well, it’s up to you. You can meet up, or not. But I’m going. You can make some money or not. Whatever you like. Why not come and have a night out?”

Jake could be convincing, especially as far as his brother was concerned. Strangely, at least for Max, was how Jake still maintained that influence over his brother. He was probably the only person who did, and it was odd to witness. Aeriol decided he had nothing better to do, Jules was into a night out, when wasn’t he? Max relented, more for Aeriol, than wanting to go clubbing.

“How about you roll us a joint?" Jake suggested. "then we can take my car. I said I’d be there at about eleven.”

That clinched the argument for a night at the club. Getting a lift there and back can have a big impact on any decision, because it makes things easy.

Starways was an old billiard hall above a row of shops not far from Finsbury Park station. It was a private club and disco. Now you know how God created the world in six days and took a rest on day seven, Starways was a straight venue six days a week and gay on Friday nights. Max and Aeriol knew this, but it wasn't certain if Jake, or even Jules, did. Jan and Tobias, being from Germany, obviously had no idea. Perhaps they chose the place, if they did choose, because it was nearby. Or, they knew Finsbury Park was the haunt of drug dealers and pimps.

Jake parked up in a side road and the four of them hurried back round the corner to the high street and the entrance. Between two shops, double swinging doors let you inside, where a burly type, your classic bouncer, gave everybody the once over. Convinced you were suitable, he let you through and up the broad staircase. At the top was a little kiosk like at a cinema. On disco nights it was where you paid, but this was Wednesday, so they all just walked in.

The place was dark, but less so than on club nights. Both Aerial and Max had been there several times. It was a good choice if you didn’t want to go all the way into town. Max well remembered the American boy he’d picked up there. Probably, they had picked each other up. It was a one hundred percent one night stand. Max, however, being rather naive had not looked at it like that. Though how you would see picking up a tourist as the start of a relationship is difficult to imagine, but Max did. John wasn’t actually a tourist, he was a singer in a boys choir, from some American college.

Jake noticed the German boys sitting at a table and they all went over to join them. Soft music was playing in the background, the place was not too busy, but a few people were arriving in dribs and drabs as the pubs closed.

“Hi,” Jake smiled. “This is my brother Aeriol, who I told you about. And Max, and Jules.”

“Hello,” Tobias smiled.

“Sit,” Jan said. He had a strong German accent.

Tobias spoke more softly. They were both good looking. That was the first thing Max noticed. Probably, so did Aeriol. Blond hair and blue eyes, your archetype German, Max thought, but he couldn’t actually see the colour if their eyes.

“Would you like to drink?” Jan asked.

They both spoke good English, although Jan a little less naturally than Tobias. As they were talking, Max kept noticing Tobias. He couldn’t help wondering about him. Occasional glances passed between them.

At some point in the evening Jan asked if anyone wanted a line of coke. They’d all been drinking and smoking since they arrived. Aeriol and Jake didn’t hesitate, neither did Jules. Well, Jules tagged along on everything. Anyway, his parents probably indulged, isn’t it a favourite in the realms of the financial business? Max was reluctant, but went along with the rest.

Getting into drugs was not something Max was ever going to do. Not that he was the perfect son, far from it, but his parents gave him freedom and good advice. Part of that advice was don’t ever take any pills. You see for his parents generation, drugs came in the firm of pills. It was Aeriol who introduced Max to smoking dope. More accurately, it was a mutual school friend, Leon, who introduced both Aeriol and hash. As Max’s dad smoked, cigarettes, and so did his grandfather, who lived with them when Max lived at home, he found nothing wrong in smoking. He wasn't taking pills, so he wasn’t doing drugs. He applied the same logic later on when doing his first trip. The acid was on a tiny square of blotting paper with a smiley face, it was not a pill.

Given the history and Max's naivety, it was odd he hesitated over a line of coke, because that was white powder and not a pill either. Perhaps the idea it was addictive made an impact. Nevertheless, he snorted his line of coke, in the toilets, with the aid of a rolled up five pound note. It was the first and only time.

Before they split up that evening, Jan asked Aeriol if he could score some coke. Max didn’t want anything to do with it, but Aeriol was persuaded when the two German boys explained there plan.

“You’ve got the money?” Was the first question Aeriol posed. Ever the business man.

“Sure,” Jan said.

“Can you get the coke?” Tobias wanted to know.

They weren’t staying long. They wanted to score and get back to Germany.

“How you gonna get it past the customs?” It was Jules who asked. He’d been quiet most of the evening, but seemed suddenly interested in the fine details. Maybe he was thinking it could be a good business. Max for his part was thinking the exact opposite. It was dangerous and risky.

“We have some friends in the army,” Jan told them. “They will take it to Germany.”

“They send it,” Tobias added. “There is no custom control for the army.”

“Yeah,” Jan seemed quite animated. “But don’t you worry. That is our business.”

“Anyone want another drink?” Jake offered, which Max thought was pretty unusual, because when they’d been living together he’d never had any money.

Aeriol accompanied his brother to he bar, and whilst they were gone Tobias told Max, “Come with me a minute.” He gave him a big smile as he stood up. Max followed him back to the toilets. It wasn’t very bright inside the room. It looked like you would imagine, three cubicles, two washbasins with a long mirror above, and a roll of paper for drying your hands, but no soap. As soon as they were inside, there was no one else around, Tobias pushed Max into an empty cubicle. Pushed maybe gives the wrong impression. He wasn’t rough, more guided Max. Inside the cubicle Tobias was pressed up against Max, face to face. Max’s back was hard against the partition wall.

“You like me?” Tobias had that big smile on his face.

Max felt a hand touching his hard on through the material of his jeans. Max returned the smile. Of course, he liked him, that was obvious. It had been obvious from when he first laid eyes on him. Tobias ground his hips into Max. The German boy was as turned on as he was.

“Yeah, I do,” Max breathed heavily.

Tobias' hands were undoing the belt on Max's jeans. As he slid the buckle undone his lips touched Max's, his tongue pushed inside Max's mouth. The cocktail of drink, dope, and coke, left Max without any resistance.

The outside door creaked open and someone came in. Tobias let go of Max.

⊙“Scheisse!” ⊙he breathed under his breath.

He slipped out of the cubicle and let the door swing back. Max was left halfway between shock and panic. He saw the odd look the guy who had come in gave Tobias, but the boy ignored him, walking straight out. Max stayed frozen in the cubicle. It wasn't Friday night. ⊙What was that middle aged bloke thinking? ⊙Tobias had left him alone and he suddenly felt scared. Too scared to leave. Until the man walked over to the paper roll, tore off a strip and wiped his hands. Discarding the scrunched up paper in the bin, he left without ever looking back at Max. He waited a few seconds, then followed the man out.

When he joined the others back at the table, everyone was drinking and laughing. Only Aeriol gave him a look. The kind of look that said,⊙ I know what you’ve been up to. ⊙At least that was how Max interpreted it, but he was high and just a little open to weird thoughts. He sipped the beer in front of him.

Some time later someone, must have been Jake, said they should make a move for home. Max found himself next to Tobias whose hand sneaked behind him and patted his arse.

“See you soon,” Tobias said, as if he were addressing everyone, but it was meant for Max.

Max only gave a half smile, wondering if anyone else noticed Tobias’ hand on his arse.

When they were all downstairs and out through those swing doors, the cold hit Max like a block of ice. It nearly knocked him out. He was relieved to slide in the back of the car next to Jules.

Max and Aeriol were both working Thursday afternoon at the warehouse, which was just as well, seeing how they didn’t get back until 3AM. Jake had stayed the night, which meant Max and Aeriol had slept together on Max's futon. They hugged each other and Max woke up half on top of Aeriol, but that situation was simply a question of staying warm.

“So you’re gonna do It?” Max asked as they waited for the bus.

“Yeah, of course.” Aeriol was jogging on the spot trying to stay warm. “They should have a shelter here. The wind is icy.”

“I don’t want anything to do with it,” Max told him.

“Why?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Not coke.”

Aeriol glanced sideways at him.

“What were you and Tobias doing in the toilets?” He grinned.

Max was suddenly shocked. He thought no one noticed. Like they’d disappeared together for fifteen minutes, but magically no one noticed.

“Nothing,” he replied, but it wasn’t very convincing.

“He asked me about you," Aeriol told him.

“What? What did he ask? When?”

Somebody else had joined them at the bus stop, just as the bus arrived. They got on and went upstairs, sitting at the back together. Max stared at the tartan red pattern of the seats. Aeriol leaned close, although there were only two other people on the upper deck and no one anywhere near them.

“He asked me if you were gay.”

Max turned and looked at Aeriol. He tried to remember the night before. Was Aeriol joking?

“And?”

“I said yes,” Aeriol whispered.

“What!”

“He asked if you liked to be fucked. If you preferred it as a bottom,” Aeriol smiled broadly. “I told him you had a really tight little arse.”

“Oh, fuck off, arsehole. You’re making it all up.”

“You sure about that?” Aeriol grinned.

“One hundred percent. You just wanna know if anything happened.”

Aeriol nodded, “Did It?”

“No,” came the emphatic reply, and Aeriol let it drop.