Rentboy (10 page)

“Keep your eyes on the road, mate,” Fox said.

Edward had loved living here as a child, but as he got older and knew he was gay, it became claustrophobic. You just couldn’t be different in a place that insular. But he felt proud to show it off to Fox until a moment of panic set in. Fox lived on the street most of the time, and the twins probably lived in a flat with their mum and her boyfriend. He hoped they didn’t think he was showing off taking them to his big old farmhouse to meet his well-educated, well-heeled parents.

“There’s a little pond on the green,” Fox said. “Look, aliens, black swans. Aren’t they beautiful? They must be Goth swans.”

For the entire journey Fox had chatted alternately to him and the twins. The twins never responded, but that seemed to have no effect on Fox, who acted as though they had talked intelligently all the way.

“Why do you call them aliens?”

“Because they have pale skin and big eyes, and they act like they’re from another planet.” He gave a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. “If your family is mean to them, I’ll take the twins and leave. We’ll hitch back to London.”

“Nobody will be mean about them in my house. My parents are both educators,” Edward reassured him. “I suppose you’ve spent a lot of time protecting them.”

“You got no idea,” Fox said.

The farm was on Cowbell Lane on the outskirts of the village. Edward’s parents must have been looking out for him as they always did, because the front door opened as soon as he pulled into the courtyard. Smiling, his parents walked out to greet him. Those smiles wouldn’t last long when they got wind of their houseguests. They all piled out of the car, and his mother’s face fell when she saw Fox and then Edward’s black eye. Despite the fact that their nearest neighbor was a mile away, she glanced quickly right and left. His father just stared.

Lurching forward, Edward made a grab for his mother. He had always been physically awkward, but when he was nervous, his gait and gross motor skills went haywire.

“Careful, Edward,” she warned, taking a step back.

Edward paused before proceeding with caution to peck her on the cheek. “Hello, Mum.”

“Happy birthday, darling. Were you in a fight? No, of course you weren’t. You walked into the kitchen cupboard again, didn’t you?”

Edward shrugged.

Keeping his distance from his father because that was what they always did, he extended his hand. “Hello, Dad.”

“Good man,” his father said, shaking hands with him. “Happy birthday, son.”

“Mum, you invited me to bring a friend, so I did. This is Fox.” There was an awkward pause during which no one spoke. Edward hurried on, “Fox, this is my father, Dr. Edward Atherton Sr., retired. Dad taught public health and policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where I work now.”

“Well, er, Fox, is it?” Dr. Atherton said.

“That’s right.” Fox stuck out his hand.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief when his father shook it. “Is Fox your real name or a nickname?” Dr. Atherton asked.

“It’s my real name.”

“Very good.”

Edward had noticed over the years that his father said that a lot, especially when he was stuck for something better, but it worked for most occasions. Edward often found himself saying it to students at his lectures.

“And this is Mum, Annika. She’s a primary school teacher in the next village. My grandmother was Dutch, hence the Dutch name.”

“What is she now?” Fox asked.

Edward stared him while Dr. Atherton laughed outright. “She’s still Dutch.”

The smile the two exchanged looked very promising, Edward noted with relief. “Fox had to bring his siblings. I hope you don’t mind,” he said to his mum. “Arden and Alder. I’m not sure which is which.”

“Aren’t you pretty girls? At least you don’t have nose and eyebrow rings like Edward’s sister.” Mrs. Atherton smiled at them.

“Raise your arm if you’re a boy,” Fox said. When neither twin responded, he said, “Alder, raise your arm.” The boy obeyed at once.

Mrs. Atherton slammed her hand to her chest. “Sorry. But they’re identical.”

“I’ve had this conversation so many times,” Fox said. “Trust me, they aren’t.”

Another awkward moment followed. There were going to be a lot of those over the weekend. “Let’s go in. You must all be hungry.” She put an arm around the twins’ shoulders. “Come to the kitchen with me.”

The farmhouse had low ceilings, typical of the architectural period. In several places the beams were so low that Edward and his father had to duck, but both had learned the place by heart and rarely bumped their heads unless they’d had one too many. “I’ll put the bags upstairs,” Edward said.

“We’re eating in the kitchen,” his mother called as he mounted the narrow stairs, with Fox behind him.

“Nice place. Very fancy,” Fox said. “So your sister has a nose ring?”

“And an eyebrow ring.”

“Can’t wait to meet her.”

Edward opened his bedroom door and ducked under the beam. The bed was modern to accommodate Edward’s height, though the rest of the furniture in the house had been chosen piece by piece over the years by his parents from antique shops and estate sales.

Fox threw himself down on the double bed, keeping his boots off the edge. “Come here and give me a kiss.”

Edward closed the door and lay down beside Fox on his back. Leaning up on one elbow, Fox kissed him long and softly, dipping his warm tongue in and out of Edward’s mouth. “Let me suck your cock.” His tone was enticing.

“What if Mum walks in?”

“Would she just walk into your bedroom?”

“Not without knocking, but it would be obvious.” Still, he did not move when Fox unbuckled his belt and lowered the zipper on his cords. Instead of pulling the front of his underwear down, Fox pulled Edward’s cock out through the Y front, and for a minute both laughed hysterically, muffling the sound with their hands. “I don’t know why that’s so funny,” Edward said.

Fox bent his head to take Edward’s cock in his mouth, sucking hard and fast. Pleasure rushed through Edward’s belly and thighs, culminating in his cock, which grew rigid in about two seconds. The memory of Russell Square flooded back with all the excitement of the moment. In a rush of fluids he came in Fox’s mouth, biting on the side of his hand in fear of being heard downstairs. Gasping for breath, he muttered, “Fox, Fox.”

Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, Fox looked him in the eyes. “What?”

“You’re wonderful. You’re kind and sweet and true.”

“You still owe me thirty quid,” Fox said.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

With a burst of laughter, Fox kissed him on the tip of his long nose. “I was kidding, you twit.”

“Oh. But I do,” Edward insisted. He sat up, sliding an arm around Fox’s shoulders. “I mean, this started out as a business transaction, and then you said I was your boyfriend.”

Fox looked down at his palms and began to fiddle with one of several rings adorning his hands. “Yeah, I know, but I’m not really fit to be anyone’s boyfriend. Not the way I live, you know.”

“I don’t care. You belong in Uni. You’re very intelligent. You could get grants to help you through. I’ll help you apply.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Edward stood and pulled Fox to his feet, encircling his waist with both arms. “In the meantime, will you be my boyfriend?” It sounded like pleading even to him, but he didn’t care. He was desperate. Fox had burrowed into his heart. Something he had not known was possible.

“I s’pose.” Fox shrugged.

“Really?” Edward kissed him on the lips. “Let’s go downstairs. I’m going to tell my parents I’m gay this weekend. I can’t put it off any longer. They’ll just have to deal with it.”

At the door Fox said, “If you walk into the kitchen with your cock hanging out, they’ll figure it out all by themselves. You seem to be making a habit of exposing yourself.”

Edward looked down. The sight of his red, moist willy, still slightly hard, threw him into a tailspin. He hadn’t even noticed. Putting himself away, he looked at Fox, who was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to make his mascara run.

When they entered the kitchen, the twins sat side by side at the table holding hands, their bodies turned toward each other. Edward’s father had one of his many toys on the table in front of him. He’d been collecting odd little amusements since his retirement. This one was a moving sand picture in a flat glass case. Dr. Atherton pushed gently on the glass frame, which swung on a bracket, making the pink and blue sand swirl into desertlike landscapes. Their heads tilted together, the twins stared at it while Edward’s father explained how it worked.

“Do they understand?” his mum asked.

“Just because they don’t speak doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent,” Fox said.

“I was a teacher for years. I’m used to talking with very little response.” Dr. Atherton smiled at Fox. That was the second time his father had done that. Would he still be smiling when he found out Fox was his boyfriend?

“Sit down, boys,” Annika said.

The table was spread with an opulent lunch, a large glistening ham, a big bowl of salad, cheeses galore, all sorts of breads, and bowls of assorted olives. A spinach quiche with toasted cheese on top was sliced up ready to serve, and a bottle of white wine stood waiting to be poured. “What will the twins eat?” Annika asked in a hushed voice. It hadn’t taken her long to work out that they were
special-needs
.

“They’ll eat anything as long as it doesn’t touch anything else on their plates.” Fox surveyed the table. “And I’m a vegan.”

Mrs. Atherton looked him up and down. “What’s that?”

“I don’t eat anything with a face or anything that comes from anything with a face. No meat, eggs, dairy, or fish.”

“But you wear it. Isn’t your skirt leather?”

“It’s a kilt, and no. It’s faux. I buy my gear from the Third Estate. It’s a vegan clothing shop, and the boots are from the Sinister Soles vegan line. Don’t worry. I’ll manage with what’s here.”

Fox put a slice of ham on the twins’ plates, a slice of dry bread, a slice of cheese, and some vegetables, all separated by at least half an inch. The care with which he placed each item while the twins watched intently made Edward’s heart fill with love. What a good, loving, protective brother Fox was.
My boyfriend.
He wanted to tell the whole world, or at least the village of Mitton, how lucky he was.

“Eat up, aliens,” Fox said. The twins obeyed, eating with their fingers. They continued to hold hands, one eating right-handed and the other eating left-handed. Every now and then they fed each other as if it didn’t matter which mouth the food went into.

“They have cutlery,” Annika pointed out.

“They don’t like using it. Is it okay?” Fox asked politely.

To Edward’s relief his mother smiled and nodded. “Of course it is.”

“Where’s Nicoletta?” Edward piled ham and tomatoes on his plate and a large slice of quiche. He never had a decent meal in London unless he went to a restaurant.

Dr. Atherton filled his mouth with ham and bread. “She’s out with Pamela Stanton. They were always thick as thieves at school. You remember Pam.”

“Dear!” Mrs. Atherton spoke in an admonishing tone and pointed at his mouth.

“Mmmm, sorry, dear,” he mumbled.

“Didn’t she go to Leeds University?” Edward asked.

“Yes, but she got herself pregnant. And now she’s back in the village planning to have a baby with no father in sight. Her parents are devastated, as they would be.” Mrs. Atherton shook her head sadly.

“That’s astonishing,” Fox said. “A miracle.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Mrs. Atherton said. She took a mouthful of wine as if she needed fortifying just to talk about the subject. “What’s miraculous about it?”

“You said she got herself pregnant. An immaculate conception?”

Dr. Atherton rumbled with laughter. “You have quite the sense of humor, Fox. Poor old Edward has always been lacking in that department, haven’t you, Edward?”

“Yes, I suppose I have,” he admitted.

“I find Eddie hilarious,” Fox said.

“He often is, but only by accident,” Annika said. “He’s an accidental comedian. Aren’t you, Edward?”

“Mmmm,” he agreed. But Fox didn’t seem to find him lacking in humor, or in any other department.

“Nicoletta will be back for dinner. I told her your grandparents are coming at seven and not to be later than that,” his mother said. “She’d better not be. She’s always been a rebel.”

Alder scooped up the last piece of ham on his plate. He took a bite and fed the rest to his sister.

“Do you want more?” Fox asked them. They shook their heads in unison.

“I’ve got a nice Victoria sponge cake. Homemade. Would you like that?” Mrs. Atherton rose before they could respond and returned with two slices of cake.

Fox took the plates from in front of the twins and with his knife separated the layers and scraped out the cream and raspberry jam from the middle, which he put on one side of the plate and the cake on the other. When the operation was complete, he handed them back. The twins set about the cake at once. They ate the filling first, sucking it off their fingers, and then the cake.

Mrs. Atherton watched them for a moment while Edward held his breath, afraid she would say something to upset Fox. To his relief he saw her mouth soften and her body release its tension. She was not going to get upset over a couple of kids with messy hands and faces. She really had improved over the years. Perhaps telling her he was gay wouldn’t be so bad after all. He’d do it quietly tomorrow. Get his mum and dad together and announce it as a done deal.

“The sleeping arrangements,” his mum announced. “Fox, you can sleep with whichever one is the boy. The girl can have the small attic bedroom. It’s just lovely. We renovated it quite recently. It has its own bathroom.” She looked from one twin to the other, no more able to tell which was which than he could.

“That’s not going to work,” Fox said. “The twins have to sleep together. They’ve always slept together. If they’re not in the same bed, neither one will sleep. And I’ll sleep with Eddie.”

Edward froze. A deathly silence fell around the table. The twins stopped eating, huddling together.