The Boy I Love (30 page)

‘What’s so funny, Jeremy?’ Simon asked as he came into the Gents and went for a pee. ‘What do we think about our leading lady then? Bit of all right or what?’ He
joined Jeremy at the basins and washed his hands.

‘A tad out of your league,’ teased Jeremy. ‘But you never know, she might be into a bit of rough trade.’ He made his way out of the door followed by Simon still doing up
his flies as they bumped into Robert.

‘Well, well, what have you two been up to? Simon, I didn’t know you were that way inclined!’ Robert said, noting Simon’s zip.

‘Yeah, very funny,’ muttered Simon, pushing past him.

‘Charming,’ said Robert to Jeremy as he too tried to pass. ‘How was your weekend, Jeremy? From what I saw, it was very full on.’ He gave a theatrical wink. Jeremy
cringed. He and Eddie had bumped into Robert in a bar on Sunday night and it had all been very awkward. All he needed was someone like Robert knowing his private affairs.

He just nodded and said, ‘Yes, it was quite a weekend,’ and carried on past him.

Robert watched him go with a smile on his face. Knowledge was power, he reminded himself.

Jeremy decided to go up to the dressing room for the duration of the lunch-hour and keep well away from anyone likely to interrogate him. He felt bad about not going to find Sally to explain his
behaviour, but he knew she would understand, and he would talk to her later. He just needed a bit of time to sort out his thoughts and feelings. Everything had happened so fast that he was still
reeling.

When they left the theatre on Saturday afternoon, Eddie had driven them to Manchester.

‘This is going to be a sort of Magical Mystery Tour,’ he had announced in the car. ‘Just sit back and enjoy the ride!’

Jeremy was in heaven. He watched the countryside speed past on the motorway, and every now and then he would turn to Eddie and catch his eye, and they would smile at each other. Their brief
coupling in the theatre was still lingering. Jeremy could smell Eddie on his T-shirt. He was tingling with the need to touch his new lover. As if he could read his thoughts, Eddie put a hand on
Jeremy’s thigh and caressed him. His hand was gentle at first then more urgent, travelling further up his leg, kneading his flesh beneath his jeans. He finally found Jeremy’s hard-on
and laughed gently.

‘Oh, so you want more, do you? That is good to know. Shall we stop somewhere and sort you out?’ Jeremy was embarrassed and did not quite know how to react. Eddie seemed so
experienced and well versed in all this seduction business, yet he was so young.

They had come off the motorway at the next junction and found a field. Eddie parked behind a hedge and made swift work of taking Jeremy to heaven. Jeremy could not have imagined the excitement
of this fast love in a car, in a field, in the middle of the countryside. It made him want to scream with pleasure. His whole body was on fire and wanting more and more.

‘Now come on, J, you will just have to wait until we get to our destination. Let’s get back on the road or we will be late for the other delights I have in store for you.’ And
with that Eddie backed out of the gate and set off once more for the bright lights of the big city. They arrived in Manchester an hour later, and Eddie displayed a comprehensive knowledge of the
back streets. They finally arrived at the front of a huge Victorian house, in a quiet street very near the city centre.

‘Follow me,’ he ordered, bounding up the front steps and ringing the bell.

‘What about our bags?’ Jeremy called out.

‘Just leave everything and someone will come and deal with them,’ replied Eddie. ‘Come on, J – hurry up!’ Just at that moment, the door was opened and a young man
dressed like a butler appeared on the threshold. ‘Welcome to the Queen’s Hotel,’ he said. ‘Do you have luggage?’

‘Just a couple of bags,’ Eddie told him.

‘Very well, we will collect those and bring them to your room. Would you like me to park your car, sir? We have a car park at the back for residents.’

‘Yes, please.’ Eddie took Jeremy’s arm. ‘Come on, you. Just wait till you see this.’

The butler stood back and let them pass, and then followed them inside.

The place was like a film set, thought Jeremy. The hall was straight out of the television series
Upstairs Downstairs
. A graceful staircase led upwards from an original black and white
tiled floor. A massive chandelier hung over the proceedings, the hundreds of crystal teardrops sparkling above them. But the most bizarre sight was of a huge gilt-framed portrait of the Queen, in
her ceremonial robes, which hung above the fireplace to the right of the door.

Jeremy could hardly stop himself from bursting into laughter. He tugged Eddie’s sleeve and pointed at the painting, sniggering, ‘You can’t be serious. That is outrageous! Our
poor monarch would die if she knew she was presiding over a gay hotel in Manchester.’

‘Oh, never mind that. Come on, we need to sign in.’ Eddie skipped off down the corridor ahead.

Jeremy dutifully followed him, and like Alice in Wonderland found himself in another world. The reception desk was vast and had once been mahogany, he guessed. Now, however, it had been gilded
to within an inch of its life. It sat in a sea of deep red wallpaper and twinkling rococo fixtures and fittings. No one in this house had ever heard the expression ‘less is more’.

The butler handed Jeremy a quill pen with peacock feathers and said, ‘Please fill in your details, sir. It is for two nights, I understand?’

‘Oh here, let me,’ said Eddie, taking over. Jeremy was still open-mouthed at his surroundings.

‘Shall I give you a credit card?’ added Eddie, taking out his wallet. ‘By the way, is George around yet?’ he enquired.

‘Not yet, sir, but he sent his regards and looks forward to seeing you later in the bar for a cocktail. Now would you care to follow me, please?’ The butler glided off towards the
staircase, the two lovers in his wake.

At the top of the stairs they turned left and stopped at the first door. Written on it in very elegant gold script was
The Blue Room
. The door opened to reveal a blue room indeed. It was
like being in the centre of a Wedgwood plate! There was a roomy canopied double bed with silk sheets, and an enormous blue and gold eiderdown. Jeremy had not seen an eiderdown since he visited his
granny as a schoolboy. The lampshades either side of the bed were blue and gold silk, and the wardrobe and dressing table had been painted Wedgwood blue with white trimmings, as were the walls and
all the plasterwork. It was incredibly ornate. The butler opened the door to the bathroom to reveal a classic Victorian bathroom, with black and white tiles and a large free-standing slipper bath
with all the brass fittings. The toilet had the obligatory mahogany seat, and the pull chain was a twisted rope of fine coloured silks, with a huge tassel to finish it off.

The butler then explained where the fridge was hidden inside a tallboy, also painted blue and white. The matching TV looked most incongruous perched on top of the chest of drawers. Jeremy
wondered what Josiah Wedgwood would have made of it!

‘If there is anything else you require, please do not hesitate to ring the bell,’ the butler said smoothly, and he indicated yet another bell-pull with the attendant tassel.

‘Thank you, that is fine,’ said Eddie, giving him a generous tip.

‘Thank you, sir,’ said the butler solemnly, then added with a wink and a wiggle, ‘Have fun, you guys.’

Jeremy threw himself on the bed and let out a scream of delight. ‘Eddie, this is unbelievable! How did you know about this place?’

Eddie was busy opening a bottle of champagne which had been left for them in a splendid silver bucket.

‘Ah, I have friends in high places. Or should I say low places,’ he laughed. ‘Here, let’s have a toast. To love at first sight.’ And they touched glasses with a
very satisfactory ping from the crystal flûtes provided.

‘Everything is so over the top, yet somehow fits,’ remarked Jeremy. ‘Who owns it?’

‘A lovely man called George Delaware. He and his partner Dale have been here for yonks. I don’t really know the details, but apparently George used to be a bit of a gangster in the
old days – part of the Manchester mafia. Did you know that in the fifties and early sixties, George Raft – an actor and alleged gang member in America – came over to Manchester to
see if there was room for his lot up here, and they were sent packing by the good old northerners, who had their own mafia, thank you very much, and didn’t need the likes of the Americans to
help them make their millions. George told me all this once when I was here.’

Eddie took a swig of champagne then put down his glass and turned to his lover. ‘Now, Mr Sinclair, I require you to make slow passionate love to me before dinner.’

And Jeremy was only too happy to oblige.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening were spent making love or drinking champagne. Jeremy decided to try the bath and lay up to his neck in bubbles. There was an
extraordinary array of toiletries in the bathroom and he was determined to work his way through the lot. While he was soaking, Eddie watched TV or came into the bathroom to annoy his lover with
attempts to seduce him.

‘Leave me alone! I can’t take any more!’ cried Jeremy.

‘Oh really? I don’t believe that for a minute.’ And Eddie whipped off his clothes and joined him beneath the bubbles. After several of these forays Jeremy finally managed to
finish his bath and get ready for the night ahead.

‘What exactly do you have in store for me?’ he asked delightedly. Eddie was proving to be full of surprises and all of them good, so far.

‘Well, we will have drinks with George, then dinner in the restaurant, and then we will adjourn to the club next door, which is also part of the hotel and owned by George. So basically, we
do not have to stray far to take our pleasure,’ grinned Eddie. ‘Pretty clever, don’t you think, Mr J? Everything close at hand.’

‘It is wonderful.
You
are wonderful. But you still haven’t told me how you knew about this place,’ said Jeremy.

Eddie looked at him for a minute and then seemed to make a decision. He sighed and said, ‘My father has several queer friends. Obviously it is not something he wants to advertise and my
mother does not allow them at the house.’ Jeremy was about to interrupt but Eddie stopped him. ‘Yes, I know what you are going to say, J – that she is a bigot and that it is not
for her to judge people, et cetera. Unfortunately, the world is a cruel place, and people
are
ignorant and bigoted, including my mother. When you think it has only been since 1967 that
homosexuality was made legal. That is a mere fifteen years ago, Jeremy, and it is still a big thing for a lot of people. You are lucky because you work in a profession where people don’t care
about things like that. Well, obviously there are a lot of queers in the theatrical profession, which helps, but in the big world outside there is still a great deal of prejudice. My father has
started a campaign against discrimination of homosexuals, but it is a real uphill struggle and none of his so-called ‘posh’ friends want to know.’

‘Is your father a homo then?’ asked Jeremy. Eddie paused very briefly before he answered.

‘No, definitely not – which makes it incredibly difficult for me. I mean, how can I tell him I am queer?’ There was a catch in Eddie’s voice and Jeremy took his hand.

‘In fact, I don’t think I will ever be able to be open about it, Jeremy. Well, certainly not in my family circles. I am expected to marry, and have an heir to carry on the Graham
title. I have seen it with some of my father’s friends. They are really queer but all married. I have seen them here in this hotel, but no one says anything. You wouldn’t believe it in
this day and age, but there is still a terrible stigma about being homosexual.’

Jeremy took Eddie in his arms and held him close. ‘Come on, mate,’ he said tenderly. ‘Don’t get upset. You have a friend in me now, and we will sort it out. Meanwhile,
you have promised me a good time, so let’s go and get a few cocktails inside us then we won’t care about anything.’ They kissed passionately and almost succumbed to their growing
lust but broke away laughing, promising each other to save it all for later.

When they arrived in the bar it was already buzzing. Unlike a normal cocktail bar in a small hotel where couples sit discreetly chatting in whispers, here the conversation was loud and
frequently interspersed with whoops of delight and screeches of laughter.

The barman was naked except for a jockstrap and a black bow tie. Jeremy could hardly contain himself and each new revelation was fuel to the fire. He wanted to be shocked or surprised. He
certainly had had no idea that hotels like this existed. He was still wrestling with his feelings for Eddie which had sprung from nowhere seemingly. What would his father think, he wondered, if he
announced he was queer? His father enjoyed comics like Larry Grayson, but just dismissed them in general as ‘poofs’. Did his dad even know what a homosexual was? He had never had a
conversation with his parents about things like this. It had been bad enough when his father brought up the subject of sex and ‘taking precautions’. Jeremy had begged him not to
continue, assuring him that they did all this kind of stuff at school and he really did not have to bother. Even at school no one mentioned homosexuality as such. There was gossip about a boy who
had just joined their class from a private school where there had been a big scandal about abuse. But all that meant to Jeremy and his mates was that a teacher had been a paedophile. Even this
expression was not totally clear to them. Girls got flashed at by dirty old men, so the assumption was it must be the same dirty old men who did whatever they did to girls
and
boys. But it
was not regarded as anything to do with their take on life in general. Certainly not a life choice a young man might make.