Naked Hero - The Journey Away

involved at the time. Jim had arranged it without telling me - the sly old bugger.”
    “Wow! A former champion! Good bloke to have in your corner then,” was Lee’s immediate reply. “Will he be there on Monday, in your supporters’ box? It would be nice to meet him.”
    Again Lewis flinched. He’d never considered that Lee and Scott might actually meet, but of course it was a possibility given what was now in place. Once again the notion had a strangely bitter taste , the astringency of guilt flavouring the palate. “I doubt it,” he replied. “He might be commentating on the match. He’s certainly due a late one if he’s managed to free...”
    “If he’s done what?” prompted Lee, his voice light and friendly, innocently coaching a confession.
    Lewis felt like a twat. Secrets and lies – they always came back to bite you. And he had no reason whatsoever for making a secret out of this and offering up a lie. It was just dinner after all, in the company of friends. And it wasn’t as if anything was going to happen afterwards. “...Free himself on a Saturday evening,” he replied. “Didn’t I mention? He might be joining us for dinner – all depends if he can wangle it I suppose.”
    ...Okay, so maybe there was still a secret , and what was offered up fell short of the whole truth, but a little fudging round the edges can be better sometimes – that was Lewis’s opinion once the call had ended. He still felt guilty though. It wasn’t in his nature to mess people around, and there was a sort of duplicity going on that jarred with his sense of what was right and what he ultimately wanted.
    Whatever – if Lee had been bothered in the slightest then he didn’t betray it. And why should he be bothered – it changed nothing between them. They weren’t boyfriends – heaven forbid! They were just a couple of buddies who might end up in bed together – that’s if Lewis wasn’t too exhausted after his match with Edwin Roberts!
    Lewis laughed at that notion. It was h ardly likely – and a lot less likely, in the young Scotsman’s opinion, than Lee Porter being too exhausted on a Saturday night to screw some bloke he’d picked up at the Paradise Club!
    ***
    W hilst Lewis was making these mental aspersions, the not so innocent perpetrator was in his room lying on his bed, considering the conversation he’d just had. Lee had retreated here to take the call as a few of the lads had returned from the beach, and the last thing he wanted was for any of those blabbermouths to catch wind of his plans and spoil the big surprise that was now lined up for Monday.
    Lee knew he should feel happy. Lewis had won. The arrangements were being made – the lad wasn’t backing down. Lee had achieved his initial objective - the place in the box was secure. Of course he should feel happy - but he was oddly ill at ease.
    Why?
    The answer was simple and his name was Scott Taylor. The American was a complication, but perhaps a necessary one if Lewis were to make the final. Having the help of an ex-champion, and the moral boost he would give, was a big advantage. Scott might well make the difference between success and failure for Lewis, and in turn for himself. Yet Lee still felt uncomfortable about his involvement.
    Why?
    Lee analysed their chat in an attempt to find out... It was obvious to him that there was more to the relationship than simply helping Lewis prepare for his matches. A dinner date, for example! There had been evasion around that which spoke volumes in Lee’s ears – Lewis had felt guilty, of that Lee was sure. And as for the idea of them meeting on Monday, sitting side by side in his supporters’ box – Lewis certainly didn’t like that awkward possibility. Was there more going on than a perfectly innocent dinner date - a naughty little secret that was festering away and could scupper Lee’s plans?
    Lee shook his head and tried to be rational. Scott was a champion and former number one. The chances were that Lewis had looked up to him as a lad, and might have had a silly teenage crush on the American, as not everybody had an aversion to ginger hair and freckles! That was probably where the guilt lay – in the same way he’d acted guilty about seeing Lee on the website. He was so transparent at times – which Lee found refreshingly sweet. And there was nothing going on – of that Lee was sure. Otherwise the trip to Melbourne would definitely have been canned. Lewis wasn’t the type to