Naked Hero - The Journey Away

mess a man around like that – another refreshing trait that made him stand out from the masses. So reason stated there was nothing to worry about. On balance Scott Taylor was probably a good thing. But Lee still felt uncomfortable, and he couldn’t reason...
    Why?
    Most other people would have found it easy to put a name to his disquiet, but Lee Porter was sadly lacking here. He knew the definition, it was a common enough word, but he had never experienced the actual emotion when it came to men. He had been in a few brief relationships over the years, but fidelity was alien to him. It was never promised, nor expected in others, so the emotion had always stayed clear of his path. Selfish promiscuity was the hallmark of Lee’s life. It was a modus operandi that had suited him just fine. But now at a critical juncture, when a huge opportunity was there for the taking, when cold calculation was the order of the day, Lee Porter had become vulnerable due to an alien state... He had encountered the green-eyed monster that is jealousy and the novelty of actually caring for someone other than himself!

Chapter 33
    Serendipity was no ‘happy accident’ – it had been carefully designed and oozed with class, which was only to be expected given the prices they charged. Lewis particularly liked the Manhattan style cocktail bar which doubled up as the reception, where a Tom Cruise lookalike was mixing the drinks and glamorous looking people done up to the nines sat around admiring each other’s finery as they sipped their concoctions. Lewis looked out of place in his casual outfit of open-neck shirt and fawn slacks, but he was tempted to join them and tone the place down as he could seriously do with a stiff drink. Fortunately the temptation was short-lived. The maître d’ informed him that Ms. Duboir and her partner were already at the table. He led him into an expanse of a room where wrought iron illuminations hung from the high ceiling, supplementing the candles on the generous sized tables. There was modern art on the walls and elaborate floral displays in odd locations; a sensation of aromas wafted through the air – modern French cuisine clashing with oriental spice to get the juices flowing. Accompanied by a murmur of whispers, Lewis was guided through all this to where Chantal and Marie were waiting.
    The elegantly dressed Frenchwomen were seated beside each other at a circular table in a discreet corner location, sipping some wine and saying very little – the consequences of Chantal’s match apparently hanging heavy. Lewis had caught the highlights and had feared this might be the case – the defending champion had really made a meal of it, scraping through in three error-ridden sets that were riddled with nerves. Some compartmentalisation would definitely be in order if they were going to make a pleasant meal out of dinner!
    “Everyone has a bad match on the way to the title – do you want to talk about it?” he asked having kissed and sat down. There was no point in pretending that it had actually gone well – Chantal never appreciated platitudes or bullshit.
    She shook her head and gave him a forced smile. “No thank you, Lewis - it has been talked about enough.”
    “Very true,” agreed Marie who had been living it for hours. She would live it some more, but not here and now. “Whereas you!” she brightly exclaimed in an attempt to lighten the mood. “There’s going to be plenty of talk about you, Lewis. I understand that there are now two new men in your life. How exciting for you! Another scandal is in the making no doubt. You must be the toast of the Australian tabloids!”
    “What do you mean, Marie, by two men?” asked Lewis, joining her in a snigger of laugher.
    “Mr. Taylor, of course!” Marie gleefully answered, “Your date for this evening. And the mystery man in Sydney. I can’t wait to meet them both. I’ve heard all about the adventures on Monday. It was the man from Sydney who called out I presume. Please don’t tell me that there is another one involved!”
    Lewis was suddenly on alert - he needed to make sure this line of conversation was ended before Scott arrived. But as the American had already called to say he would be late, there was time to enjoy some banter before cutting it off. “Yes, it was him. His name’s Lee, by the way.”
    Marie smiled widely at him, toying with her wine glass as she was toying with Lewis, delighted that he was obligingly playing along.