Rentboy

rug. His trousers were on the floor
    with his gleaming white undies. Both looked as if they had been thrown there in the heat of the
    moment, which they had.
    Mrs. Atherton’s cheeks flushed.
    Even with Fox’s attempt to cover the scene of their abandon it was obvious what they had been
    up to. Looking directly into her eyes, he whispered, “I love him.” Why had he said that? They hardly
    even knew each other. He hadn’t said it to Eddie. He had no intention of saying it to Eddie.
    A ghost of a smile flitted across Mrs. Atherton’s pink face. “Nicoletta is here, and my parents
    and Dr. Atherton’s father. You should come down and meet them. We are having sherry before
    dinner.” With a last glance at Eddie she closed the door quietly.
    “Was that Mum?” Sitting up, Eddie rubbed his eyes with his fists. The gesture was so childlike
    and sweet it made Fox stand for a moment just looking at him. There was nothing conventionally
    attractive about Eddie. Too thin, nose too big, the epitome of the nerdy scientist. So why the hell did
    he feel an intense affection every time he looked at him?
    Fox closed the door. “Yeah. She said your sister is here, and the twins are cleaning the
    bathrooms.”
    “Excellent.” Eddie said, putting his glasses on. Fox picked up Eddie’s trousers and shook the
    creases out of them. “Don’t worry about those. I’m putting a clean shirt and smart pants on. Mother
    likes us to dress up a little, though I doubt Nicoletta will. She’ll wear her rainbow-colored Andes hat
    to the table as a protest.”
    Fox laughed. “I know a girl who wears one of those. But what about me? Is the kilt all right?
    Your mum’s been really good, especially with the twins. They both have. I don’t want to push it.”
    Smiling, Eddie kissed his cheek. “That’s really sweet of you, but the kilt is just perfect. Be
    yourself. Be Fox.” Eddie picked up the sketch pad. “Fox Baillie.” He read the name scribbled on the
    front. “Is that your full name?” Fox nodded, watching as Eddie flipped through the pages, his
    eyebrows shooting up in obvious surprise. “Fox, this is great. You’re really good.” Fox sat down
    beside him as Eddie stopped on the half-finished sketch of the horse. “This is what you need to be
    doing. You need to be in art college.”
    “I told you, I’ll think about it.”
    “I mean it. This is impressive.” Eddie scrambled off the bed and stripped off his shirt. “You
    could get grants and get into school. You could pursue a career in art or graphic design or something.
    What do you think?”
    Avoiding the question, Fox opened the door. “I’ll get the twins and meet you downstairs.”
    “Be right down, dear,” Eddie called after him.
    Outside the door Fox halted. “Did you call me dear?”
    Completely naked, Eddie stood at the wardrobe where he had hung his dress pants. “Yes, what’s
    wrong with that?”
    “Everything, Eddie. It’s wrong on so many levels.” Shaking his head, he walked away.
    The twins were just finishing up the main bathroom when he found them. The bath was shining,
    he could see his face in the brass fittings, and the floor was fit to eat dinner off. “Well done. You did
    a great job. Now come on. Let’s go downstairs, and remember to be really good at the dinner table.
    And you have to go to bed right afterwards. All right? You’ve had a busy day. You should sleep like
    logs.”
    They looked at each other and then at Fox. A very slight smile tilted their mouths. Those smiles
    were so rare Fox relished them. With a hand on each of the faces, he popped a kiss on their
    foreheads. “I love you both. Come on.” The twins followed him down the stairs. Voices came from
    the living room, and Fox was about to go in when someone hailed him from the kitchen, “Fox Baillie?
    “Nik?” The split second of pleasurable recognition was quickly followed by horror. “You’re
    Nicoletta?”
    “You’re my brother’s boyfriend?” In her rainbow Andes hat, a pair of jeans, sans knees, and a
    T-shirt bearing the phrase Stay Calm and Carry On , she walked toward him. “OMG!” she screamed
    and hugged him. “I didn’t know you were gay. You should have told me. I’ve had a crush on you for
    months.”
    “Sorry.” Shit, shit, shit! What was he going to do now?
    Panicked, his heart racing, Fox grabbed her by the arm, pulled her through the kitchen and
    through the back door into the warm, still evening. The twins followed. That was it.