Dan responded to the ad Laura placed on Adrian's behalf on Saturday night. They ended up hanging out on Sunday, with Dan receiving more fellatio before going home to bed.
All Adrian's point of view for the next few chapters.
Comments appreciated, unless they're insults or rants about NI or other politics.
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I get to sleep just fine, and wake up not too grumpy when my alarm buzzes, forcing me out of bed to turn the fucker off. I shower, and there's something different about my skin.
I smell different. I'm not sure what I think about that.
I make my coffee, two rounded spoons into the cafetière, usual routine. Time for a smoke while it brews... Oh,
fuck
.
OK, seeing as I'm not giving in and running down to the shop this early - I'm not dressed yet, either, towel round my waist perfectly good attire for brekkie - I'll eat breakfast. 'Change your routine,' Dan said. So forget the porridge, let's have... Eggs. I can do eggs. Someone once told me protein for breakfast was good for the brain. Two eggs scrambled, some buttered toast, let's sit at the table rather than the counter.
It works. I mean, I'm still craving a fag, but it's OK, bearable. Good meal, actually.
I whistle and get to work by eight-thirty, to get on with the calculations for a report I need to draft today. It goes smoothly enough, but the client isn't going to like my findings, that's for sure. I pace back to the kitchen for more coffee, and realise I'd normally call this a fag break. I decide to have a coffee break, out on the balcony, instead.
It's not the same, no matter how much I look at the steam from my mug and pretend.
I get back to writing the report, but trying to be diplomatic isn't going well when I'd mortgage my own grandmother for a cigarette.
Even a cheap rollie.
Arse.
I knock back the coffee and head back to the kitchen for another. Maybe I could switch to better caffeine as an acceptable vice?
It reminds me of Laura's theories on substitutes.
And Dan's sure a better distraction than a mere drink. He suggested eleven; it's quarter to now.
I text him. 'Hi. Still on for coffee?'
'Can do. I'll bring biscuits.'
Succinct. Suppose he really was working at whatever it is he does.
But he appears on the dot of eleven, complete with a pack of supermarket Bourbons, packet of Hobnobs, and a pint of semi-skimmed dangling from his finger.
"I do have milk, thank you! I'm not some student type, with nowt in the fridge barring strange moulds building new civilizations!"
"Not that. Thought you might be into hipster-y grinding your own beans and not daring anyone pollute the hallowed nectar with milk. Or leastways, just not have any." A Be Prepared bloody Boy Scout. Or maybe, just wants to be sure of getting his cuppa?
"I drink tea, remember? OK, I have a mug of fine coffee of a morning, but then I'm happy with normal stuff. Coffee or tea?"
"Tea, please."
I put the kettle on and chuck two Barry's teabags into mugs. It's a taste of home. I find myself tapping my fingers on the counter-top, waiting for the kettle to boil, wishing I had a fag. And knowing he'll probably notice.
"Still clean?"
Fuck him. The tosser doesn't know what he's talking about. Kicking coke and all was a doddle compared to the clutches of nicotine, which I've failed to kick a dozen times before. But I keep my tone civil.
"Not had a fag, no."
"You're doing well. Have a biccie."
I glare at him. "You thought I'd only have healthy food in the house?"
"Possibly. Didn't want to risk it. Also, polite guest, me brought up right, I was. Why? Do you have a larder full of biscuits and cake?"
I check the biscuit tin. Half a digestive. The bastard knows me better than I know myself.
I pass him a mug; he adds milk and makes himself at home on my sofa. I should be annoyed at his presumption, not to mention the crumbs, but he looks good there. No gel in his hair today; he looks almost sweet and fluffy in worn jeans and check shirt, but I get the impression there's more going on in his brain than he lets on.
Like planning on when to get his dick out for maximum results of me choking on my Hobnob. "Come on. It's the distraction you wanted, right? It's this or Homes Under the Hammer, so: make your choice."
Easy choice, over that crap daytime show. Homes under the Hammer is like the worst clients at work, wanting renovations for peanuts and never caring about regs getting stricter all the time.
I'm not going to compare the attractions inside his trousers to a good episode of Bargain Hunt, though.
It's as good as last time. I lose myself in the feeling of his groin and a thick cock filling my mouth more than any cigar could ever do.
'Come back for some more? Yes? Yes!' Yeah, all right, the Bargain Hunt catchphrase has a sudden resonance, but I'm sure never thinking about Tim Wonnacott and his weird teeth that way.
The salt taste that erupts in my mouth actually does make my craving go away. I'd best not have any more sweet biscuits for now.
"You all right?" He eyes me curiously as I come up to sit next to him.
"Aye. That actually worked. Not feeling the need, for the minute."
He nods. "I'll have to pass it on to my sister as advice."
"Not sure it'll work in the long term."
I meant, as advice for a stop-smoking service to give to their customers, but he's basically taking it as a fuck-off.
Shit.
"Advice! She can't really tell clients to find themselves a dick every few hours, for life!"
He lets his shoulders drop again. "It's only the first four, maybe five days, at most."