Page 50 of B is for Beg

“Okay. Let’s start with our teenage years.”

Gabe refills his wine and sips it, probably thinking of his answers. “Here goes. I was covered in acne, I was on the school running team, and I got straight As in my GCSEs.”

I count to three, and then Blake and I speak at once.

“You weren’t covered in acne.” Blake says.

“You weren’t on the school running team,” I say, even though I know damn well it’s true.

“You’re both wrong,” Gabe laughs. “Iwascovered in acne. Trust me, I have destroyed all the photographic evidence, and I was on the school running team.” He pats his belly. “I didn’t develop my paunch until my late twenties. Take something off.”

“You must have been good,” Blake says as he pulls his T-shirt off.

I take a sock off.

“Pretty good,” Gabe replies. “I was team captain for two years.”

“Wow.”

“Ask him nicely, and he’ll show you his medals and trophies next time we’re at his place,” I say, nudging Gabe in the ribs.

He laughs and shakes his head. “They’re all in storage.”

“Why?” Blake asks.

“No room and they just don’t seem important anymore. Your turn, baby boy.”

Blake looks sideways and up thoughtfully. “I was really shy, my favourite subject was biology, and I hated PE.”

“You weren’t shy,” Gabe and I say in unison.

Blake grins impishly. “Wrong.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Yeah. Believe it or not, I was the shy triplet. Archie and Corey were both much more self-assured.”

“What happened?”

“I got spotted by a modelling agent. You have to be pretty confident to get on in modelling. Plus, I meet tons of new people at every shoot. To start with, I was super quiet and didn’t really talk to anyone, but I quickly figured out it was more fun to just put myself out there and start talking to people.”

“So which was the lie?” Gabe asks.

“Biology.” Blake rolls his eyes. “I hated it.”

“And PE?” I ask.

He nods. “Communal changing rooms suck when you prefer wearing knickers to boxers or pants. I got bullied quite a bit, which was one of the reasons I was shy.”

“Did your brothers stick up for you?”

“All the time. My Dad told me to stop wearing girl’s underwear on PE days, but that’s just not me, y’know?”

“How long have you worn pretty underwear?” I ask.

“Since I was ten or eleven. Mum took us all shopping for underwear and school uniform, and I was just really drawn to the girls’ knickers. They were so pretty. I’m not sure Mum really knew what to do.”

“She bought them for you?” Gabe asks.