Page 51 of Best Supporting Actor
He blinked, rattled out of his thoughts. “What?”
“That guy!” She nodded towards where Jay was rejoining Giles. “It’s Jay Warren, fromLeeches. The actor who plays Skye.”
“Oh yeah,” Tag said, grinning. “I’m actually—” He caught himself in time. Jay’s involvement in the production was under wraps—at Jay’s insistence, according to Bea—and they were under orders not to let the cat out of the bag. “I’m… actually a big fan.”
“He issolovely,” Zab sighed. “He makes my little bisexual heart go all wobbly.”
Tag laughed and glanced back at Jay, who was pouring a glass of wine for Giles. “Yeah, he’s pretty nice-looking.”
Zab looked at him like he was an idiot. “Nice-looking? He’s bloody gorgeous.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Is that guy his date, do you think? Heisgay, you know.”
“I’d heard that, yeah.”
Which was more delicate than saying,Yeah, I guessed as much when I had his cock in my mouth.
It felt strange now, remembering what he and Jay had done together that night. How it had felt to be with him, to share that slow, careful, ultimately mind-blowing journey. There’d been a connection between them that night, before Jay’s buyer’s remorse had kicked in, and Tag had ruined everything with his big mouth.
“I’ve never had to work so bloody hard at a blowjob in my life.”
Wincing at the memory, he wondered what had it cost Jay to trust him again, to trust him enough to be so vulnerable with him in rehearsal…
Tag’s heart gave a confused, pained jolt.
“Definitely a date,” Zab said as Giles reached over and put his hand on Jay’s forearm. She patted Tag’s shoulder in faux-sympathy as she headed towards a customer at the other end of the bar, “Sorry, Tag, you’re out of luck there.”
With a disconcerting lurch of disappointment, he realised Zab was right. He’d messed up his chance with Jay. Not that anything could ever have come of their hook-up, but still… That ship had very much sailed, and the thought made Tag feel inexplicably sad.
The bar got busier after that, and Tag didn’t have time to keep tabs on Jay and Giles, which was probably for the best. When their food was ready, he let Zab take it over and watched, amused, as she set the plates down in front of them, blushing furiously, then said something that made Jay laugh. A moment later, he was standing up to take a selfie with her, both of them hamming it up as he pretended to bite her neck vampire-style. Meanwhile, Giles looked on with a rictus of a smile that screamed impatience.
Unfortunately for Giles, Jay’s antics with Zab drew enough attention that others in the bar began to recognise him. A couple more customers crept over, hesitatingly, to say hello and ask for a selfie, and Tag was reminded of Wilfred Owen timidly knocking on Sassoon’s door clutching a copy ofThe Old Huntsmanfor him to sign.
Jay was being more generous than Sassoon had been, by all accounts, warm and patient with everyone. Giles was not, but luckily none of Jay’s fans seemed to notice; they only had eyes for Jay, and who could blame them? Smiling and joking with his admirers, Jay was in his element, and he wasdazzling.
Later still, when Tag was passing their table to start clearing the empty one behind, he couldn’t help overhear Giles say, “...but it’s just intrusive, isn’t it? People are so entitled these days. I don’t know how you put up with it, to be honest.”
Quietly, Jay replied, “It’s not always like that, and anyway, I don’t mind. It’s part of the job. And most people are very nice. You get a few oddballs, of course, and some people are a bit over-familiar, but…” He paused and then added, “I’m sorry if it’s bothered you this evening, though.”
“Oh, it hasn’t botheredme,” Giles said, which was clearly a lie. “I’m thinking about you.”
Ha, Tag thought wryly,I bet you are.
In a silkier voice, Giles added, “But perhaps we could go somewhere more private now?”
Ugh. Tag didn’t need to see Giles’s face to picture his flirty smile. He’d been flashing it at Jay all last night.
Building pressure in his chest made Tag realise he was holding his breath, waiting for Jay’s answer… and that made him realise he was being a creepy weirdo. Quickly, he gathered the coffee cups and dessert plates from the vacant table and carried them back to the kitchen without waiting to hear Jay’s reply.
It was none of his business, after all, just like Tag’s side gig was no business of Jay’s.
When he got to the kitchen, the orders were just coming up for a table of eight in his section. He carried the meals out, then had to quickly nip behind the bar to help with a sudden rush. The next time he glanced Jay’s way, it was to see him pulling on his jacket and heading out. He was hit with the oddest pang of disappointment at the sight. Jesus Christ, what was wrong with him?
Just as Jay reached the door, he turned his head, and their gazes met. For an instant Jay looked embarrassed—maybe Tag did too; they’d both been caught looking after all. Then he raised his hand in a quick farewell and followed Giles outside.
The door closed decisively behind them.
Tag felt suddenly, weirdly low. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Already, another punter had stepped forward with a long, complicated order, and it was back to work.
The rest of his shift was busy, despite it being a Monday, and honestly, he was glad. He knew he’d probably only brood otherwise. Even with him providing sick cover, they were a bit short-staffed tonight, so in the end, he didn’t even manage a proper break to eat dinner, plus the clear-up at closing took longer than he’d expected. It was almost eleven-thirty by the time he finished up, and when he got outside, it was to discover the rain had come on. Turning up the collar on his thin jacket, he hunched his shoulders and began trudging back to the house.