Page 57 of Best Supporting Actor
From behind him he heard Tag’s laugh, and then a few seconds later, Tag was jogging along at his side, and then overtaking. Which led to several silly minutes as each of them tried to outpace the other, at the end of which they were both sprinting at full tilt and then staggering around laughing, gasping for breath, and both claiming victory.
After that, they settled into a steady run, heading along the pretty footpath next to the river and into the city. They passed a few other joggers and dog walkers, and a couple of people did do a subtle double-take, but nobody stopped them, which was a relief. Eventually, though, the path widened out and became more crowded, making it difficult to run. They’d almost reached the bridge by then anyway, so Jay slowed to a walk.
“That was great,” Tag said, catching his breath as their pace dropped.
Glancing over, Jay felt a twist of desire at the sight of Tag’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes, his hair pushed back and his sweat-damp t-shirt clinging to his chest. Christ, he looked hot. In every sense of the word.
“Itwasgreat,” Jay agreed, walking over to grab the railing next to the river as he started to stretch, aware of Tag’s eyes on him. When he looked over, Tag’s gaze flicked sideways, and then his eyes widened, and he laughed. “Oh my God, look,” he said, pointing to a white sign attached to the railing. “This is called Dame Judi Dench Walk.”
And so it was. Amused, Jay said, “Thank God my mother isn’t here.”
“Yeah?” Tag pulled one foot up behind him, holding it there, hip pushed forward to stretch out his thigh muscle. “Would she be jealous?”
“Jealous? No.” Resisting temptation, Jay kept his eyes firmly on Tag’s face and no lower. “But we’d have to listen to about three hours of anecdotes about ‘dear Judi’.”
“That’s so cool,” Tag said, and for once, there was no edge to it. He actually sounded wistful. “Your mum’s a legend. I love her.”
“Everyone does,” Jay agreed. “Including me. I’ll introduce you some time, if you like.”
Tag’s eyes went comically wide. “Seriously? Oh my God.”
“I think she’ll like you,” Jay said, pushing back on one heel to stretch out his calf. “She admires anyone who’s serious about ‘the work’, and you are.”
“So are you.”
Jay changed to stretch his other calf. “Well, in her view, television work isn’t real acting, so...”
“What?” Tag sounded offended, which made Jay feel stupidly warm. “That’s bollocks.”
“Butdarling,” Jay gushed, in his best imitation of Dame Cordelia, “to be the best actor you can be, you simplymustspend some of your time on stage. Television pays well, but artistically, it’s not as nourishing.”
Tag laughed along, but his expression grew serious when he said, “Did she really say that to you?”
Suddenly, Jay was afraid he’d revealed too much. Although he felt like he could trust Tag, how much did he really know him? Backpedalling, he said, “She means it kindly.”
“Yeah, parents usually do.” Tag moved to lean against the railing and look out over the river. It was a dark brown on this overcast day and moving slowly. “Every few weeks, my dad’ll say something about me ‘keeping my options open’. By which he means maybe I should get a proper job. He means it kindly, too. He loves me, and he’s worried that I’m not getting my foot on the ladder, you know? That I’m going to regret wasting my time chasing a dream. I get it, but it still feels undermining when you know you’re not living up to their expectations, doesn’t it?”
Jay didn’t know what to say at first, because somehow Tag had arrowed straight to the heart of a pain Jay had never articulated to anyone. Not even his siblings. He swallowed, joining Tag at the railing. “Yeah,” he said softly, “that’s exactly how it feels.”
As Jay leaned his arms on the metal rail, Tag’s elbow bumped his and a jolt, bright and electric, shot through him. Tag glanced over, as if he’d felt it too, his honeyed eyes warm and full of understanding—and something else. Jay’s heart leapt into action, racing like he was sprinting again.
“Well, I think you’re a brilliant actor,” Tag said seriously.
“Do you?” Jay couldn’t resist teasing. “Not too wooden?”
Tag grimaced. “Do me a favour and forget everything I said that night? I always say stupid shit when I get angry. In fact, forget everything I said before we came to York.”
Jay offered a rueful smile. “I’m sure we both said things we regret. I know I did.”
“Yeah?” Tag smiled, and Christ, he had a fantastic smile. It lit up the whole day. “Then maybe we could—?”
“Oh my God, itishim!”
The loud stage-whisper and accompanying giggles came from a few feet away. Tag looked over—rookie mistake—and so Jay had no choice but to slap on his professional smile and do the same. A group of three teens, two girls and a boy, stood clustered together watching him with wide eyes and flushed faces. One, the gangly boy, wore aLeecheshoodie and an expression of confused adolescent adoration. Jay wanted to give the kid a big paternal hug.
“Hey there,” he said, raising a hand and lifting his sunglasses. “Having a good day?”
“We are now,” the boldest of the girls said, and they all burst into more giggles.