Page 12

Alex

Alex woke to the pleasant sensation of a warm mouth wrapped around his cock. He sighed and stretched. He hadn’t ever asked Neil to creep into his bed to deliver sexual favours, but he decided to lie back and enjoy the blowjob, because it would be the last.

Today was graduation day. His father, delighted by his son’s first-class degree, had allowed them to stay on in the flat until after the ceremony, which meant that he’d been able to take advantage of all the end-of-term parties.

Soon, both he and Neil would start work at Lytton AV, but he didn’t expect their paths to cross much there. Neil would be working in the accounts department, but as the owner’s son, Alex’s role would be very different. He’d be earning his own money, and he could carve out the life he wanted without dragging Neil around like a lead weight.

He came with a satisfied moan, and Neil emerged from under the bed sheets, licking his lips and grinning. There had been times over the past three years when he’d wanted to wipe that stupid grin off Neil’s face with a well-placed punch, but today wasn’t one of them. Freedom beckoned, and he was in a good mood.

“Happy graduation day!” Neil declared, pressing a kiss to Alex’s lips .

“Ugh. Fuck off.” He twisted away.

“I got your suit ready last night – it’s been dry-cleaned and pressed. I’ve hung it up in your wardrobe.”

“Thanks.”

“Who’d have thought, three years ago, that this day would come, huh?” Neil rested his chin on Alex’s shoulder.

Alex reached for a cigarette and lit up, ignoring Neil’s huffy sigh of protest. “Yeah.” He took a deep drag.

“BA Hons. You with a first, and me with a 2:1.”

“Yeah.”

“We did well.”

“Yeah, we did.”

There was a long silence, during which Alex could practically hear the cogs whirring in Neil’s mind. He knew what was coming next, and what that particularly fine blowjob had been about.

“Alex… we’ve been happy, haven’t we?” Neil asked tentatively.

“Mmmm.”

“I’ve tried to make you happy.” Alex was all too familiar with the plaintive little whine in Neil’s voice. “And I was thinking – it’s time we told your father about our relationship.”

He deliberately blew a cloud of smoke into Neil’s face. “No,” he said curtly.

“Yes,” Neil insisted. “Come on, Alex – we’ve been together for three years. Your father should know about us.”

“Us?” He raised an eyebrow. “There is no ‘us’, Neil – there’s never been an ‘us’.”

Neil sat up. “You don’t mean that,” he said tightly. “You love me, Alex.”

“No, I really don’t. Look, Neil, we both knew this was a business arrangement, right from the start.”

“Business?” Neil stared at him. “How can you say that?”

“For fuck’s sake, Neil, our entire relationship is based on blackmail. You agreed not to tell my father about my drug habit, and I agreed to sleep with you. We both knew it was a temporary arrangement that would end when we left Oxford. ”

“That’s not true,” Neil said stubbornly. “Maybe it was that way at first, but our relationship has grown into something more. You need me, Alex; you rely on me. Who else will look after you? Who’ll clear up after you, hold your head when you vomit, and get you to places on time? How do you think you survived three years here without the press ever finding you in the gutter high on croc, or sucking off some bloke in the bogs of a seedy bar? It was because of me. I shielded you, Alex. I protected you, I lied for you, and I made sure you stayed safe. You need me.”

“No, I don’t. Not anymore. I needed you to lie to my father, but I never needed you for the other shit – you just like doing it because of your pathological need to control every aspect of my life.” He slipped out of bed and reached for his bathrobe. “It’s over, Neil. You have your degree, and you had me for three fucking years. Quit while you’re ahead.” He wrapped the robe around his body and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table.

Neil clasped his knees to his chest, somehow managing to look like a vulnerable child instead of the solid, six-foot-one accountancy graduate that he was.

“I always thought I could make you love me,” he said sadly.

“Well, I don’t. I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally – I’ve never been in love with anyone.”

“Except yourself,” Neil snapped.

“Me least of all. Are we going to do this? Are we going to part with a big argument?” Alex asked quietly, sitting down on the side of the bed. Neil buried his face in his lap, and he stroked his flatmate’s brown hair gently.

“Come on, Neil, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can remain friends, can’t we?”

“Do you mean that?” Neil glanced up, a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

“Sure. We’ve been through a lot together – we’ve watched loads of movies, eaten a ton of takeaways, and had a hell of a lot of sex.” Alex grinned. “It was good while it lasted. We can take those memories with us and part on good terms, can’t we?”

“Is it because of her?” Neil asked. “Is it because of Solange? Are you in love with her? ”

“Christ, no. I told you – I’ve never been in love with anyone. I’m not capable of it.”

“I don’t believe that.” Neil took hold of his hand. “You just don’t believe you’re worthy of love because of what happened to your mum.”

“Whatever.” He drew his hand away. “It doesn’t change anything. We’re moving out of this flat in a couple of days. It’s over.”

“Are you telling me you’re going to live at The Orchard with your father and brother like a good little boy? You hate that place.” Neil snorted. “And how long will you be able to keep your croc habit a secret while living under your dad’s roof?”

“I won’t be living there,” Alex said calmly. “Today, after the ceremony, when he’s all stoked up on goodwill, I’m going to ask him to give me a flat near Lytton AV as a graduation present. He’s so pleased about me getting a first that he’ll agree to anything I ask right now. So, I won’t be going back to The Orchard.”

A sly look crept into Neil’s eyes. “I could tell your father about us. I could tell him I was lying, covering for you all these years. I could tell him you sleep with anything with a pulse, and that you’re a hopeless croc addict.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “It always comes back to blackmail for you, doesn’t it? Yes, you could do that, Neil, but you’re about to start work at his company. How do you think he’d take it if he found out you’ve been lying to him all these years?”

Neil’s face crumpled. “Fuck you. You’ve always had everything your own way. You use people, Alex. You take what you want and never give back.”

“Just so you know, we aren’t going to have a big fight and then angry make-up sex,” Alex said quietly. “That isn’t how this is going down. We’re over.”

“We’ll see.” Neil stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

An hour later, as he walked through town to meet Solange, Alex felt free for the first time in three years. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and there was a party atmosphere; everywhere he looked, people were laughing and having fun.

Solange met him in their favourite café. She looked particularly beautiful in a dress of plain white linen with a navy-blue stripe around the hem and a matching navy jacket.

“I’ve been looking forward to today,” she said as he brought over a coffee for her and a tea for himself.

“Because you’re getting your degree, or because you’re getting to meet the famous Charles Lytton?” he asked.

“Both.” She was practically dancing up and down with excitement. “I want to meet your father, too.”

“Don’t read anything into this whole ‘meeting the family’ thing,” he warned. “I’m not asking you to marry me.”

“I know. I’m just excited. It’s going to be a great day.” She put her hand on his arm. “You’re okay with me meeting them, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I just don’t want to give my father the wrong idea.” He took a sip of his tea and glanced out of the window. The usual little gathering of the homeless and dispossessed were standing outside, looking in, like ghosts at a feast.

“And what wrong idea would that be?” Solange arched an eyebrow.

“That you’re my girlfriend.”

“Aren’t I, though?” She rubbed her foot up and down his leg under the table, a teasing grin on her face.

“Yeah, kind of, but I haven’t changed, Solange. What I said the day we met still stands.”

“I know.” She swirled her teaspoon idly in her coffee.

“And yet you stay anyway?” Alex sighed. “Honestly, you deserve better.”

“It works both ways – why do you stay with me if you think you’ll never love me?”

He squeezed her hand. “Because it feels like you’re the only person in the world who understands me.”

She gave a wan smile. “Yeah – me too. We’re doomed.”

“Will your godfather be here?” Alex asked.

She shrugged. “I hope so. He said he’ll try to make it, but we’ll see.”

“I’m meeting Charles and Dad in ten minutes – I’ll bring them straight here, so you can say hello.” He glanced at his watch. “See you in a bit.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek and ran off.

He found his father in the AV park and was met with a warm smile for a change. He wondered if he might even get a congratulatory hug, but it wasn’t to be.

“A first-class honours degree!” his father proclaimed, shaking his hand effusively. “I can’t tell you how proud I am, son. I know we’ve had our differences, but you’ve really turned your life around. Well done.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, feeling wrong-footed somehow by all the praise.

“Always said you were the brains of the family,” Charles joked as Alex enveloped him in a hug. He was fresh from his training for the upcoming Paralympics, and looked well with his sunburnt face and toned upper body.

“What’s this?” Alex asked as a duck drew up beside them and a small camera crew piled out.

“Now, Alex, don’t overreact. It’s nothing to be upset about,” Charles said soothingly.

“Who the fuck are they?”

“I knew you wouldn’t like it.” Charles shot an anxious glance at their father.

“Charles – what’s going on?” he demanded. “Who are these people?”

“They’re making a documentary about me, that’s all.” Charles gave a little grimace.

“The entire country is proud of your brother, Alex,” his father explained. “He’s been an inspiration to a generation – the film crew has been following him for months now, detailing all his preparations and training for the Paralympics. If you’d bothered to come home at any point in the past six months, you’d be aware of that.”

“You mean, they’re fawning all over the great Olympic hero, tragically cut down in his prime, as he prepares to compete pluckily at the Paralympics and show a grateful nation how to spring back from adversity – again?” He raised a mocking eyebrow.

“Something like that,” Charles said apologetically. “Look, this is good for me, Alex…”

“But not for me. You know what they’ll do with any footage they get of me – whatever I do, they’ll find a way to twist it so I come out badly. ”

“They won’t do that. They’re nice guys. I enjoy having them around.”

“Clearly, since you brought them to my graduation day.”

“I promised them complete access to my life.” Charles gave his sweetest, most charming smile.

“Well, I didn’t, so you lot can fuck off,” Alex said, rounding on the camera crew. He stood there, glaring furiously, while Charles and his father spoke to them, then Charles wheeled back over to him.

“They’re going to film me, but not you. You won’t appear in the documentary,” he promised. “They’ll mention I attended and show some shots of Oxford, but nothing with you in it. I’m going to do a little shot to camera about how proud I am of you on your graduation day.”

“Good. Fine,” Alex said stonily. “Christ, I can’t believe you did this, Charles. After all the crap I took from the media after the accident – the way they followed me, all the fucking cameras in my face – you really are a shit, you know that?”

“Alex – that’s enough,” his father snapped. “I understand that you’re upset, but that’s no way to talk to your brother.”

“Sorry, Alex.” Charles gazed up at him contritely. “Forgive me?”

He sighed; Charles’s dimples were always impossible to resist. “Fine. You’re forgiven,” he said.

“Well, if that’s settled, didn’t you say there was someone you wanted us to meet?” Noah asked, glancing around.

Alex looked at the camera team sourly and shook his head. “No. Change of plan,” he said brusquely. He didn’t trust the crew not to take footage of him with Solange, and he had enough experience with the media to know what they’d do with the story of Alexander Lytton and a woman as stunning as her. He’d managed to avoid publicity for the past three years, and he intended to keep it that way.

Instead, he took his family and the unwanted crew to the college, then made an excuse to duck out for a few minutes, so he could call Solange without them overhearing.

“Where the hell are you?” she asked grumpily.

“Sorry – Charles brought along a film crew, so the meeting’s off,” he told her .

“Why? What difference does it make?”

“Trust me, you don’t want them noticing you and sniffing around after a story.”

“Is this just an excuse to get out of introducing me to your family?”

“No. Don’t give me a hard time about this, Solange.”

“We agreed?—”

“And I’m sorry, but it’s for the best,” he snapped. “Look, you can meet them another time, just not today. It’s vital you keep well away from all things Lytton today. Not just at the ceremony, but after, too – understand?”

“Okay. I’m disappointed, but I understand,” she said quietly.

He took his family to the big marquee pitched on the college lawn for the pre-ceremony party. A little entourage of admirers soon surrounded Charles’s wheelchair, taking films of themselves with him.

His brother smiled and joked with them, his dimples working overtime, and Alex found it oddly reassuring – watching him charm his audience was like watching a maestro at work. He started to relax – he couldn’t stay angry for long when Charles was flashing that smile around. He turned to his father.

“I was thinking – could I have a few more weeks here, before I start at Lytton AV?” he requested. If there was ever a good moment to ask it was now, with his father basking in the glow of his university success.

Noah frowned. “What about the Paralympics? Aren’t you coming to Mexico City with us in August?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, do you?” he replied quietly. “You know how the media get around me.”

“Charles will be disappointed.”

“Yes, but you and I both know it’s the right thing to do – yes?” Alex gave his father a meaningful look.

Noah sighed. “I suppose so. So, when do you want to join us at Lytton AV?”

“How about the week after you get back from Mexico City? I’m sure you’ll want to be there to introduce me into the family business, so there’s no point in me starting there while you’re away.”

“Fine. You’ve earned the break, son, and you have a lifetime of hard work ahead of you.” His father grasped both his shoulders. “I really am proud of you, but don’t stop now – there’s a long way to go yet.”

Alex felt a familiar stab of irritation – he’d gained a first-class degree and this was his graduation day – was nothing ever going to be good enough for his father?

“Why don’t I go and get us all some drinks?” he suggested, needing some breathing space.

There was a long queue at the bar, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He waited in line, smiling as he watched his brother flirt with all the pretty girls surrounding his wheelchair. He realised that for the first time in a long time he felt genuinely happy. He’d come through some bad times, but there were good ones ahead. He was sure of it.

As he carried his tray of drinks back to his family, he saw his father talking to a man he vaguely recognised. He paused – his father looked angry and was stabbing his finger repeatedly in the air. The stranger smiled urbanely and withdrew, brushing past Alex on his way to the bar, then pausing.

“Alexander? Alexander Lytton! You must have been this high when I last saw you.” He held his hand by his waist.

“Sorry, do I know you?” Alex put the tray of drinks down on a nearby table and shook the man’s proffered hand.

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember me,” the stranger chuckled. “I’m George Tyler.”

“ The George Tyler?” Alex asked. “Owner of Tyler Tech?”

Tyler held up his hands. “Guilty as charged.” Completely bald, he had intense brown eyes set in an angular face, a long, straight nose, and a pointed chin with a little cleft. With his lean, toned body sharply dressed in a tight-fitting black shirt-and-suit ensemble, open at the neck, and a handshake that was firm and brisk, he exuded a sexy energy.

“Should I be shaking your hand?” Alex asked with a grin. “You’re one of our main competitors, after all.”

Tyler gave a good-natured laugh. “I don’t see it that way. My father, God rest him, had fond memories of working with your grandfather at Lytton AV.”

“I’ve seen the photos in the boardroom. ”

“I was just speaking to your father – reminding him of the good old days.”

“Were they good?” Alex glanced over at Noah to find him scowling back.

“Hell, yes,” Tyler chuckled. “I grew up at The Orchard; I used to play with your father when we were kids. Good memories.”

“I remember your mum. She was our housekeeper when I was little.”

“That’s right.”

“And your father designed the Lytton Classic.”

“Yup.”

“I always thought you must hate the fact that my family got rich off your father’s design,” Alex said bluntly.

Tyler looked startled. “Your family took mine in after the Rising. They were good to us; I’ll never forget that. Theodore Lytton always said that my father was his best friend as well as his best indentured servant.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Your grandfather also paid for my education. I’m assuming your father never told you about all the shit he and I got up to when we were at Oxford?” Tyler gave Alex a conspiratorial nudge.

“You were here with Dad?” Alex asked, surprised.

“Yeah, we shared rooms and spent three years getting drunk and chasing girls.” Tyler laughed. “That was soon after the university reopened following the Rising. Cambridge is lost to us forever, alas, and Oxford was quite basic, back then. It’s all changed now. They didn’t have some of the fancy-arsed degrees youngsters can take here these days, like fashion design.” He held up his hands in mock outrage.