Page 49 of Glow

Laughing, they left Prin’s apartment. Almost immediately, the door across the hallway was flung open. A man in his late forties with wild hair and even wilder eyes stood in front of them. Prin stiffened.

Instinctively, Scott moved toward Prin. This man exuded negative vibes.

“Oh,” Prin said. “Good morning, Jeremy.”

“Good morning.”

Jeremy’s gaze flitted from Prin to Scott then back to Prin.

“I thought I heard voices last night.”

“So sorry if we disturbed you,” Prin said. “We’d better go. It’s a workday after all.”

Prin grabbed Scott’s hand and half dragged him to the stairwell. Before going through the door, Scott glanced over his shoulder. Jeremy scowled at him. Resplendent in a purple silk robe, he reminded Scott of a cut-price Disney villain. He gave him a little wave as he went down the stairs.

Prin didn’t live too far from the office and on a sunny morning like they stepped out into, it seemed a shame to get the bus.

“Shall we take the scenic route?” Scott asked.

“I think you’re determined to make me late,” Prin replied with a twinkle in his eye. “You do remember who I work for.”

“Go on,” Scott said, nudging him. “Live on the wild side. Richard will have more on his plate soon than your timekeeping skills.”

“I guess we’ve got time.”

They fell into step.

“Who was that?” Scott asked.

“Oh, Jeremy. He can be a little odd.”

“Odd or threatened?” Scott asked. “Have you…”

“Yes.”

Scott didn’t know how he felt about that. With his own track record, he didn’t have a molecule of a right to be jealous. Even so, he was.

“There’s nothing else to it,” Prin said. “If you were wondering.”

Scott shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”

“No, of course not.”

Did Scott detect a tang of regret in Prin’s voice? They walked on in silence. Scott knew that he had been down more dead-end streets than most. He had a good feeling about Prin.

He stopped. Prin did too.

“What about if we weren’t to sleep with other people?” Scott blurted out.

Prin seemed taken aback.

“I know it’s only been a night but I want to see where this is going,” Scott continued with his verbal diarrhoea. “It-it might be nice, that’s all. Forget I said anyth?—”

Prin silenced him with a kiss. Scott stared into his eyes.

“You are so different to the person you pretend to be,” Prin said.

“Yes well, so are you,” Scott replied. “You come across as though butter wouldn’t melt. Not only do I know first-hand that isn’t the case, it appears so does your neighbour. The scandal of it all.”