Page 28 of Thrill

“We don’t do dinner parties,” Scott said. “We mainly use it for working from home. Ooh, can you cook?”

Scott and Eddie both zoned in on Tyler making him take a step away.

“I’m not bad,” Tyler said. “Me and my ex got really into it over lockdown.”

“Amazing. I can do sandwiches and Eddie can order takeout. Maybe we will have a dinner party after all.”

Eddie winked at Tyler. “You’re going to regret admitting knowing your way around the kitchen. The cooker is dusty.”

“That’s not true,” Scott said. “Look.”

The next door Scott opened was for a galley kitchen, roughly the same size as the dining room. It was brilliant white with some decent appliances for two people who didn’t cook.

Following that was a bathroom painted in olive green with white tiles. An antique bath with clawed feet lined the wall. It was the bathroom he’d always dreamt of. To the side was a walk-in shower. It was absolutely perfect.

Butterflies swirled inside Tyler when they got to the final door.

“And for ourpièce de résistance,” Scott said.

He pushed the door open. Tyler almost burst into tears. The empty room had a warm grey on the walls paired with orange blinds. The light grey carpet was so fluffy he could barely wait to kick his trainers and socks off and pad around.

“Oh my God,” he said. “I bloody love it.”

“Sorry, there’s no furniture,” Eddie said. “We thought you’d probably want to choose your own.”

“We do have a spare duvet upstairs in the storeroom,” Scott added.

“Oh yes,” Eddie said. “A shit ton of storage upstairs. Scott doesn’t have the full loft.”

“Always happy to share,” Scott said with a benevolent smile.

“I am going to do this room up so amazingly,” Tyler said. “It’s perfect.”

“Seeing as you don’t have to unpack—you’ve nowhere to put it—shall we skip to the welcome drinks section of the day?” Scott asked.

“Sounds like a plan. Oh fuck, I need to take my car back.”

They returned to the lounge.

“Have one now and take it. Ooh, you can grab some takeaway on your way home,” Eddie said.

“I’ll come with you,” Scott added. “Maybe a cheeky pint in Kemp Town on the way home?”

“We know how that ends. You two roll in at midnight and I’ve starved to death,” Eddie grumbled.

“Only one way to dodge that,” Tyler said.

Scott placed a tray down with three pints and three shot glasses that looked suspiciously like Black Sambuca.

Tyler pulled a face. “Do we have to? It’s not even five o’clock yet.”

“We do and day drinking is fun. Stop being a baby.”

Scott shared the drinks out and plonked himself next to Eddie. They had a booth in a bar called Divine.

Raising his shot glass, Eddie cleared his throat. “Here’s to fun times ahead. Because we’re pleasure seekers.”

“Ugh,” Scott said, shoving him playfully. “No work chat. Welcome, Tyler. I think this is going to be a wild ride. I reckon you have hidden depths.”