The guys had left by the time the clock ticked six and so had Nikos, the homeless guy. Marilena arrived ten minutes too late, as usual. They did a quick handover and he helped her set up the station for the morning before the rush began and left the shop. He walked towards the sea and along the promenade. He was tired, but he could never go to sleep straight after work, as much as it would help his busy schedule.

The people still left on the streets were just about making their way back home. Guys stumbling on the sidewalk and women with heels in hand trying to massage their swollen toes while also hailing a taxi. The city centre never really slept.

His phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket to find a message from Ren.

How was the shift? Are you finished yet?

He was still awake? Had he stayed awake just so he could message Jimmy?

Yeah, just walking by the promenade.

Jimmy sent the message and dropped his hand by his side while he took in the view of the white tower in the breaking light.

Are you not tired? Going home?

He sat on the edge of the promenade, where sea met concrete, and he relaxed under the soft splashing water. The smell of Thermaic was not so strong anymore. Not as strong as it had been when he was younger and the water was much more polluted. It was now much more pleasant to sit by and to look at.

No. I can never sleep after work, he typed.

I can’t sleep either. Wanna hang out?

There wasn’t even a question there, but Jimmy took his time answering. There was no reason to show Ren any excitement. Hanging out with him and all his friends was great. He fit in with their little group, even if he didn’t speak Greek. Even with Katerina’s broken English and Jimmy’s bad accent, they all had a good time together, teaching Ren new things or informing him of the Greek ways. Ren seemed to devour every little shred of cultural information they could give him and the guys loved sharing their wisdom with him.

Hanging out with Ren alone was a different beast altogether.

Sure.

Wanna come by? I’ll pay for the cab.

Jimmy hailed a taxi and gave Stelios’s house address. He didn’t reply to the message straight away. There was something about Ren that made Jimmy feel everything was different. He couldn’t describe it and couldn’t explain it. Ren wasn’t the most handsome man to ever walk the Earth and certainly not the hottest man he’d met in his life. But he’d always managed to rein in whatever it was that made him crave a man’s touch so terribly. He was able to control himself and not cave to temptation. But Ren? Ren made Jimmy do things he wouldn’t normally do. Things he would never let himself do let alone let others see. Having a man sleep in his room, with his dad next door for example.

Going to someone’s house in the middle of the night, or start of day, as was the case that moment, was another big no. What was the point of him even going? Was Ren expecting something of Jimmy? Why had he messaged him?

No reason for that, he messaged Ren. The driver was already halfway through the journey. I’m on my way. I should be there in ten. I’ll call you to buzz me in.

Ok.

Jimmy got there a little before seven. Ren let him in and met him outside the apartment door with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

‘Hey! Do you wanna go to the roof? Stelios is fast asleep,’ he said and Jimmy followed him back to the lift.

He pressed the last button and they waited.

‘I hope you drink wine. It was the only thing left in the fridge.’

Jimmy took the bottle in his hands and read the label. ‘Sangria? Sure, I do,’ he replied.

They got to the last floor and exited as quietly as possible, almost tiptoeing to the staircase and up to the roof door. Ren turned a key and they got out. He must have come there with Stelios before. Jimmy couldn’t see how else Ren could know that the place even existed. Stelios had a party up there once upon a time, but he had got into trouble with his neighbours, so he’d not repeated it. How on Earth did Ren know about this place and why had Stelios shown it to him? Stelios had had girlfriends. He couldn’t be gay. He was also extremely liberal, so Jimmy was pretty confident he would have told them if he was.

The butterfly in his stomach fluttered wildly and Jimmy needed the alcohol to appease it.

Ren sat on a deck chair, one of three, and breathed heavily. He looked up to the sky, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Jimmy realized he was drunk.

He sat next to Ren and took the bottle from his hand to pour a glass of the red wine. It was freezing cold. He brought the glass to his lips and its fruity sweetness hit him like a brick. Boy, was he tired!

‘Are you okay?’ he looked at Ren whose eyes were still shut.

Ren turned his head to Jimmy’s direction and without opening his eyes, nodded. ‘I love the breeze. They’re saying it’s going to be 25 degrees tomorrow—today.’

‘Really? I hope so,’ Jimmy said.

He glanced around and took the city in. There wasn’t much of a skylight in Thessaloniki, and especially not from an eight-story building, but the morning light made everything look pink and orange, giving his favourite city in the entire universe an unfamiliar glow. When he turned his attention back to Ren, he was staring at him.

‘What?’ Jimmy asked.

Ren picked up the bottle and poured a glass. Jimmy wanted to stop him, but he wasn’t his mother to tell Ren when to stop drinking. ‘Let’s play a drinking game. You need to catch up with me,’ he said and a hiccup escaped him.

Jimmy grimaced. That sounded like a terrible idea for Ren. Jimmy usually came out unscathed from drinking games.

‘Do you know Never-Have-I-Ever?’

Jimmy nodded. It wasn’t a game they played in Greece, but having watched the Big Bang Theory religiously and repeatedly, he’d learned all about it.

‘Sure.’

‘I’ll start,’ he said, raising his glass in the air and spilling a little on his trousers. ‘Never have I ever, hm—smoked weed,’ he said. Jimmy raised his glass and drank some wine. Ren also drank some.

‘You smoke weed?’ Jimmy asked him.

He giggled. ‘Just the once. Your turn.’

Jimmy bit his lip and looked at the clear sky. ‘Never have I ever—,’ coming up with questions proved to be difficult. He had to think real hard and Ren’s gaze was warming the side of his face. ‘Peed my pants in public,’ he said eventually.

Jimmy took a sip while Ren laughed next to him. ‘When?’

Jimmy rolled his eyes at the memory. ‘It was in the first year of high school. I was really nervous about some exams and I raised my hand for a bathroom break and as I stood up, my bladder gave in. I still don’t know why.’ Everyone had heard the story. Even Katerina knew the story when Markos had so elegantly told her.

‘How mortifying. Poor Jimmy. I’m so sorry,’ Ren kept chuckling.

Jimmy shook his head. ‘Don’t be too sorry, buddy,’ he said feeling his cheeks go red.

‘All right, I’m sorry. I am,’ he said but it didn’t reflect on his face.

‘Your turn...idiot.’ Jimmy elbowed Ren.

Ren composed himself and drank from his glass. ‘All right, never have I ever—not studied for a test.’

It took Jimmy a moment to process the double negative and by the time he did, Ren had drunk from his glass. Seeing Jimmy hadn’t moved, he put his glass down and turned to him. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah,’ Jimmy shrugged.

‘Geek,’ he said and Jimmy laughed.

‘Of course. Have you met me?’

He blinked several times. ‘I have,’ he said.

His blue eyes glistened. He had long eyelashes. Jimmy had not noticed that before.

‘Okay,’ Jimmy sighed. ‘Never have I ever cheated,’ he said.

Ren frowned. ‘Are we talking about school, or like, relationships?’

Jimmy huffed. ‘School,’ he said.

Ren drank from his glass and Jimmy still hadn’t.

‘You are a saint, aren’t you?’ He poked Jimmy with his finger.

‘I am not,’ Jimmy laughed.

‘All right, never have I ever slept with someone on the first date,’ Ren said.

Jimmy still didn’t touch his drink.

‘See? You are!’

‘Why?’

‘Uhm, you’ve never slept with someone on the first date,’ he accused Jimmy.

Jimmy noticed the glass on Ren’s lap. ‘You haven’t drunk any, either,’ he told him.

Ren lay back on the chair and turned away from Jimmy. ‘Yeah, but that’s because I’m still a virgin,’ he said.

‘So am I,’ Jimmy told him. Ren’s eyes glowed at him again.

‘Oh, I can’t believe that. What? No girl has snatched you up yet?’

Jimmy shook his head. Ren’s eyes burned his insides as much as the wine did. He was tired, he kept telling himself. It wasn’t the alcohol. But he was almost finished with his first glass, even though he was winning the game so far.

‘Your turn,’ Ren shouted and Jimmy had to look around. Then he remembered they were on the roof where no one could see them.

‘Okay. Never have I ever—uhm—have I regretted not saying I love you to someone,’ Jimmy said.

Ren’s stare stayed on Jimmy as he brought the glass to his mouth. Ren remained still. Jimmy thought he had him. He told him.

‘I’ve always expressed my feelings. Always showed everyone my cards. And maybe that’s why I keep losing.’

Jimmy tilted his head. ‘I’m sorry.’

He shook his head. ‘It’s okay. I’m fine. Why did you drink?’

Jimmy hoped he wouldn’t ask. And he did have the option not to tell him. But Ren was already topping Jimmy’s glass up with more wine so Jimmy went with it.

‘Because I never told my mom how much I loved her. At least not as often as I’d have liked. And now I hate myself for it. I miss her every single day and I wish I could bring her back, even if to just say what she means to me.’ Jimmy’s eyes stung and his nose tingled. He blinked fast looking up. He’d had practice stopping himself from crying. His dad didn’t appreciate the waterworks when he was trying to get through life without his wife.

Ren rested his hand on Jimmy’s thigh and Jimmy focused on it. Its warmth climbed all way to Jimmy’s chest. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m sure she knew.’

Jimmy had to look up again. Hopefully, she did. He’d spent years trying to convince himself that she did.

He told Ren it was his turn, but the hand stayed on his lap and it didn’t look like it was going anywhere.

‘Never have I ever kissed another guy,’ he said.

Jimmy didn’t move. Ren drank from his glass very slowly.

‘Never have I ever wanted to kiss another guy,’ he added.

Jimmy remained still. Ren’s body was close to his. His face was inches away from Jimmy’s and Ren’s look burned him. Jimmy slowly lifted his glass and took a sip, and as soon as he removed the glass, Ren’s lips were on Jimmy’s and he let Ren kiss him. Ren’s lips were small and wet. They always seemed to be. It felt like a tickle. Jimmy felt a tickle all over his face, a shiver that travelled down his spine and to his groin.

Jimmy deepened the kiss. He’d never kissed a man before, it was true, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t know how these things usually went. He inserted his tongue in Ren’s mouth and Ren moaned. His hand moved from Jimmy’s lap to his chest. Jimmy’s hands remained still and by his side. He couldn’t move. He didn’t want to. He’d wake up if he did and face the reality this couldn’t be happening.

Ren squeezed Jimmy’s breast with his hand and then wrapped it around his waist. He got off his chair and sat on Jimmy’s lap. He carefully put their glasses on the floor without their lips separating.

He stroked Jimmy’s cheek and their tongues met again inside their mouths. The erection in Jimmy’s pants was undeniable and he could feel Ren’s brushing against him.

Jimmy closed his eyes and let Ren do to him whatever he wanted.

When Jimmy opened his eyes again, Ren was back in his chair. He was staring at Jimmy.

‘Why—why did you stop?’

He smiled. ‘You were sleeping.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Jimmy said.

Ren shrugged. ‘It’s okay. You’re knackered; I’m drunk. It wouldn’t have made any sense to do anything we’d both regret.’

Jimmy’s head hit the back of the deck chair and he closed his eyes. Something they’d both regret. Did that mean Ren regretted kissing him? Did it mean he didn’t like him? And why did Jimmy care so damn much?