Katerina dropped Jimmy, Daisy, and Ren off at Daisy’s hotel a couple of hours later. Jimmy didn’t know how she was sober enough to drive them there, but he was drunk enough not to question it. They sat at Jimmy’s work, in the back, and took a bottle of retsina to drink before going back home.

Ren went to the bathroom and Jimmy sat with Daisy, who seemed to be doing okay, despite the copious amounts of alcohol. Her gaze followed Ren as he climbed the stairs, and she turned around to Jimmy.

‘Okay now, my dear. What are your intentions for my nephew?’

Jimmy sat back in his chair and frowned. ‘What?’

‘Ren is a wonderful young man, but he’s also very innocent. His heart has been broken way too many times. Are you just messing with him, or do you actually like him?’

Her speech was slurring and her accent, which was incomprehensible in the first place, was even more English while intoxicated, so it took Jimmy a moment to understand what she was saying.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ He told her. Had Ren told her about the night in the rooftop? Why would he do that? That was something between the two of them.

‘I’ll say one thing to you. If you’re still trying to figure out who you are or what you are, don’t drag him into your world. It’s a dark place he doesn’t need to go through again. He already knows who he is and he needs someone to love him, not someone to experiment, all right?’

Jimmy didn’t say anything. Ren arrived back to the table not long after, and Jimmy was still trying to grasp what she had said to him.

‘Hey, did I miss anything interesting?’ Ren asked.

Jimmy shook his head. Daisy put her glass down and grabbed her purse. ‘I was just saying to Jimmy I’m gonna go back to my room. I think I’ve had enough for tonight,’ she said.

They both stood up and hugged. Ren was holding on well for a drunk man. His movements were a bit slower and more ethereal than usual, but otherwise, he was looking okay. His speech was fine. His eyes were a little tired but still focused.

‘I had a great time, sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ She turned to Jimmy and her smile was infectious. It didn’t look fake like he thought it would. ‘Jimmy, thank you so much for taking us out tonight. It was lovely. See you soon, yeah?’

He nodded and stood up to give her a kiss. She held his shoulders and gave him another smile, paired with a good stare before she went.

‘Gosh, I missed her,’ Ren commented when they sat back down.

‘She is really nice,’ Jimmy agreed.

‘It’s a shame she’s only staying a week,’ he said. ‘But I guess I don’t need any more distractions from uni. I haven’t opened a book since I moved here.’

Jimmy chuckled. ‘You’re terrible. But trust me, you’re not the only one. I’m possibly the only person in that class that does any studying.’

Ren winced and stuck his tongue out. ‘Shut up! You don’t even turn up half of the time. And when on Earth do you study when you work half the time and chill over coffee the other half?’

Jimmy laughed. ‘When I’m working long, boring nights. I don’t always have the guys come over. And I buy the class notes from the photocopy shop, so it’s not like I miss anything.’

‘You Greeks are weird, you know that?’

Jimmy chortled. ‘Why?’

‘Because you are. It’s not a bad thing—’ he started.

‘Well, I hope so,’ Jimmy replied.

‘Yeah,’ Ren said. ‘You are so different to English people. You know how to have fun, you know?’

‘We do.’

‘And you guys are so hot,’ he said.

Jimmy looked to Marilena to check if she had heard Ren. She was busy serving a customer.

‘Oh, don’t be shy, Jimmy. You know you are,’ Ren added. He splayed out on the table barely supporting his head with his arm.

‘Th—thanks,’ Jimmy told him.

‘You’ll make an excellent teacher,’ Ren said. ‘All your students will crush so hard on you, they will all be studying even harder to impress you.’

Had Marilena turned up the heat in the store? It was so hot all of a sudden, and Jimmy felt a trickle of sweat on his forehead. He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes and brought them out on the table, putting a small but obvious barrier between Ren and him.

‘Stop it, Ren,’ he told him.

Ren moved his head on his other arm. ‘I will if you tell me what happened the other night.’

Jimmy put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. ‘What happened?’

‘Why did you let me kiss you?’

Jimmy inhaled. And inhaled some more. The taste of tobacco dried up his mouth and travelled all the way down to his lungs before he let it all out.

‘Be—because I was drunk.’

Ren looked towards Marilena and Jimmy checked too.

‘Do you make a habit of kissing men when you’re drunk, Jimmy?’ he asked.

What was everyone’s obsession with the night on the rooftop? Why couldn’t they leave it where it belonged? In the past. What was with the third degree?

‘No—not re—really,’ Jimmy said.

Ren sat back in his chair. He used his hands to push off the table and kept them there for support. ‘You’re a good man, Jimmy. But you know, sometimes I wish you weren’t.’

Jimmy frowned. ‘Why?

‘Because then I wouldn’t like you.’

Jimmy opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t find the right thing.

‘I’m sorry if I’m too forward. I—I just loved the other night, but we haven’t spoken about it since. And—and I don’t know where we stand,’ he explained. He rubbed his eyes.

Jimmy bit his lip. It wasn’t a subject he liked talking about. Especially not in public. ‘We’re friends, right?’

Ren grinned. ‘If you say so.’

Yes. Friends. That was what they were. That was what they should be. That was what they could be.