43
FRANK
Several cars were lined up, attempting to pull out into the rush hour traffic, when Frank arrived at SHS HQ for the night shift. As he walked through the double gates, Frank could see a group of blokes at the far end of the yard, where a row of company trucks and vans were parked up for the night.
Although he couldn't see Kevin, who might not have arrived yet, Frank picked out Connor, who was probably going to give them a pep talk and lock up shop for the night.
A black Audi rolled slowly forward toward the gates but stopped short instead of continuing forward in the queue to exit SHS's yard. In the driver's seat, Mrs. Lisk brought the car to a halt. Beside Frank, the passenger window rolled down.
Mr. Lisk, the CEO of Sky High Scaffolds, looked up. "Good evening, Frank. Drive carefully on your way up to London tonight."
Frank leaned down to reply. "I will. It should be an interesting job." He grinned.
"It should indeed. Don't drop any of our poles on any of that expensive artwork. My insurance premiums are already high enough without putting in a claim for damaging priceless art." Mr. Lisk chuckled.
"We’ll do our best." Frank put a hand up as the car slowly rolled forward. He turned to make his way to his fellow workers, muttering under his breath. "It can't be priceless. It's all up for sale." He'd barely stopped grinning since he parted company with Chris the day before.
It had been quite a weekend. In some ways, very relaxing as they spent most of the time indoors at Frank's home. Chris didn't have clean clothes, which offered the perfect reason to stay in wearing very few, if any, clothes at all. Hence, despite spending hours lazing around watching old films and cuddling, it was also an exhausting weekend with a gorgeous, sexy, mostly-naked man.
Frank had never had so much sex packed into 48 hours.
The problem was he couldn't keep his hands off Chris. He was so lovely to touch, and more. Chris's reactions to Frank's touches compelled Frank to continue.
And it wasn't exactly a problem.
Tiring. Fun. Distracting. Overwhelming. These were all words that better described the impact of having that man in his house for the weekend.
And two words together: life-changing.
As he reached them, he could see Connor was deep in conversation with Kevin and Lee standing alongside the truck. They hadn't noticed Frank approaching until he was right next to them.
They weren't setting off until after five because of the stopping and unloading regulations around the destination. They planned to arrive at the gallery in the early evening and park for an hour or so while they unloaded.
After unloading, Frank would drive up to the prearranged parking lot where the vehicle would remain while they were up there.
"Ready to go?" He slapped Kevin across the shoulders.
"We are. I'm coming too," Lee replied. He waved toward the truck. "It's a three seater."
Connor shook the key to the SHS truck in his hand, spinning it around his fingers, but didn’t offer it to Frank. "Lee thought it might work better as a three-man job, at least when you first get there and have to unload, but if all goes well, I'm hoping he'll catch the last train home."
"Why? You fellas can't spend a night apart?" Frank asked.
"Not if we can help it." A wry smile worked across Lee's lips.
Kevin picked up a black pack from the floor and rested his hand on the handle of the passenger door. "You don’t normally come on the long distance jobs or do night work, Lee. We can manage, just the two of us, can't we Frank? Connor, it's only a small job to us. If you can't spare him for the whole night, stay home together."
Frank nodded.
Lee shook his head. "It's not that, Kev. Chris and I go back years. He'll be very stressed when we arrive with this lot, so I want to be there for him." Even though Lee's gaze flicked between the men, Frank guessed the comment may have been a dig at him.
That Chris had such a good friend in Lee should have pleased Frank, but he felt a guilty pang of envy that those two men had a long-enduring friendship whereas Frank was the newcomer. And Lee undoubtedly knew so much more about Chris than Frank did.
After the weekend they'd just shared, Frank wanted everyone in no doubt that he was Chris's rock. But after the ways he let Chris down in the past, it would take time.
On the one hand, with Lee's help, turning it into a three-man crew would make unloading and starting the scaffold easier and faster, however, perhaps the other reason for Lee's presence was to make sure Frank didn't fuck up again.
Frank had no intention of letting Chris down ever again.
"I'm hoping it won't be for the night. I'm hoping Lee will be able to get a late train home." Connor put his arm around Lee's shoulders. "You guys are right. I can't go one night without him."
"He can't survive for one night on his own." Lee rolled his eyes. "I don't know how he made it to twenty-nine years of age without me."
"Believe me; it wasn't easy." Connor’s arms slipped from his boyfriend's shoulders to Lee’s waist. Like people coming together in a perfectly choreographed dance, they turned their heads to exchange a quick kiss on the lips. A relaxed and natural movement. A public display of affection that Frank wouldn’t expect to see as if the couple were among friends rather than at work.
Except that it was out of hours and every man present was in a relationship with a guy. Although Frank might be the only one of them who knew that. Frank hadn’t spoken to Lee and Connor but suspected Chris might have given them some update on the events of the weekend.
"I suppose you both know how things went between me and Chris?"
"I didn’t need to speak to Chris. Tom told me," Lee replied. "And you’re here."
Kevin looked blankly between them, apparently decided he wasn’t in the conversation, and pulled open the cab door. He chucked his bag inside.
"Hold up, Kev. It’s only fair you know too."
About to get in the vehicle, Kevin turned in surprise to listen to Frank.
"I’m seeing the artist that we’re working for tonight."
"Seeing as in seeing? I thought it was a bloke. Chris Cooper?" Kevin looked from Frank to Connor as if needing the boss to verify the gender of the client.
"He is a bloke." Frank glanced around at the others.
With a beaming grin, Connor nodded. "Keep up with the program, Kev. Frank’s one of us now." He held up the key to the vehicle. A reminder they were there to go to work and not just chatter about the weekend. They could do that while on the road.
Frank grasped the keys and took a few steps toward the front of the truck, ready to get in the driver’s seat. "Let’s make a move, all who are coming. We’ve got a couple of hours on the road for talking."
Kevin took the central position, and Lee sat by the passenger side window. For a few moments, the men sat in silence, lost in thought or concentrating on the traffic. Certainly, Frank did both. As the SHS yard was on the edge of town, once they turned the corner on to the highway it was a straightforward drive most of the way.
"How are things going, Kevin? Is it much longer until you get your new place?" Frank remembered Kevin and Perry were buying their first house together.
"We hope we’ll be in our own home by the end of the summer, realistically. It'd be great to think we could move before then, especially as it’s going to get crowded at home. My brother's boyfriend is moving in with us."
"Your brother, Jamie? Is he still seeing Dylan?" Lee asked.
"I’ve only got one brother, Lee. I didn’t know you knew him and Dylan."
"I can't say I know either of them very well, but I’ve known Dylan a long time and that he was hooking up with Jamie. I didn’t know it was that serious though. And, to be honest, the last time I spoke to either of them, Jamie wasn’t out at home."
Kevin turned towards Lee, making it a little harder to hear his reply over the sound of the engine. "Oh, for fuck’s sake. Are you telling me you knew about Jamie before I did?"
Lee laughed.
"Well? Everyone seems to have known. Did you know too, Frank?"
"I promise you; I don’t know your brother. I’ve met your dad a few times." Frank chuckled.
"Well, for your information he came out at home around the same time as I did. My brother, I mean, not my dad. Like, not the same day, exactly. It was a while ago now."
"Did your dad have a problem accepting two gay sons?" Events had moved so fast in his own life Frank hadn’t considered telling his parents. At least he hadn’t lived with them in years.
"Nah. Our dad was golden. He’s letting our boyfriends move in. You can’t ask for better than that."
Frank couldn’t imagine it. Five men in a house, but he remembered Kevin telling him in the past that his dad often stayed out with his special lady friend.
"So, Jamie and Dylan got serious then? Good on ‘em. They always looked like they should be a couple but somehow they missed the memo. When is Dylan moving in?" Lee asked.
"I think he already has, Lee. He’s there most of the time. Officially, he moves in any day now, whenever his university degree ends. Then he’s looking for work."
"You know, we need laborers on the ground.”
"You’re telling me. Don’t I know it." Despite his experience and qualifications, because he was one of the younger and more junior scaffolders, Kevin was most often put upon to do the laboring or the donkey work, in the absence of any laborer on site.
"I'm not in charge of hiring and firing, but I could have a word in the boss's ear and I know Dylan’s done laboring work."
"Cheers, mate. He needs some cash. I know he’ll jump at it, to tide him over.""
"No probs. I’m just married to the boss. I’ll tell Connor to expect Dylan’s call."
There was nothing more to say about Kevin’s household arrangements and his brother. For a minute or two, they drove with only the noise of the rattling vehicle and the traffic on the road drowning out the silence in the cab.
"So Frank, how was your weekend? Any details you want to share?"
Kevin should’ve known better than to ask. Frank never discussed his personal business with the lads, unlike some of the guys at work.
"I spent it at home with Chris."
"I can fill you on the dirty details, Kev. Don't forget, Frank, Chris is my oldest mate."
Frank felt himself going red in the face. He reached out his hand to turn up the air conditioning a notch. "I'm sure he didn't tell you everything." And memories of everything flooded Frank's mind, increasing his temperature further.
Lee laughed. "Just winding you up. I haven't spoken to him."
Frank joined in the laughter. It felt good to be with people who were perfectly accepting of his new relationship when it was so new to him. "It's okay, Lee. You two can just make up shit about me if you want."
"How long have you been together with this artist?" Kevin asked.
"Together, well, since about last Friday."
"Oh, wow. That quite new then. Do you think it's going to get serious?"
"Ask Lee. He knows more than I do," Frank replied.
"You shouldn't get the wrong impression, Kev; Frank and Chris have known each other months. On and off. And I think it's all on now. I'd put my money on a wedding."