Chapter Three Career Change

Chapter three

Career Change

Lee arrived at the Brownlee residence stupidly early.

After having received his flight details from Rupert late last night, he'd only had a few hours' shut eye before catching the tube to Chigwell. Once, he'd been within spitting distance of where Rupert and Lori had settled and had kids, and he'd loved living close to his best mate again. He'd never afford the houses in the part of London where the east bordered the leafy county of Essex on his lone salary of a Met Detective Constable. But when he'd married Cora, the addition of her solicitor salary meant they'd been able to buy the three-bed semi a short walk from Rupert's gaff. It had been wonderful being in close quarters and entangled in each other's lives again, when the early days of both of their careers had kept them at a distance.

It'd been fortunate, too, when Lori had been ill .

But his subsequent separation where Cora had walked all over him in her particularly expensive pair of court shoes, then his retirement from the Met, meant he was back to not wanting to fork out the sky-high prices of way into half a million for a simple two-bed property.

Cora could.

Clenching his jaw, he exited the tube and walked past his old street. Cora was probably in bed. Maybe with another man. A man who treated her better. A man who might even figure out what it was she wanted. Before it was too late.

Because he sure as hell hadn't.

He arrived at Rupert's at an eye watering six a.m., surprised Rupert had even been up to let him in. Barely, though. Yawning and wrapped in a dressing gown, he ushered Lee into the house.

"Eddie's getting his case," Rupert said as he led Lee into the kitchen. He, too, had the latest in culinary gadgets and a breakfast bar with leather stools set around it and a kitchen table facing a huge plasma screen set to BBC News on silent with subtitles. "Coffee?"

Lee shook his head. "Had a couple espresso shots on the way here. I'm wired for the rest of the day."

Rupert prepared the coffee machine to make his own as Lee took up a stool across the breakfast bar.

"You always knew how to travel light." Rupert indicated to the one bag Lee dumped on the floor by his feet. "Didn't you have that when we went up Kili?"

"Twelve years and counting." Lee tapped his trusty North Face technical backpack. "Nothing else you need but a change of underwear. Even that's not essential."

"Tell that to Eddie. I swear he's packing his entire wardrobe in case of any eventuality."

"What type of eventuality is there when on set? "

"I don't know. Probably being picked up by the dirty old men who chase him in the clubs." He sipped from his coffee and glanced out of the archway where thuds down the central staircase descending into the airy open plan living space caught his attention. "Speaking of whom."

Lee swivelled on the stool, wondering what Eddie now looked like, having realised the last time he'd seen him was a few years after his mother's funeral when he'd been…sixteen? Seventeen? Life had got in the way since then, and Eddie hadn't been at the family home on the rare occasions Lee had popped by. What he hadn't expected when he peered out to the person lugging an oversized suitcase down the carpeted stairs, was a fully grown man. Almost the spit of the svelte yet strong Rupert in his twenties, with a feline beauty his mother had sprinkled over him.

Eddie blew back his thick mound of dark brown hair that might as well have been stolen from Rupert's youth as he dragged the suitcase onto the wooden flooring with a thud. He wiped his brow, then glanced along the vast open plan living space to lay eyes on Lee in the kitchen.

For a moment, everything stilled.

Then Rupert burst around the breakfast bar, dressing gown flapping, and approached Eddie at the foot of the stairs. "Did you get it to thirty kilos?"

Eddie rubbed his brow. "Er…sure."

"You know they weigh it there." Rupert picked up the case, checking the weight. "You don't want to take out all your stuff in the check in queue ‘cause they don't keep it for you."

"I know, Dad. This isn't my first rodeo."

"Please don't tell me you'll be riding a bull as well as getting naked? "

"I won't be riding a bull." Eddie looked almost crestfallen at that.

But he hadn't said anything about not getting naked. What sort of film was this exactly?

Lee stood, whipping his bag over his shoulder, and made his way to them. "I don't have thirty kilos, so if there's anything you want to put in here, you're welcome to."

Eddie stared at him. Lee shifted uncomfortably. Had he said something wrong?

Oh . He might not recognise him.

He held out his hand. "Been a while."

For a moment, Eddie stared at his outstretched hand. Then, eventually, he slapped his palm into it and shook. A tight shake. As if he were trying to make a point. "Yeah. A while."

Lee smiled. Nodded. Shook his hand.

Why did it feel weird to be doing that?

"Have you packed your travel sickness tablets?" Rupert raised his eyebrows at his son.

Eddie removed his hand, wiping his clammy sweat across an arse coated in tight, black skinny jeans ripped at the knees. "No, Dad," he said through gritted teeth. "I haven't been travel sick in years."

Rupert chuckled, flicking his gaze to Lee. "Used to vomit every car trip."

"Fuck's sake." Eddie grabbed his suitcase and lugged it out to the porch. "Go back to bed, Dad."

Rupert winced. Lee shrugged and followed Eddie to the front door where he was slipping his slender but defined arms into a stonewash denim jacket. He couldn't quite believe the transformation from boy to man. Of course, he knew it happened. It had happened to him. To Rupert. But somehow it made Eddie seem like a whole new person and not the baby he'd once held in his arms, or the toddler he'd played touch rugby with, nor the teenager who'd shed his tears on Lee's shirt at his mother's funeral.

"Taxi's here." Eddie yanked open the door.

"Right, hold up!" Rupert skated around to him, grabbing his arm. He then drew him in for a hug, squeezing him. Eddie's arms remained at his sides, unable or unwilling to reciprocate. Rupert let him go. "Break a leg."

"Not sure that's appropriate, considering…" Eddie angled his head at Lee, then hauled his case out to the front driveway where a taxi awaited him, engine running.

"He's not always this rude," Rupert said to Lee. "Probably the early wake up."

"Hey, it's fine." Lee tapped Rupert's shoulder. "He's a young man wanting his freedom, and you shoved him with a babysitter. I get it."

Rupert sighed. "Am I wrong?"

"No. You're not. You're a dad. I'll keep in his shadow. He'll soon forget I'm there."

Rupert nodded his thanks then held open the door. "I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"Lucky you never have to find out." Lee winked. "Sorta stuck with me."

"Good. Because who else do I have to defend my actions, even when I'm wrong, then clear up the aftermath of me…burying it all in the sand?"

"As you do for me." Lee stepped out, chucking his bag in the taxi's boot. He waved over the car roof to Rupert before sliding into the back where Eddie was glaring out of the window, chewing on his thumbnail.

The car drove off .

When Eddie didn't loosen from his stiffness, Lee reached into the depths of his Met officer training to spark a conversation and build a bond.

"So, big deal for you, huh?"

"I'm the same as anyone else."

Lee knitted his eyebrows. "Yeah. I know. But—"

Eddie shot back round to face him. "Being queer isn't a big deal anymore."

Lee widened his eyes. "Um…that's not…I meant the movie thing."

"Oh." Eddie drew in a breath of realisation, then bit his lip. "Sorry, I…" He didn't bother with an explanation and turned back to stare out of the window, chewing once again on his thumbnail.

Lee shifted in his seat. Well, that went wrong. "Isn't queer an offensive word?"

"Maybe in your day."

Ouch . Way to feel old. "And in your day, gay is old-fashioned?"

Eddie shrugged. "Queer encompasses all the spectrum. Gay assumes."

"Gay assumes…what?"

"That it's man on man."

"Right. I see." He didn't. "Whereas you …" How the fuck was he to ask this? Why was he asking this? "Like other sex too?" He winced. He could hear himself.

"No." Eddie turned to face him. "No. I'm a man on man queer."

"So…gay?"

"Yeah. Gay."

"Right. Okay. Thanks for clearing that up."

"You're welcome." Back to staring out of the window as they sailed up the M11 heading toward the M25 motorway. There wasn't even any other traffic at this time of the morning to complain about in the hope for small talk.

Lee shut his mouth, tapping his hands on his knees. His covered with denim knees. Not like what Eddie was wearing, where his knee poked through the designer rip. He could make out the dark hair on his skin, once again reminding Lee that Eddie was now a man.

A man who liked men.

Had sex with men.

Why was he fixating on that?

"Look." Eddie whipped back around, tearing Lee's gaze from his legs. "I appreciate you're doing this for my dad."

"And also you."

"I could totally handle this on my own."

"Could you?" Lee raised his eyebrows.

"I'm twenty-three. A man. Not a kid."

"I see that."

"I can look after myself. Defend myself."

"You can defend yourself against a gang of men who are going to meet you at LAX, shove you in the boot of their car, douse you with petrol and drive you off the Grand Canyon into a fire pit, are you?"

Eddie gulped.

Lee narrowed his eyes. "Your dad didn't let you read the email?"

"No."

"Ah."

The colour drained from Eddie's face as he, once again, turned back to the window. Then, voice strained with his breath steaming the glass, he asked a cautious, "Will that happen?"

"Not on my watch. "

Eddie didn't reply. Nor did he move. And the ride went back to all-consuming silence. It was going to be a long flight if this was in store. And whilst that wouldn't normally bother Lee—solitude was his second best friend after Rupert—he didn't want Eddie worrying about anything other than his big break in Hollywood.

"Most threats aren't serious," he said, hoping to ease the stress across Eddie's back.

"If this isn't serious," Eddie glanced back to him, "then why has my dad asked you to come with me?"

"For assurance."

"Assurance?"

"Think of me like a car insurance policy. Most of the time you don't need me, but I'm there when you do."

Eddie turned back to the window.

"And like a car insurance policy, you can forget about me. Lose me to the back of your drawer."

"Or closet?" Eddie chuckled.

"Wherever you keep those important documents. I'll remind you when you need to renew."

Eddie said nothing more, but he relaxed and Lee took that small triumph at least. It would be easier if they got on, but as long as Eddie remained in one piece, then Lee could consider it a job well done.

The taxi dropped them off at Heathrow an hour later, and they rushed through check-in with Eddie's bag at the exact thirty kilos required, then sped through security, emerging out into the duty-free lounge.

"I need to pop in here," Eddie said, angling his head at the fragrances section.

Lee had no desire to shop. He never did. "I'll wait here."

And much like the holidays he'd flown on with his missus, he waited outside scrolling on his phone while Eddie browsed the colognes. He was about to click on a celebrity news story he had no interest in but kept popping up on his feed when Eddie stuck an arm out to him, elevating his wrist to his nose. "What do you think of this?"

Lee tucked his phone back in his jeans' pocket. "What?"

"Smell it. Tell me what you think."

"Um…I'm not really—"

"Sniff. It."

Lee did. Then coughed, the potent peppery explosion cloying in his throat.

"Not that one, then." Eddie shot up his other wrist to Lee's nostrils. "This? It's more subtle."

Lee sniffed. And his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He could have eaten Eddie's arm. Sniffing again, except this time he gave it more of an elongated inhale, the fiery, spicy and delicious sweetness fizzled on his tongue. He had an urge to lick.

Eddie smiled and withdrew his arm. "Good, right?"

"What is that?"

"Tom Ford Black Orchid." Eddie inhaled the scent from his wrist, closing his eyes as if in a dream. "Has an eye-watering price tag for a reason. You like it?"

"Yeah, but am I really your target market for that?"

"If you can appreciate this, Straight Alpha Male, then it's gonna work on my female co-star."

"What do you mean ‘work'?"

"It's my secret weapon to creating on-screen chemistry. Seductive, rich and sensual scents to make her swoon."

"Shouldn't you test it on a woman, then?"

"Are you not in touch with your feminine side, Lee Everett? "

Lee went to say something but shut his mouth damn quick and Eddie chuckled, meandering back into the shop to hold his wrists up to the female serving assistant. He watched her pointing to the same arm as Lee had inhaled as if it had been oxygen after a bout of suffocation. Eddie then paid for a bottle and skipped back to him, swinging his plastic carrier bag.

"Breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah." Yeah, he definitely needed to eat because his stomach stirred.

They grabbed breakfast from the Wetherspoons where Lee devoured a full English and Eddie stuffed himself with the American pancakes.

"Mum used to make awesome pancakes," Eddie said as he dragged a forkful through the pool of maple syrup.

Lee paused. Conversations about Lori were always hard with Rupert, he wasn't sure how to respond right then. But Eddie had brought her up so casually. As if Lori had been making breakfast for him all his childhood.

She hadn't.

Lee nodded, filling his mouth with his breakfast instead.

"Gate's up." Eddie pointed to the screen on the wall. "Eat up."

Lee did, and they left to walk the miles to their gate, where the BA Boeing 747 awaited their boarding. They joined the queue.

"How did Dad get you on this flight so late?" Eddie peered over his shoulder as Lee got his flight pass up on his phone.

"Must have been seats left. Or a cancellation."

"What seat are you?"

Lee held up his phone.

"Oh, we're not together? "

"I'll ask the person next to you to switch." Lee handed his passport and phone to the flight attendant and off they went to board the plane.

Eddie's seat was a window one in economy seating and Lee stood over the row waiting for the traveller who had the middle seat next to Eddie. When they arrived, it was an old bloke in his sixties. Luckily, a lone bloke. Asking two people to move would be harder than the one.

"Hey," Lee said to the man. "Would you mind swapping seats with me? I've got that one over there." He pointed a few rows behind. "Twenty-one D. Near the loos." He lilted his voice, hoping he could sway an elderly gent to switch. Having access to the facilities during a long flight was a bonus, right?

The man scoffed in distaste and shoved his bag in the hold. "No." he then scooted into the middle seat beside Eddie, unfolding a newspaper. The Daily Express.

Eddie peered over the man's head at Lee. He shrugged.

"Sorry, sir," Lee crouched, putting on his best copper voice. The one he'd used when he'd done the traffic stint years back. Polite but firm. Business but personal. "It's rather imperative I remain with him." He pointed at Eddie.

"Then you should have booked your seats together." The man ruffled out his newspaper, ignoring Lee completely, jaw clenching.

Huh .

"Sir, I —"

"Lee, sweetie," Eddie's camped up voice sailing over the bald head hit the high decibels. Not his usual voice. At least not the one he'd been using to converse with him. He reached over the man to stroke Lee's hand. "I know you can't keep away from me, but if you can't sit here, we'll meet in the loos later." He winked. "Mile high my arse with your big fat dick." He bumped his shoulder into the old man's. "He is huge . Wait til I get back. I won't be able to sit down." He lifted his hips from the seat. "Ouch. Still hurts from this morning. I am going to be such a wriggler this flight."

The man grimaced. Lee widened his eyes in horror.

"Go sit over there, baby." Eddie nodded to Lee. "I'll blow you kisses all flight." He kissed his fingers, blowing them at Lee.

"Disgusting." The old man wriggled out of his seat, shoving Lee out of the way and grabbed his bag from the hold. "You will not be meeting in the toilets." He then scurried off to Lee's seat.

"Aww, thank you, sir," Eddie called back to him, waggling his fingers. He then tapped the chair next to him with a grin full of triumphant relish, and his voice went back to normal. "Are you sitting down or what?"

"He thinks we're—"

"Fucking?" Eddie tapped on his phone. "Yeah. Got you the seat, though."

Unsure whether to be impressed or mortified, Lee scooted into the seat. Eddie smiled, dipped closer to him, and raised his phone to snap a photo of them both. He screwed up his nose. "You're not very photogenic, Lee."

"You didn't say you were taking a photo."

Eddie tapped a few times on his phone, then whooshed something off. "There." He showed his screen to Lee, the photo of him looking like a man caught in headlights and Eddie looking, well, quite stunning, against the backdrop of the plane uploaded to Instagram with the quote, Whitney eat your heart out, here's my bodyguard. Fixing the end with a heart emoji. "That'll keep those nasty men wanting to set me alight away once they get a whiff of you."

Well, this was a significant change in career, of which he wasn't sure he had the credentials for.