DRESSING by Clare London
“What’s up?” Sal looks at me across the table, a half smile on his handsome face. “You don’t like the meal?”
A slice of sweet pepper catches in the back of my throat and I start coughing. “No,” I reply hoarsely. “It’s great.”
“It’s my signature recipe, you know.”
“I know.” My voice still seems ragged. I’m far too hot for the cool kitchen. “You made it for me the first time we dated.”
“Yeah.” He grins and I know he remembers that night just as clearly. “Maybe the salad isn’t as fresh this week.”
“No, it's fine.”
Sal shrugs. The muscles on his torso clench and relax. His upper arm tightens as he stirs the green leaves deeper into the mix. “Perhaps I overdid the herbs.”
“No. Sal, listen, it’s great, as always. I mean it.”
His eyes are dark with mischief. “So what’s up?”
“You said that already.” I can barely taste the marvellous food, my gaze fixed on him. My throat’s dry, my hand clenches around my fork, and my dick aches inside my jeans. And this is my comfortable fit pair. “Nothing’s up.”
“Nothing, huh?” He reaches over to grasp the bottle of oil. There’s a bead of sweat caught in the sparse hairs between his pecs. When he sits back, the table edge is level with his waist. His treasure trail meanders casually down and behind the shelter of table and bowl. It’s hidden from view, but not imagination.
He rolls the lid of the bottle between his fingers and grins at me. “So that’s it!”
“What?”
He stands up. He’s completely naked, from the strong shoulders to the well developed chest, to the smooth belly, to those lickable tram lines that draw my gaze down to his legs, thighs, curly bush and…
“It’s the dressing.” He gestures with the oil and winks at me. “You’re not sure about that.”
I let my eyes run all over him as he puts the bottle back down on the table. I notice his hand is shaking, maybe with laughter, maybe with excitement.
“Oh, but I am!” I say. “Very sure.” And laughing too, lightheaded with anticipation, I put down my fork and go to join him.
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Clare London, Author
Writing ... Man to Man
Newly single in his late twenties, and looking for more fun than he gets from his boring job, Daniel Cross soon discovers the lure of social media. After a few hiccups, he’s excited at the chance of tracking down his old mates from the Scorching Summer Sports Club of 1990. He lost touch with his “Gang of Four” after that summer, but now he launches a personal quest to find out what kind of man each boy has become.
It starts well with a link to the first boy’s current address, through a mutual friend on Facebook, until Dan realises he’s been chatting online to the wrong man—Nick Carson isn’t an old school friend at all. It’s a genuine mistake, and Nick isn’t offended. He offers to accompany Dan on the trip to find the others. It’s the first step to friendship and something more for both of them.
For Dan, the reunions with the “Gang of Four” range from startling, heartening and disturbing. Nick’s company is a constant support, though neither of them are prepared for the exposure of personal secrets they’d thought were long-hidden. Dan begins to suspect that he’s really looking for a direction in his own life—and the excitement and purpose he craves may be closer to home than a quest with its roots in a boyhood dream.
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