Hayden turned so his back was to Tom, and he leaned over and said, “Get the fuck away from him, Carl. Or I’ll tell the bouncer on the door that you’re a rent boy hassling the punters.”
“All right, I was only up for a laugh!” replied Carl, his eyes wide with alarm. He reached into his jeans to get out his phone, staggered on his feet, and moved away to one of the other older men. Hayden had heard that Carl had recently been chucked out of his bedsit and needed to find a bed for the night. Hayden turned back to Tom.
“What did you say to him?” asked Tom.
“I told him to take it easy. He’s fallen off the wagon again. Do you want to go and sit down?” he said, indicating a long leather bench lining the sidewall.
“Sure,” said Tom with a smile.
They sat chatting for the next half hour and drank another bottle. Hayden did all the talking, telling Tom about his crazy roommate, Amy, who had recently dyed her blonde hair red with henna from a new-age shop in Torquay and then gone swimming at the leisure center.
“It was like a scene from Jaws,” finished Hayden. Tom laughed. He poured the last of the bottle into their glasses. “Would you excuse me a moment?” Hayden added, getting up and going to the toilet.
The gents’ toilet in the Brewer’s Arms was always a bit of a shock to the system. The bar was warm with dim-colored lighting. The toilets, in comparison, were starkly lit and freezing cold. Hayden blinked in the brightness as he went to the urinal and took a pee. The toilets were empty. When he finished, he washed his hands and studied his reflection in the mirror. Even in the bright fluorescent light, he looked good. He took a deep breath and dried his hands on a hand towel. He reached into his pocket and took out a small resealable plastic bag. It contained the finely crushed powder of four Rohypnol tablets.
The door crashed open, and Carl came stumbling in. Hayden quickly pocketed the bag. Carl had looked rough in the bar, but the light in the toilet made him look positively cadaverous. He went to the urinal and unzipped his trousers and started to pee, swaying on his feet. Hayden could see that his jeans and trainers were filthy.
“I know what you’re up to,” said Carl, shaking and zipping up.
“And what’s that?” asked Hayden.
“You’re going to put something in that guy’s drink and then rob him,” slurred Carl, adjusting his spiky hair in the mirror.
Hayden kept his face neutral. “You need to lay off the crystal meth, Carl,” he said.
Carl raised his eyebrows. “Do I? I got chatting to a guy at the Feather’s the other night, telling me about a tall blond from up north, with blue eyes and a metal bar through his bell end, who he took home . . . He woke up the next morning and all his cash and credit cards were gone. He thinks someone spiked his drink. I’ve peed next to you enough times to know that’s you.”
Hayden hesitated and then grabbed Carl by the throat and slammed him against the tiled wall.
“If I hear you talking about me, I’ll kill you. I’m not joking,” he said, pressing his thumb into Carl’s Adam’s apple. “I’ll cut you up. Break your skull. Happens all the time to scally little rent boys like you.”
Carl’s dilated eyes were wide, and he was gagging. Hayden held on for a few more seconds, then abruptly let go. Carl coughed and spat and slid down the wall to land in the damp pools of water on the dirty tiles. Hayden stepped over him and left the toilets.
Tom looked up and smiled when he came back into the bar.
“Can I get us another bottle?” he said. Hayden noticed a thick gold ring on his finger.
“Why don’t you take me back to your place?” said Hayden, sliding his hand up Tom’s thigh. Tom’s face broke into a sheepish grin.
“Okay. My car’s parked by the canal.”
It was dark outside when they left the bar. Hayden’s eyes grew wide when he saw Tom’s expensive Land Rover waiting in the shadows in the car park next to the water. The headlights flashed invitingly when Tom unlocked the car.
“This is gorgeous,” said Hayden, stroking the tan leather seats as he climbed inside.
“Thanks. It’s new.”
“It smells new. I love the smell of leather. I love leather, full stop.”
“Good. I’ve got more leather back at my place. Buckle up,” said Tom, grinning as he started the engine. They pulled up the hill to the main road.
“And where is your place?”
“Quay Apartments, on the other side of town.”
Hayden smiled. He’d hit the jackpot. You didn’t get much change from a million quid at Quay Apartments.
“You want a drink?” asked Tom.
“At your place?”
“No. Now,” he said, tilting his head toward a leather square between the front seats. “Open it.”
Hayden opened the lid, and nestled inside was a small box fridge containing miniature bottles of Mo?t and Coca-Cola.
“You’ve got a bar in your car—that’s a bit naughty,” said Hayden.
“I don’t like my friends to go thirsty.”
For the first time, Hayden felt a pang of guilt. Tom seemed like a nice guy. He pushed the thought away. He picked up one of the small Mo?t bottles. The foil had been removed, and he untwisted the metal cage from the cork, teasing it out with a small pop.
“There’s straws in the bottom of the fridge,” added Tom. They reached a junction that sloped down to the empty motorway.
Hayden took out one of the paper straws, put it in the bottle. Tom leaned over with one eye on the road. “Give us a sip.” Hayden held out the bottle and watched as Tom put his lips to the straw and swallowed. “Lovely.”
Hayden took a sip from the straw. It was cold and deliciously tart. The pang of guilt came back to him again. What if this Tom could be someone good in his life? A boyfriend who’d love him and look after him? For the next five minutes, they chatted and laughed. The only other vehicle they passed was a small white van tootling along in the slow lane.
Hayden finished the bottle quickly, and as he put it in the cup holder, a wave of lethargy came over him, and he started to feel dizzy. The lights of the town on the horizon were starting to streak and flare when he moved his head. His tongue felt thick in his mouth.
“How are you enjoying that champagne? Want another?” asked Tom, looking over at him. An alarm was going off in the back of Hayden’s mind, but everything felt far away. He shifted in his seat, but his legs were heavy.