Page 75 of Men in Shorts

“I could incorporate it into the design of our new headboard. Do it in the style of those ancient urns depicting the Greek myths.”

“I love it! Instead of gods and monsters it’ll have twinks and bears.” John reached up to caress the gnarled driftwood above the bed. “Or you could put the story on actual pottery and leave this headboard alone.”

“But it’s broken.”

“Nah, just a wee bit cracked.” He dropped his hand back onto Fergus’s chest. “Still beautiful, though.”

“Hmm.” Fergus slid his fingertips back and forth over the ridges of John’s knuckles. “I could reinforce the headboard’s supports to make it stronger.”

“Good. Then we won’t need to be so careful.” John’s voice caught, and he had to blink rapidly, his lashes brushing against Fergus’s skin. “Did you ever think, while you were wandering about downstairs in that place, that you might not find me?”

After a long moment filled with nothing but soft, slowing breaths, Fergus whispered, “No, John. I’ll always find you.”

John closed his eyes and smiled. Then he couldn’t resist saying, “That sounds kinda creepy.”

Fergus laughed, his chest jiggling John’s head. “How about, ‘We’ll always find each other’?”

“Better.”

“It is better. It’s also true.” Fergus rubbed his cheek against John’s hair. “No matter what happens, no matter who or what tries to keep us apart, we’ll always find our way back together.”

“Even in the dark?”

“Especially in the dark.” Fergus’s voice started to fade. “We’ll always be safe with each other.”

“Aye, we will.” As a contented sleep stole his consciousness, John whispered the word echoing in his mind. “Always.”

Author’s Note

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

Some readers, especially those in the United States, might wonder why Fergus and John didn’t opt for medicines like Truvada, which have been shown to help prevent the spread of HIV. At the time the story took place, October 2014, and at the time of this story’s publication, November 2015, Truvada was approved in Scotland for use in suppressing HIV in those already infected—but it has not yet been approved for thepreventionof infection. So Scotsmen like Fergus and John can take Truvada only if they’re already HIV-positive.

In September 2015 the British medical journalThe Lancetpublished the results of a study showing Truvada reduced the risk of infection by 86% in men who had sex with men:

http://www.proud.mrc.ac.uk/

So hopefully before long—maybe even by the time you’re reading this—PrEP will be more widely available, and “Play It Safe” will be happily out-of-date.

And then…

I hope you enjoyedPlay It Safe! The next story, “Ducks!”, is a short-short story that takes place during the eight-day gap betweenPlay It SafeandPlaying With Fire(Book 3, Liam and Robert’s novel) and gives us a wee introduction to these BFFs.

Ducks!

A GLASGOW LADS SHORT-SHORT STORY

2 November 2014

Ducks!: A Glasgow Lads Short-Short Story

Robert McKenzie’sda had loved a weekend hangover.“You can sleep it off instead of taking it to work with you.”

The memory of his father’s life-shortening binges usually made Robert stop after a few beers. Last night, however, he’d not stopped at a few, and his head pure hated him for it now.

A door hinge whined. Robert opened his left eye, the one not pressed against the couch cushion. The sadistic morning sun made him squint.

Out of Liam’s bedroom tiptoed a young man in creaking white-leather trousers. He stopped at the sight of Robert. “Oh, you’re awake. Hiya.” Half his bushy black moustache flopped to dangle over his mouth, and he quickly pushed it back into place. Several of the black harlequin patches on his trousers had come loose as well, flapping despondently like the flags of forgotten nations.

---