Page 6 of A Simple Mistake
That, Gareth knew, was all Jack would say.He wouldn’t complain that Gareth had let him sleep, nor would he badger for the reason Gareth had gone running alone.They’d learned to give each other space without making a song and dance about it.Besides, if Jack couldn’t guess what exercised Gareth’s mind, Gareth would eat his running shoes.Nobody had mentioned the dance class, but neither Nico’s anger nor Daniel’s anxiety had been far from Gareth’s mind all weekend.
Gareth hopped into the shower and was halfway done scrubbing himself clean when Jack joined him.Monday mornings were not the time for shower sex, or any other kind of adult entertainment, but Gareth grabbed a hug and a few kisses before he left Jack to hot water and soap and went to find clothes.
“Am I doing the school run?”Jack asked when he stepped into the dressing room, wearing just a towel.
“No, I am.I want a word with the Head.”
“You don’t think that’s premature?”
“I want to hear what he has to say about Friday’s events.And what Manville told him.”
“Actually, yeah.That would be interesting.”
“Wouldn’t it?I want to get the four re-admitted to the class.Daniel mentioned parents sometimes stopping by to watch.I think I want to do that.”
“With parents in the room, Manville will be on his best behaviour,” Jack pointed out.“Ask for permission to film the class?”
“Isn’t that the same as having an audience?Maybe that’s the whole point of the parents turning up.Discouraging.”
“But not say anything?”
“Suspicions aren’t proof and we’re always so extra careful with accusations, aren’t we?”
“Every damn time.”Jack’s eyes narrowed, and Gareth wished they could have avoided this discussion.He hated to remind Jack of a past that still coloured his actions all these years later.Not that he could when Nico and Daniel needed their help.
He reeled Jack in as if they were going to dance and slid his palm down Jack’s back to rest it just above the swell of his backside.“What doesn’t faze an adult can make an inexperienced teenager feel uncomfortable.”
Jack’s anger receded a little.“You’re thinking that—because of their history—Nico’s better able to explain why Manville bothers him than the others in his class, is that it?”
“I’m thinking most kids aren’t sure what is and isn’t appropriate when you’re learning to dance—especially after watching the dance shows on TV.Maybe a few parents have noticed their offspring are uncomfortable and show up to see for themselves.”
“And think there’s nothing to it?”
“Jack, I have even less data than you.I came home Friday night to find you giving dance lessons in the dining room.Which was fun to watch, but not—perhaps—something you’d want to do every week for the next couple of months.So I’m going to talk to the Head, get them back into the class, and then I’m going along to watch.That’s all I have so far.”
Jack drew close until they were chest to chest.“Don’t sound so defensive.I’m not arguing.”He leaned a little more to rub their cheeks together in a move that never failed to send warmth into Gareth’s belly.“I’d love to hear what Fenton has to say, but if we both turn up, he’ll panic.”
Gareth tightened his arms around Jack’s waist, hearing everything Jack didn’t say.“I’ll memorise his responses.And if there’s need, you go next time.”
Jack leaned into the hug.“Deal.”
Jack returned to their bedroom dressed for a day at work, finding the room tidy, Gareth gone, and the last hint of his cologne mixing with the mouthwatering scent of bacon drifting through the open window.Jack wondered why the aromas of coffee and toast didn’t pervade the house like the smell of bacon… and then pushed the thought aside as he did most mornings.He didn’t need to smell dark roast Java to know Gareth had flipped the switch on the coffeemaker.He did that every time he was the first one down in the morning, just as Jack put on the kettle and put out the teapot when he was up before Gareth.
Neither Nico nor Daniel were Monday people.When Jack made it downstairs, he found Daniel slumped over the table, while Nico stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking mutinous.
“Problem?”he enquired, setting his laptop bag beside the doorway.
“Gareth wants to get us back into the dance class,” Nico muttered.“I’m sure you know that.”
“He told me, yes.”
“What if I don’t want to go back?”
Jack considered that.“Dance class isn’t compulsory.”
“Good, because Manville is vile,” Daniel added in a low voice.“He… He gets off on making people feel like shit.And he’s deaf to no.”
Jack—on the way to the coffeemaker and the full carafe on the hotplate—changed course, so he could put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.“We don’t dispute that.”
