Page 44 of Take My Breath Away
“Erm, all the more reason to take him out so he can walk off his, erm, indigestion?” Perry holds a hand up to his face, conveniently covering his nose.
“We could put him in the boot, I suppose.”
“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were being serious.” He gets up and goes to find Jasper’s leash. I snort, because Perry obviously doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does.
A few minutes later we’re in the car, heading towards the Heath. Despite my argument that the boot’s the best place for him, Jasper’s good as gold, curled up on a blanket on the back seat.
By some miracle, it doesn’t take long to find a parking space and soon we’re heading over the rough ground and climbing high. Perry’s holding onto the leash and Jasper’s snuffling around stopping every so often to cock his leg. Now we’re out on the blustery Heath, the little dog seems surprisingly sprightly. At least out here, in the chilly wind, I can’t smell him.
“We had dogs when I was a kid,” Perry says, suddenly. “Much like Jasper, we always got them from the rescue centres. It was my job to look after them and I didn’t mind at all. In fact I loved it.”
Perry’s smiling wide as he recalls happy childhood memories. Jasper’s bringing them all back and for that reason alone I’m glad I agreed to take him, even though I made Elliot listen to all my bitching.
“You didn’t have dogs as a child?” Perry looks at me, even though I think he’s already guessed the answer to that. “I thought it was in the job description, for all posh people to be surrounded by dogs and horses.”
“It’s not a requirement. Although I admit, my parents did have dogs. Setters and Labradors mostly, but I was away at boarding school from the age of four. In the school holidays I did as much as possible to avoid both my parents and their menagerie. When I went to university I rarely returned home, so was able to carry on avoiding the lot of them.”
I can feel Perry’s eyes on me but I keep my focus in front. I don’t talk about my late parents much, or about my childhood. I had little interest in either my mother or father, and they in turn had little in me. They’re gone, so there’s no way of changing that. I’m a grown man and I’ve been around the block more than a few times, so I should be inured to the thought of them, but I’m always caught out and, I suspect, always will be.
Perry doesn’t say anything sensing, no doubt, that it’s not something I want to talk about. He’s a sensitive boy; he picks up on atmospheres and he’s picked up on this.
The clouds are thickening, and scudding across the sky as the wind rises. There’s a biting edge to it, which is probably why there are so few people out on the Heath.
I slip Perry a glance. Wrapped up in an overcoat, a bright red scarf and a matching woolly hat, he looks happy and content, and warmth winds its way through me as we make our way to the top, high up on the Heath, our bodies bent into the wind, our shoulders and arms nudging each other’s as we go.
Ahead of us and still on his leash, Jasper’s making good progress but I can’t help noticing he’s slowed down. We get to the top and look at London spread out below under the leaden sky. Next to me Perry’s breathing hard, his mouth slightly open.
“That was hard going. I didn’t realise I was so unfit.”
“Then you ought to join me on my morning runs.”
Perry answers with a snort. “No, I’ll leave all the pounding to you.”
“Always better to pound with somebody else, I find.”
His face turns from pink to cherry red and it’s everything I can do not to laugh, or ratchet up the innuendo. I’m more than happy to be the one who does the pounding but it’s not the streets I’m thinking of. My cock agrees as it thickens and twitches.
“I’ll just let him off his leash for a little while,” Perry mumbles, as he bends over to unclip the lead attached to Jasper’s collar.
“If he runs away, you’re the one who’ll be running after him. Remember our deal?”
Perry shakes his head. “He won’t run away. I’ve taken him out quite a few times, looking after him when Elliot’s been stuck. He’s not a very adventurous dog and he likes to keep close.”
As though to underline his words, Jasper doesn’t stray more than a few feet, sniffing around and not showing any sign of wanting to dart away, although I don’t think with his stiff back legs he’d get very far. There’s a bench up ahead and I jerk my head towards it, and Perry and I take a seat leaving Jasper to his own devices just steps away.
The wind’s buffeting hard and there’s a smell of rain on the air. Despite my earlier grumbling, I like being outside in all weathers and the wide-open view of the city, from this high up, makes it worth it.
We’re sitting close, neither of us talking, almost but not quite touching. He’s looking out over the city, transfixed.
“It’s such an amazing view. Every time I see it, it takes my breath away.”
I’ve seen it so many times from up here I’m used to it, but it’s the first time I’ve been up on the Heath with Perry and I gaze out with fresh eyes. It is breathtaking, but not nearly as much as the man sitting next to me in the big coat and the woolly hat.
“It’s funny, although I’ve lived in London all my life, I’ve never been to most of the landmarks. I’ve passed them on buses, but that’s not what I mean. Sometimes I think I should just take a few days off and be a tourist in my own city, take advantage of what’s on the doorstep before I move away.”
Before he leaves.
A blast of wind, hard, cold and biting, whips its way around us. I say nothing because there’s nothing to say. The clouds are darker than just seconds ago, and the first distant, angry rumble of thunder rolls in on the gusty wind. The already weak light is fading, and the first spots of rain begin to fall.
