SLEEPING AROUND
By
Darby Brennan
When a girl-friend calls Bodie licentious, he decides to re-evaluate his life.
An established relationship story.
Written: September 2008. Word count: 500.
For years Bodie'd slept around, well it was the era, wasn't it? It was what blokes did.
Not that he took chances, he didn't. He was careful and he was a bit choosy. He didn't just sleep with anything in a skirt. He'd flirt with them, leer at them, maybe give them the come-on, but he picked who he slept with. And he never led them on; never made false promises. And really he didn't sleep with as many birds as he dated. He gave the impression he did; well you had to, didn't you? Keep up appearances and all.
And in recent months the number of birds he slept with had decreased even more. He didn't need birds, not when he had the gorgeous, sexy, hot Ray Doyle as his lover. Ray wasn't the first man he'd had sex with; but he was the first man he'd slept with; the first man he hadn't just fucked. Not that it was serious with Ray, course it wasn't. It couldn't be, could it?
And then one day, realisation hit Bodie. It was after his latest bird accused him of being a 'licentious bastard' that he began to think.
Maybe she was right. Maybe on the surface that's what he was. Maybe it was more than just on the surface. He was in his thirties now; soon it'd be his forties. Did he really want to go on as he was? Did he really want to slip from being a young bloke with a good sexual appetite to a sad old geezer who people laughed at?
Is that really how people saw him? Is that how Murph and the rest of the blokes in CI5 saw him? Is that how Cowley saw him? Is that how Ray saw him? Is that why Ray, who normally wanted to form some kind of emotional connection with his birds, seemed to keep Bodie at arms' length?
Once or twice Bodie'd seen a look flash across Ray's face when he watched Bodie walk off with his latest bird. Once or twice he'd seen a look on Ray's face when they were making love that had seemed to say 'I want more'.
Was Ray the one? Was he the person Bodie could spend the rest of his life with? Was Ray the one Bodie could give up birds for? Was Ray the one Bodie could settle down with? Could they have the 'happy ever after'?
Well there was only one way to find out, wasn't there?
"Bodie. I wasn't expecting to see you tonight. Thought you were out with Sharon or Treena or Debbie or -"
"All right, mate, enough. Nah, thought I come and see you instead. Got something to suggest."
Ray looked at him. "You'd better come in then."
"Well?" He asked a few minutes later as they sat side-by-side drinking beer.
"Wondered how you'd feel if we asked The Cow if we could move in together?"
The look on Ray's face answered all his questions.
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