Chapter 5

Christian sauntered into the bedroom and gently nudged the door closed behind him with his foot. Leaning against the door frame, he crossed his arms and looked at Syed. "So, you've got me where you want me. What are you going to do with me?"

"Sit down, Christian. We haven't got long and we need to talk."
"Talk? What's there to talk about? Your fiancée is outside that door organising party games, in case you had forgotten. You should be out there wrapping up pass the parcel, not sat in here telling me we need to talk."

"You're angry."

"Damned right I'm angry, Sy. Amira told me about Ramadan. Abstinence lasts from dawn to dusk. It's anything goes at nighttime. I've been hanging on for you for the last month yet you've been pushing me away. What the hell's going on? Are you interested in me or not?"
"It's difficult, Christian. You don't understand…."

"There's nothing to understand Syed. And it's not difficult at all. There's two of us, me and Amira. One of us is male, one of us is female. You can't be with both of us at once. Which one is it to be?"
"Christian, I really want to sort this out, I do, but…"

"You're lying again Syed. If you wanted to sort this out you could do it in five minutes flat. Just tell me to go, or tell Amira it's over. Stop lying to her, stop lying to me and for god's sake stop lying to yourself."
"Christian…"

There was a hammering on the door. "Two minutes are up! Out you come!"

"Well there's an appropriate turn of phrase if ever there was one," murmured Christian turning towards the door.

"Christian, please. Just give us a second will you?" Syed called in the direction of the door.

"What?" Hands on hips, Christian stared at his lover.

"Just give me a chance will you?"
"Syed, you've had lots of chances from me. And I'm sure Amira has given you lots of chances too. It's time for you to stop taking chances and make some decisions."

Christian turned around and opened the door. "Sorry darlin'," he shouted in Amira's direction waving his mobile phone. "I've had a better offer. Gotta go…" He turned towards the front door.

"Wait, Christian!" Syed's voice was urgent now. "It'll only take four minutes for both of us to tell the story. And I want to go first, like we agreed."

Christian's eyebrows knitted together in a frown and he tried to catch Syed's eye but the younger man had already headed towards the kitchen. Reluctantly, Christian followed, to see Syed beginning to hold court, the other guests gathered around him.

"Ok, so this is my version of the story," Syed began. Amira looked up at him and smiled, grabbing his hand, but Syed gently placed it on the edge of the sofa.

"A while ago, a little while ago, I met someone who turned my life upside down." Syed looked at Amira, but his face was serious. "I hadn't expected it to happen, hadn't planned or prepared for it, but sometimes these things just sweep you off your feet." Amira's smile grew wider, as she began to examine her fingernails.

"Anyway, I fell in love with this person," Syed hesitated, staring round the room before completing the sentence – "this MAN, and my life has never been the same since."

There was a stunned silence before the titters began. "Nice one Syed," shouted Roxy. "Didn't know you cared, Syed," said Bradley. "Syed!" Amira gasped. "Isn't that one just a bit obvious? Why did the two of you choose that story? We all know that the true version of it belongs to Christian."

"I didn't know that Christian was in love with anyone," murmured Lucy. "He's only my uncle, not that he ever tells me anything."

Syed's smile grew broader as he watched the reaction to what he had said. "Let me finish, please" he said. "So, since I met this man, my life has never been the same. He's taken over my dreams, day and night, and my reality begins the moment I see him in the morning. I love him, and I want to be with him, but I don't know yet if he'll have me."

Christian looked at Syed, his eyes growing wider as he took on board what Sy had said. Was it for real or was Sy playing the game? Christian wasn't sure. He hesitated between staying and going, leaving Sy to his own crazy way of doing things, or hanging on, to see what the man was playing at.

Soon, he heard his name being called. "Come on Christian, we want to know who this man is. What's his name? Does he live in the square?"

Christian looked at the rows of faces staring up at him. What on earth was he supposed to say? He took a deep breath and looked over at Syed. A slight smile was edging at Syed's lips and Christian thought he saw the younger man give an imperceptible nod. Christian smiled nervously back. Syed was the one who started this, he thought. He can sort out the mess afterwards.

"Yeah, well, as Syed said, there's this guy I've met recently. He's beautiful. Most people think only women can be beautiful but this guy has hair that makes you want to lace your fingers through it, skin so smooth you want to stroke your hands across it and eyes large and dark enough to drown in. When I first met him, I dismissed him, thought he was a loser, and a fool" – Christian glanced over at Syed to see the younger man's eyebrows lift slightly – "but soon I realised how lovely he is. I didn't notice I was falling in love at first. I would listen for his footsteps, recognising his footfall above everyone else's."

"Well, moved as I'm sure we all are by Christian's lurrrvvve," said Stacey, "that one's too easy. We all know it's Syed who's lying so let's just get a move on. I want another go."

"Wait a minute," said Lucy suddenly. "I don't think Christian's finished yet, have you, Uncle Christian?" He ignored the sarcasm in her voice and continued.

"Ok, well, soon I realised that he was the first thing I thought about when I woke up in the morning. The last person I wanted to speak to before I went to sleep at night. The person whose opinion I listened out for, even when he wasn't saying anything. When he stands next to me, I feel my heart beat go stronger, and when we are apart, my nerves are aching for him to return. I never knew it was possible to love someone's faults as well as their good points, to find bad habits endearing, instead of irritating. I didn't know that it was possible to put someone else's needs before my own, or to memorise the words that someone uses. But this is how I feel about him, this is how much I love him." Christian tailed off, and stared defiantly at Syed who was looking down at the floor.

A general murmuring of appreciation went around the room as the residents of the square turned to each other to smile at Christian's clear passion. Only Lucy noticed where Christian's eyes were fixed to the top of Syed's head.

Aren't we supposed to check with Syed, first? After all, Christian might be the one who's lying."

Amira looked round at Lucy in bemusement. "What are you talking about Lucy? Of course Syed's lying. We're getting married in a few months time. He's not in love with anyone else, let alone a man."

Lucy's eyebrows rose slightly but she stayed silent.

"For all I know, they could both be lying," said Roxy suddenly. "And if they're not, then Christian Clarke I want to know why you haven't told me about this man, whoever he is."

"Let's just get on with it," Amira said, suddenly impatient. She picked up the bowl full of names and shook it, trying not to notice that Christian and Syed suddenly seemed to be standing very close together. "Who wants to go next? Roxy, you haven't had a turn."

"No," said Roxy. "I want to know who this man is. Come on Christian, tell us."

Christian tore his eyes away from Syed's. Syed's words had set his heart pounding in his chest and butterflies doing somersaults in his stomach. He still wasn't sure if Syed was just toying with him, playing the game, and he wasn't prepared to take another risk. "I think Syed should tell you. After all, he was the one who told the story first."

Amira got up and stretched her hand out to Syed, as if to take possession of him. "Come on Syed, this is a stupid game, I wish I'd never started it. It's obvious who's lying and I'm really not interested in hearing about Christian's latest conquest. Let's start some dancing in the other room."

Amira's hand stayed, suspended in mid air, as Syed looked down at it. "Christian wasn't lying," he said quietly, then stretched his own hand out towards Christian's. Their fingers gently interlocked as all eyes in the room moved towards their clasped hands. "And neither was I."

Syed turned to Christian. "I love you Christian. I've been too much of a coward up until now to admit it, to you, to anyone else, even to myself. But ever since that first day in the Unit, when I made such a fool of myself, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You're the first person I want to see every morning, the last person I want to speak to before I sleep. I want to work with you, to sleep with you, to have you by my side. I'm sorry that I've hurt you, and I hope you'll give me another chance."

Christian tightened his grip on Syed's fingers, not willing to trust his own voice, as Syed turned to Amira. "I'm sorry Amira, I really am. I've lied to you, to Christian, and to myself. If I could change any of this, I could, I never wanted to hurt you. But I can't help who I am, or who I love. This is the way I was made, and Christian is the person I truly want to be with. You're a beautiful, lovely woman, and I will always love you as a friend, but I can't give you more than that. I'm sorry."

Amira choked and ran out of the silent room. Syed turned to Christian and reached up to take his face in his hands. "Is that 'out' enough for you, now then?" he asked, with upturned lips and a smile in his eyes.

"Sy, I can't believe… did I just… did you… you're mad, but I love you!" Christian leaned towards him and the two of them kissed as their friends around them cheered and Roxy whooped with joy.

"It's nightfall," Syed whispered as their lips finally broke apart. "Ramadan's over, for today at least. How about we go back to your place?"

"I'm not going to say no to that," Christian replied. "But those two minutes in the bedroom were the best I've ever had."

Finish.