Idle Lies. Lian Knight
Читать онлайн книгу.
your lackey.
Lewis White leaned forward from the opposite armchair and took the chips in his lap. ‘Thanks,’ he said, slouching back. He watched disappointedly as Paul relaxed and tightened his grip. Although he tried, the best he could do was at least twenty kilograms short of whatever Paul could hoist. After the first few months of regular weights work he had a sixpack too, but with his slight and rather gawky frame it looked more like a set of puff pastries that the chef had forgotten to bake than something he could impress anybody with. To avoid ridicule, he kept it covered up, generally with woollen jumpers that he wore all year round, no matter the temperature.
‘Well, I had the holiday comin’ up so I had to wait to tell her after we got back,’ Matt remarked. He lifted his weary head from the back of the long couch as Lewis passed him the chips, surveyed them carefully and selected one with a burnt edge. Paul took the bowl and put it on the glass coffee table, giving it a shove so that it made a skid line in the dust and came to rest against a pile of newspapers.
‘How did she react?’ Paul asked. He stopped flexing and began to massage instead the small goatee he’d grown over the past week.
‘I don’t know, I got out of there pretty quickly,’ Matt said, reflecting. ‘A bit stunned, I guess. I don’t think she had much of an idea.’ He chewed slowly on his chip. ‘The guy only charged me two hundred bucks for the man and the truck, so I was happy with that.’
‘You look pretty shit now, though I’d say it’s an improvement,’ said Paul, amused at his own joke. He took a thoughtful sip of his beer. ‘Does anyone need to check on her? See she’s okay?’
‘Nah, she’ll be fine.’
Paul absorbed this. ‘Well, there’s a shower if you want it, and some spare clothes in my top drawer,’ he said, gesturing towards the hall.
Matt glanced down at his sweaty shirt. ‘Yeah, maybe. I’m buggered – the stuff was heavy. I’ll have a beer first.’
Lewis pushed a dirty blond lock out of his eyes and passed Matt a drink from the pack Paul had dumped on the coffee table. ‘Here y’are, mate.’
‘It’s like a rat peeping through a straw broom,’ Paul remarked at the shaggy uncombed mop. ‘Might be the only way you can attract some pussy!’ He laughed, but Lewis gave only the slightest of shrugs.
Matt wriggled into a more comfortable position and twisted the bottle cap. It gave a small hiss as he opened it.
‘Did she know about the garage?’ Paul quizzed. ‘That was risky.’
‘I don’t think so. I did that the day before we left and she rarely goes in there. I figured she wouldn’t see it, and I was right.’
‘What did you do with it all?’ asked Lewis, opening a beer he had got for himself. He lounged across the chair again, stretching his gangly figure out and making himself at home.
‘I stuck most of it in the basement at Bridie’s place. The thing is so bloody packed now you can hardly get in there. It needs three people to shut the door.’
‘Where’s the rest of it?’
‘Here,’ said Paul. ‘I’ve got space in the shed. I’m a great mate.’
‘What did you leave her?’
‘Just the essentials. She’ll be fine. She wouldn’t want most of it anyway, I expect she’ll want to buy new stuff. And besides, Bridie didn’t have anything.’ His tone held a trace of guilt. ‘Bridie will be here soon,’ he said quickly, before Paul could capitalise on it. ‘She’s gone to get a new bed that her mum has bought us as a moving-in present. I can’t wait to try it out.’
Suddenly the front door opened and closed loudly. After a few footsteps, a dark-haired man with clean good looks appeared in the doorway arch. ‘G’day,’ said Jason De Rosa casually, acknowledging the occupants and simultaneously examining the room for a place to sit. ‘What’s the smell?’
‘Matt’s socks,’ said Paul directly, screwing his nose up and pointing to the coffee table where his outstretched feet could just be seen underneath.
‘Aw, sorry,’ said Matt, pretending to look offended. ‘I didn’t think it was that bad.’
‘Go take a shower,’ instructed Jason. ‘It’s bad.’
Matt heaved himself up from the couch by his elbows. ‘Alright, you can take my spot, just don’t drink my beer,’ he ordered. Collecting his shoes, he sauntered down the hall.
Jason inspected the couch carefully before shuffling cushions across and settling himself down closer to Lewis’ chair. ‘What’s doin’?’ he asked.
‘Matt’s left Kate,’ said Paul matter-of-factly. He pushed his chest out and looked down approvingly at his pectoral muscles through his tight white shirt.
‘Finally done it, has he? How’d it go?’
‘Well the movin’s done. Don’t know about the ex,’ replied Paul. ‘Don’t you speak to your wife?’ Paul shot Jason a wry grin. ‘Girls talk, don’t they? Aren’t Angela and Kate best friends?’
Jason helped himself to a beer and tossed the bottle cap onto the table. ‘Ange had hospital rounds this morning. Maybe they did, I don’t know. Did you help?’ He nodded across to the others.
Lewis shook his head.
‘I kept a safe distance. Better to keep out of that mess,’ said Paul, tilting his ear as an alarm rang in the next room. ‘Pizza ready, perfect timing,’ he declared. He strolled into the kitchen and began to clatter about.
Jason turned to Lewis. ‘Did you find that spare brake lever you said you had?’
‘Nah. Not in the box.’
For a while the two discussed various models and repair solutions and the regular morning ride they did from the bike shop.
‘Ah,’ said Jason eventually, when the options appeared to be exhausted. ‘Looks like I will have to get it fixed. I’ll get Paul to drop it in. I won’t need a bike for the next few weeks, so that will have to do.’
Lewis’ generally dispirited self-esteem wavered momentarily like an inflated balloon and then imploded. Jason was well built and had incredible fitness and tone that blew to oblivion his own achievements, even with the limitations of Jason’s desk job, frequent interstate trips and intermittent periods he had off the bike. Paul and Matt had impressive physiques too from physically demanding vocations that gave them a good workout, which Paul supplemented with the weightlifting and Matt with his extra-marital activities. But despite Lewis’ best efforts at the gym and long hours riding with all three of them, his muscles had little to show for it. Deciphering computer code for a living did nothing other than stretch his analytical capacity, and his introverted personality was of little help in his weak attempts to attract the attention of the opposite sex. The few he’d managed to snare didn’t last long either. Paul’s mateship was harsh and generally consisted of a regular reminder, which he used pejoratively, that Lewis was the embodiment and key representative of the nerd category and co-founder of its ideals. He particularly liked to impart this little gem of wisdom in front of any of his new catches and afterwards they invariably bolted. Lewis clenched his teeth before a noise from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts.
‘What am I dropping in?’ asked Paul, returning with two hot pizza trays and a bottle of sauce tucked under his arm. He examined the table and moved the remaining beers to one corner to make a space. ‘Ah, McCain, you’ve done it again,’ he sang chirpily, setting the food down. He looked across at Lewis, who still lay sprawled and motionless, one leg dangling over the chair arm. ‘Ah, McPaul, you’ve done it all,’ he smirked at him.
Lewis sat up and examined the pizza, ignoring the dig.
‘I’ll need the bike repaired,’ said Jason to Paul. ‘Could you do it?’
‘Sure,