6. Edo

Edo fucking loved Thursday nights.

The blonde he had been flirting with for the past fifteen minutes slipped him her number scrawled on the back of a napkin, which he took, winking, folded neatly and put away for future reference before handing over her vodka-lemonade.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, baby, don’t forget me!”

Sandy rolled her eyes at him, “Pass the Cointreau.”

“You’re just mad that I get more play than you do.”

“Please,” she said, smiling at her customer, “as if what you do could ever compare to my natural charms."

The customer’s eyes went wide and she giggled, taking her drink. Edo could tell she would be back.

Damn it.

“This isn’t a competition, Sandy,” he said, mentally tallying up the numbers they’d both got so far, “but if it were…”

Sandy laughed, “I would kick your arse at this and you know it.”

“But you don’t even call them!”

It was grossly unfair. She got numbers scrawled on the backs of napkins in eyeliner and lipstick just like he did, but she never used them. And she refused to pass them on, which just added insult to injury.

Sandy loved the chase, but was married. Or civil-partnershipped, at any rate. Point was, anyway, that Sandy was taken and happy and not looking for anyone else, was never even tempted to stray (and Edo knew this because he had asked). On the other hand, she loved flirting, and since flirting sells drinks, working at the Epiphany was pretty much her dream job. Ellie, Sandy’s partner, apparently had enough faith in their marriage (“Union, Edo, we’re not allowed to be married.”) and trusted Sandy enough to know that it would never go any further than flirting. Sandy said they giggled about the messages above the numbers together.

A guy a black tank top wanted a cider, whatever they had on tap, so as Sandy dealt with that Edo smiled at the next girl in the queue.
“What can I get you?”

While he was making her two martinis, he saw Bo making her way across the crowd. He couldn’t see Nick, but the dancefloor was always filled to overflowing on Thursdays.

She dashed over to them and leaned across the counter, but instead of her usual flirty conversation with Sandy, Bo was looking for him.

“Edo!” she waved him over, “I need you.”

He grinned, “You know when my shift ends, girl, I’ll get to you later.”

Bo didn’t even smile, which was strange.

“Richard is here.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” she let herself drop back, “I know.”

Edo turned to let Sandy know she’d be on her own, but she waved him away, “I’ve got it covered. Go.”

Richard. What the fuck was that man doing in here again?

The married man who had led Nick on for the best part of two years, the sick fuck who had made Nick fall in love with him and abused that precious gift (screw you all, Edo was allowed to be sentimental too and all love is a gift, but Nick’s is definitely a precious one) by pushing him down his own stairs.

If he saw Richard he was going to punch him in his smirking, lying, cheating, bastardly face.

Bo led him to the staff bathroom, hurrying past the other bar so as not to catch anyone’s attention.
Luke was there, obviously being interrogated by JT. Shit. He would need to talk to JT later, but right now Nick needed a level head.

They stopped in the corridor outside the bathrooms, “He’s locked himself in one of the stalls.”
“Did Richard try anything?”

If he had, the man would be going home without his teeth.

“Not that I could see. It was just see, recognise, run, but even the memory would be bad enough.”

“Yeah,” Edo rubbing the back of his neck, “It would. God, seeing him in person must have been terrifying. Here, too. Thanks, Bo.”

She gave him a half smile, “Of course. I’ll go back to Sandy.”

“Wait, hey. Tell Tank to get rid of him.”

She nodded and went back out to the club.

He pushed the door to the bathroom open and walked inside.

“Nicola?”

No answer.

“Hermano? It’s Edo, come on.”

“Richard is here,” said the third stall.

“I know,” he walked over and tried to push the door open, but it was locked, “It’s ok. Tank is escorting him off the premises.”

“Why is he here?”

Edo shrugged and leaned against the sink opposite the door Nick was hiding behind.

“If I had all the answers I wouldn’t be a bartender.”

“I never wanted to see him again. The Epiphany is my place, why is he here?”

“It’s a good hunting ground for him. Best ‘All Sexualities’ club in London and all. The people change every night, they don’t know what he’s like.”

“He’s a bastard.”

“I know.”

Edo remembered only too well being called up by JT to tell him they wouldn’t be in that night because they were in A&E. Richard had broken Nick’s arm by pushing him down the stairs from his flat.

JT had found Nick still at the bottom of the stairs, hours later, pale and shaking with dried tear tracks on his face, holding his arm to his chest.

Nick had confronted Richard about being married after receiving a phone call from his wife and cheating on both of them, and Richard had pushed him down the stairs in the middle of the resulting argument then fled.

Edo was one of Nick’s emergency contact numbers, and when he’d asked about that JT had told him that Nick’s phone was still in the flat.

“He makes me want to punch him,” said Nick, “but the second he got close I flinched, I flinched, and I just. I had to go. I ran.”

There was a pause. Edo could hear Nick’s uneven breathing. He was either trying to stop crying or trying not to start.

“Am I a coward?”

The question was so quiet Edo thought Nick probably didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“No,” he replied firmly, “You’re not.”

“What?”

“You’re not a coward. He pushed you down a set of stairs. It was an angry, violent act and meant aggressively. Richard is a fucking asshole and if I weren’t out here with you, I’d probably be out there, waiting to murder whatever would be left of the bastard after JT got done with him.”

“Fuck, JT” the stall door swung open, “Does JT know he’s here?”

“I don’t think so,” said Edo, straightening up and opening his arms, “He was talking to Luke when I came in.”

Nick launched himself into the hug and held on just as tightly as he had when Edo had gone to see him after his shift had ended that night.

JT had settled Nick on the sofa with his favourite feel-good film playing in the background and various fruit juices on the coffee table.

“He’s not allowed alcohol,” JT had explained, letting him in, “Doesn’t mix well with the painkillers he’s on.”

Edo had nodded and gone to sit next to Nick, who had shuffled away from him.

JT’s face had crumpled at that as though he was going to cry of frustration. Nick didn’t normally shy away from contact, didn’t normally notice how close his friends were at all and he used touch to help convey meaning.
JT had walked off into the kitchen and Edo could see him busy himself by making tea. Ah, the most British comfort ritual of all.

Nick had reached for his glass, but had stopped halfway to the coffee table with a grunt.

“Painkillers not enough?”

“The most recent dose is still kicking in and I’ve got bruises on the inside.”

“As well as the outside,” had come JT’s mutter from the kitchen, barely loud enough to be heard, “Fucking motherfucker…”

Edo had picked up the glass and handed it to Nick.

“I’m sorry your boyfriend was a psychotic arse,” he had said, making sure Nick was looking at him properly through his shocked expression, “but I’m glad this means he’s not in your life anymore. Are you pressing charges?”

Nick had shook his head.

“I think you should.”

“I don’t want to see him again.”

Edo had nodded and made a note to bring it up again at another point, but he could understand that.

“Ok.”

He had opened his arms and Nick had leaned into him, putting his good arm around Edo’s middle. Edo had squeezed, and Nick had shuddered, squeezed back and started to sob.

JT had been watching while the kettle boiled and his mouth quirked in a strange way.

Edo could sympathise. While this was miles better than the silent contemplation and shock, it was also heartbreaking.

“I’m sorry, hermano.”
“For what,” Nick asked, interrupted by a hiccup, face still buried in his shirt, “being right?”

“For you having to go through this.”
Nick had clutched at his shirt with his fist in response.

“Luke is here?”

The question was muffled by his own shoulder, but it brought Edo back to the present.

“Yeah. With JT.”

Nick squeezed him once before letting go with a choked out laugh.

“He came to rescue me.”

Edo must have made a face at the sappiness and the comparison to princess (because Nick was gay, but he was hardly the campest queen in the place), because Nick gave a slightly watery smile.

“I told him people wanted details and he told me he would come tonight and rescue me. I wasn’t sure he would make it, I didn’t see him before…”

“Well,” Edo made a vague gesture that didn’t really make sense, “He’s outside.”

“Ok,” Nick turned to the mirror and frowned, “Ok. I’m all red and weird, but I want to see him. He’s here for me.”

He was glad this was distracting Nick, but he didn’t want it him to feel like he had to put on a mask and see Luke.

“You don’t have to, you know. We can explain something came up.”

“No, I want to,” Nick gave a shy side smile, “I really like him. Besides, if he’s been with JT all this time he might just decide I’m not worth it.”

Edo frowned as Nick gave his face a quick wash. Normally he would let that go, let the joke stay in the funny zone it was meant to be in, but sometimes people needed to know.

“Nah,” said Edo, clapping him on the shoulder, “Luke’s a clever one. He knows you’re way out of his league. And if doesn’t think you’re worth it because of JT, then he is a moron. You’re worth a hell of a lot more than you think.”

Nick stopped, halfway through pushing the door to the corridor open.

“Thanks. Just,” he glanced at him, hesitating, “Yeah. Thank you.”

Edo smiled again, “Anytime.”

He followed Nick back out to the club proper.

Nick was careful not to get too close to people, but he lit up light a damn Christmas tree when he saw Luke chatting animatedly with JT.

Luke’s answering expression flung away any doubts Edo might have had about them not being made for each other with a fucking grin and hearts in its eyes.

Then again, it had been his idea in the first place, so obviously they were compatible, but it was nice to know he was right.

He gave Luke a quick double thumbs up (tacky, yes, old fashioned and a little dorky, but an effective means of communication) and made his way back to the front bar, where Sandy was trying to teach Bo how to pull pints whilst tending bar without him.

He moved to help her slide drinks over to the group of people holding out change to her, but Bo got there first.

“Nick ok?” She asked, clearly worried.

“He will be.”

“Your boy Luke had better be good for him.”

Edo glanced up towards the pair. The crowd had conveniently parted so he could see them. He was tempted to call it fate, but she was a notorious slut around here.

Nick was smiling shyly at Luke, blush barely visible in the low and multi-coloured lighting, but Edo knew it was there. Luke slowly held out his hand. Edo could hear Bo’s breath catch as she waited to see what Nick would do.

He took it.

Edo smiled. Yeah, they would be good for each other.

“They are a little bit adorable, aren’t they?”

Sandy handed him a snifter.

“Yeah,” said Edo, “I predict that they will become disgustingly couple-y and full of PDAs. What am I making?”

Sandy grinned at him, “Tank just came back in. You’re making an Adios Motherfucker and handing it to the lovebirds.”

“On us?”

Sandy pointed to the entrance, where Linda was tearing a strip out of one of the bouncers.

“On the house.”

“This drink?” He asked, reaching for the vodka and curacao.

“Well, technically whatever drinks they want, but I thought you would enjoy serving them this.”

Excellent,” he said, pouring in the club soda and starting to walk away, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a young pair of gentlemen to embarrass.”