Free Erotic Refugees by Paddy Kelly Page B

of
an idea then.”
    Eoin explained the idea for the
website while Andy listened attentively. When he was done Andy
leaned back in his chair and rubbed his beard. “Well it seems kind
of obvious, and if it's obvious and doesn't already exist then it
could be a winner.”
    “ See?” Eoin said,
delighted. “I told you it was good.”
    “ I never said it wasn't,”
Rob said. “But I do know what to do with it. We build the bugger,
run it for a year, and get ourselves one fat database of single
parents who like to spend. Then we sell the whole shebang and
recline on our money.”
    “ The man's not wrong,”
Andy said. “That's kind of data's a goldmine. Advertisers would
love you.”
    “ Great! So let's get
sketchin'! And whose round is it anyway?”
    “ Yours,” Andy said. Rob
couldn't really argue, but still gave a tortured sigh as he hauled
himself to his feet and made for the bar. Andy got busy drawing
boxes and arrows in his notebook and Eoin was about to join in when
his mobile beeped.
    “ Sorry,” he muttered. “I
should check this.” He read the text message and wasn’t surprised
to see it was from Alice.
    All well? Don’t forget to call
Anja!
    Eoin groaned. When was she
going to stop pushing him on Anja? Time to change the topic. Here
with Rob and friend. Maybe ask them to summerhouse.
    A quick reply from Alice:
Friend eh? Who is friend?
    American, fun, you will
like.
    Rob returned. He unloaded his
cargo of pints and started complaining to Andy about a football
game he'd spotted on the TV inside. Eoin wasn't really listening.
He took his new pint, even though his old one had still a third
remaining, and watched his mobile. In a few seconds the next
message arrived. Cute guy? Hot accent?
    Eoin wasn't quite sure how to
answer that one. He sneaked a look at Andy, who had abandoned his
notes for the moment and was busy illustrating a football manoeuvre
on the table using more chilli nuts.
    Suppose. Andy. Smart,
muscles.
    Smart muscles? Nice. Would YOU
do him?
    Eoin grinned and replied. Not
unless it was medical emergency.
    Ok. Is fine, bring Rob + Andy.
And call Anja!
    Eoin put the phone away. He
didn't think he'd be calling Anja today. In fact, he had decided to
simply do nothing at all on that front. The problem would therefore
fix itself, with no embarrassing dialogue or effort required.
    “ Well then,” he said.
“It's all fixed.”
    Rob looked up. “Funding for the
website? Nice work Eoin. Can you fix us a hardcore programmer while
yer at it? And a few of those TV weather girls with the tight
skirts? Plus an infinite supply of pints would be nice.”
    “ Can it Rob,” Andy said.
“What did you fix, Eoin?”
    “ A friend of mine has a
summer house on Gotland and we're invited to visit for a week in
July. She says it's fantastic there.”
    “ She?” Rob said, with a
grin. “So is this a friend or a wink-nudge friend?”
    “ She's a workmate. And
definitely just a friend.”
    “ You said late July?”
Andy said. “Sure, for a few days at least. Rob?”
    “ Yeah, sure, it's not
like I can afford any other kind of holiday right now. We can
always work on the website there, right? I mean, they'll have
electricity?”
    Eoin's phone beeped again. He
pulled it out and opened the message.
    Not Andrew Quirley is it?
    Eoin's chest tightened. This
didn't sound good. In fact this sounded complicated and Eoin hated
complicated.
    “ Um, Andy? Your name, is
it Quirley? Andrew Quirley?”
    From the look on Andy's face
Eoin could see that indeed it was. He also saw that Andy was
furiously trying to work out why Eoin would be asking, and who he
had on the other end of his text conversation.
    “ What?” Rob said,
shifting his gaze from Andy to Eoin, aware that something was up.
Nobody answered him. The waitress passed by again and, with an
audible sigh, grabbed a few of the glasses that were now piling up
on the table to a ridiculous extent. She swept away again, with no
eye contact given or offered.
    “