Free Lexington Black by Savannah Smythe

ticket to Satan's Grotto. It caused him no
loss of sleep whatsoever.
    Geri seemed uncharacteristically anxious as
Rob walked into the bar to meet her. She leapt off her seat to
greet him.
    'I promise you, I had no idea,' she gabbled.
'If I had, I would have told you.'
    'What are you talking about?' He could feel
his good humour dissipating like a slow puncture in a car tire.
    Geri took a deep breath. 'Sandy's here.
Apparently, she's going to be Matron of Honour after all.'
    Rob felt his body stiffen. 'What the hell?
Seriously?'
    'She's in the dining room, Rob. They're all
waiting for us. Nice suit, by the way. Are you sure you didn't know
already?'
    'Of course I didn't know!' He took a deep
breath. It wasn't Geri's fault. 'Sorry, sis. Jesus!' He paced
around. 'Of all the times...'
    'Yeah. Sara said she's aware the decree
absolute came in recently. Her view is that you would get over it
by then. Don't shoot the messenger!' She added, throwing her hands
up to ward him off.
    'Christ!' Rob massaged his temples, took a
deep breath and at once calmed down. Sandy didn't have the power to
upset him any more. He was a gay man who had just spent the most
glorious night in the arms of a charming stranger. His ex-wife had
lost the power to hurt him.
    He breathed in deeply again and let it out.
Geri was anxiously watching him. 'Let's do this,' he said. 'To be
honest, I'm more pissed off because no-one apart from you seems to
give a flying fig about how I feel. Sometimes I think I'm no longer
part of this family, just some random stranger who wanders in and
irritates people from time to time. So that's fine, but if Sara
thinks she's getting that Silver Shadow from Paul she'll have to
think again. No way in hell.' He marched off towards the dining
room. Geri trotted after him.
    'Oh, this is going to be good,' she muttered.
'Back on form at long last. I guess man sex is good for you.'
    Together they walked into the ornate dining
room. Geri had come to the lunch without Simon. Because they
weren't married, their mother had specifically stated that he was
not welcome, even though they had been together for over five
years. Now she looked around her and humphed disapprovingly.
    'I wonder whose paying for this little
shindig?'
    'Chris, probably. He always gets stumped for
this kind of gathering. It's another reason I'm glad I'm not still
in corporate finance.' Rob wondered when Lex was going to leave. If
he saw him again he was not sure how to react.
    As was the custom, Geri and Rob were the last
to arrive. Everyone was waiting for them, seated at a large round
table. Rob felt the weight of their stares as he walked the length
of the room to join them. On the way, he passed the table where he
and Lex had sat the night before, and he shuddered deliciously at
the memory of what he had been doing for half the night.
    Sandy was watching him approach. She looked
wary. He gave her a curt nod.
    'Good old Geri, living her late life,' Sara
said sarcastically.
    'I didn't have to come.' Geri gave her an
arch look as she plumped down on the over-stuffed chairs. She
bounced up and down on it. 'Ooh, springy!'
    'Don't you have a watch?' Mother said crisply
to Rob.
    'I left it at home.' He pressed a kiss to her
powdered cheek, just for the satisfaction of feeling her recoiling
from him. That morning he had combed his hair in the style his
father had always worn just so that the resemblance between them
was even more marked. He took pleasure in seeing her shudder. It
was malicious, but no more so than her unwarranted rejection of
him.
    Christopher and Silvy's two little girls sat
obediently, colouring in pictures and being looked after
exclusively by their mother. Rob liked Silvy. She was a pretty and
blonde in a wholesome country way, and seemed to put up with her
pompous husband with the patience of a nun. She was the primary
reason that Rob still spoke to his older brother. He must have
something about him to keep an angel like Silvy from flying
away.
    Silvy