by Jerry Cole
It was two nights later, and Bradley was in his small studio apartment, laying back on his bed, speaking on the phone with Isabelle. All they’d been able to talk about for the last two days was this possible relocation and now it was coming to the fore.
“If?” Isabelle challenged. “You think Keith would lie?”
“I think Keith has a certain looseness with the truth,” Bradley clarified.
“True,” Isabelle laughed. “Isn’t he great?” She paused for a moment as if considering something. Then she quickly followed it with, “I think I’ll do it.”
“Seriously?” Bradley sat up quickly.
“Yeah...” She took a deep breath. “If Keith moves, so will I. What about you?” she then pivoted. “You should come – oh, you totally should! How amazing would that be?!”
“It would be something...” Bradley agreed halfheartedly. He then changed the topic, “Did you get a call back for that sunscreen commercial by the way? Or do you know if Keith did? I’m sick of waiting to find out.”
Truth be told, the idea of moving to Sydney excited Bradley beyond belief. Not only did he actually think it might be a good career move, and one that he had already toyed with on a very casual basis, but he had another more personal reason for wanting to move to Sydney.
He and Sherman were closer than they had ever been. Since they both arrived back from Bali, they were on a daily contact schedule, more often than not calling each other every night before bed and speaking in a way that suggested they were dating... even if the words hadn’t been said yet.
But they also didn’t need to be, not while they were living so far apart. For now, both men were happy to be unofficially exclusive knowing that one day they would take it to the next level... that day just had to arrive.
Well, here it was. Sherman had already raised the possibility of a move several times since Bali, although it was always done in a subtle, off the cuff way. No doubt if Bradley suggested that he might consider moving up, Sherman would be beyond overjoyed. The only problem, and indeed it was a small one, was what would happen with them?
No doubt they would stay together. That wasn’t the issue. But there was more to it than that. Would they start dating? Would Sherman just expect him to move into his place? Or would he have to get his own? Could he afford to live there as an actor, or would he require help? Would he become dependent on Sherman? Would Sherman get bored of him and move on?
Would? Why? How? What? There were a lot of questions to answer, but none that would get answered until Bradley bit the bullet and asked Sherman directly. And so, four days after Keith first suggested a move to Sydney, Bradley sat himself down and called Sherman. It was their ordinary call time before bed, but there was nothing ordinary about this call.
“I was just starting to get worried,” Sherman joked on the other end of the line. It sounded like he was lying down, probably on his couch. But that was just a guess.
“This is the same time I always call you.”
“It’s actually two minutes late. You can see why I was nervous.”
“Right. Fair enough.” Bradley wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He had one thing on his mind and wanted to get straight to it, like a band-aid being torn off in one go. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It is kind of.”
“Oh.” He could hear Sherman sitting up, the tone in his voice changing slightly. “What about – nothing is wrong, is it?”
“What — no, no... I mean, I don’t think so – no. Nothing is wrong.” Bradley took a deep, calming breath. There was no reason to be nervous, but he still was. “I shot a commercial a few days ago for —”
“I wanted to congratulate you on that, actually,” Sherman cut him off. “I love that you’re getting regular work. I’m really proud of you.”
“Will you let me finish,” Bradley snapped. “And, thanks,” he then added nicely. He shouldn’t snap. Again, there was no reason for him to be so darn nervous! “I was saying, I shot this commercial and afterwards me and a few of the guys went out for a beer —”
“Do I need to be jealous?” Sherman joked. Bradley didn’t respond, but Sherman must have read the silence correctly. “Sorry,” he apologized rightly. “Continue.”
“Anyway, they were talking about how the work here in Melbourne is drying up... but how Sydney is apparently the place to be for up-and-coming actors —”
“Yes!” Sherman exclaimed down the line. “Yes!”
“What? How do you know about acting jobs in Sydney?”
“I don’t, but I know that’s not what you’re asking – you're thinking of moving to Sydney!” he continued, sounding more excited by the second. “Admit it!”
“Thinking about it,” Bradley confirmed. He could feel himself getting excited by the prospect now, but made sure to stay calm and reasoned. “At the moment, it’s just a conver —”
“Well, let’s make it a reality.”
“It’s not that —”
“Why not?” Sherman bulldozed over him. “Seriously? When work was keeping you there, it made sense. But if work is dragging you up here, why fight it?”
“It’s a little more complex than that.” Bradley wasn’t even sure why he was fighting this.
“How?” Sherman demanded of him.
“Ah... I only said that there might be more work.”
“We can look into that,” Sherman responded quickly. “Before you come, we can double check, speak to some people. Surely, that won’t be too hard?”
He was right, it wouldn’t be. “And um... my family is here.”
“Just your mother,” Sherman reminded him. “And she’s only an hour flight away – need I remind you too, that I have a little sway with the airlines here. Getting flights won’t be an issue.”
“All right. But what about —”
“What?” Sherman challenged.
“I was going to say —”
“Say it,” Sherman cut in again.
“I just think —”
“No, you weren’t,” Sherman again cut him off. This time though, he was laughing on the other end. He had won, and he knew it.
Sherman was right in his arguments, and if the work was in Sydney then there really wasn’t any reason for Bradley not to move up. If anything, there were more reasons to move than stay, and right about now, Bradley was all but certain he’d be moving to Sydney sooner rather than later. However, there was still one small issue lurking in the back of his mind and until that was sorted, there was no way he could move.
“What are we, Sherman?” Bradley blurted. He had to blurt it, otherwise Sherman wouldn’t have let him get it out.
“Huh?” Sherman faltered. “What do you mean?”
“What are we?” Bradley repeated. “You want me to move to Sydney for you – fuck, you asked me to months ago. But... but I don’t even know what we are? Are we dating? Are we a fling? When I move to Sydney will you get over me and upgrade? What?” He was standing now, although he couldn’t remember doing it.
There was a pause on the other end of the line, as if Sherman were really actually considering it. For the briefest of moments too, Bradley wished he hadn’t said anything.
“Is that really what’s bothering you?” he asked softly.
“Yes!” Bradley snapped. “Of course!”
“Well, if that’s the only problem, Bradley Miles, will you go out with me?” He could not have sounded more serious.
Bradley blinked back his surprise. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“Well... then yes, yes I will.” He was glad that he was alone in his room, otherwise he would have had to hide the big cheesy grin he was now wearing... not to mention the tears now forming in his eyes.
“That was easy,” Sherman chuckled on the other end of the line. “And now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, when are you moving to Sydney?”
Sherman had been right, there really was no reason to not
move to Sydney. And now it looked like Bradley was going to. He predicted in his head that it would still be another month or two yet, seeing as he had to tie up loose ends in Melbourne first. But once that was done with... he’d well and truly be a Sydney-sider. And fuck, even if there wasn’t more work up there like Keith had claimed, Bradley didn’t think it would matter too much. He’d be living closer to Sherman, so close he could see him every day. And that was all that really mattered. Truthfully, he could not wait.
Chapter Fourteen
“What do you think?” The realtor, her name was Sally, held her arms wide and did a 360-spin in the middle of the empty living room as if to show off just how much space there was. “Fabulous, isn’t it?”
“Great for raves and band practice,” Sherman agreed. He was standing in the doorway, admiring the room and the apartment in general. But then he saw the shocked look on Sally’s face and he hurried to clarify, “I’m joking,” he assured her. “I assure you, he isn’t into raves and I don’t think he even knows how to play the triangle.”
Sally exhaled her relief. “Good, good. Because the neighbors are an elderly couple that are very particular about their peace and quiet – they've been known to call the police on multiple occasions.”
“Sound like charmers.”
Sally grimaced. “They are my bane – but you also said that he probably won’t be here too often, yes?” she looked hopeful, her big blue eyes pleading for him to say yes. “So, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
“No, not too often at all I hope.” Sherman walked through the living room, delighting in the sound of the hard wooden floors under his heels. It echoed through the empty room and into the adjoining kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. “I’m thinking of this as more a storage space than anything else.”
“Heck of a nice storage space.” Sally straightened her back and her face took on a more serious expression. “Recently renovated, connected to the NBN – did I show you the water pressure. The shower could peel your skin off if you were so inclined.” She made to hurry toward the bathroom.
“Easy,” Sherman chuckled. “You’ve made the sale. Don’t ruin it now, Sally. You did so well – assuming that our little, ah... deal, is still on the table?”
Sally tilted her head from one side to the other as if considering. “I think it will be fine – but legally, he has to still sign the papers to agree to it? If he does that, then yes, yes, it is.”
“He’ll sign them.” Sherman made his way to the living room window. The view was of the front street, just a regular Sydney-city suburb, made up mainly of old townhouses with a few trees sprinkled in for a bit of nature. “And I’ll fax them right over.”
“Fax?” Sally frowned. She was in her early twenties, so she either didn’t know what a fax was, or didn’t use one.
“I’ll email them,” Sherman corrected. “Today. As soon as I pick him up, I’ll get him to sign and then —”
“Presto!” Sally clapped her hands together and smiled. “And then you are in – or he is. Either way, congratulations on the new place. If I do say so myself, it is a very, very nice choice.”
“Yeah...” Sherman did another look about the large single bedroom apartment. It was reasonably modern, with more than enough space for one person. Honestly, it was more than any twenty-five-year-old could have hoped for. “... it is, isn’t it?”
Today was going to be a good day. Fuck, it was going to be a great day if Sherman had anything to say about it.
It started with this apartment, just now rented by Sherman, for Bradley. With Bradley moving to Sydney, he was going to need his own place and where Sherman had pitched the idea of them just biting the bullet and living together, he also knew that wasn’t a real option. Bradley would need somewhere to get away from Sherman at least once a week – twice on those bad weeks – and this would do nicely.
There was a slight catch, however. Sydney was expensive, and this apartment was especially so. Located in the up-and-coming Inner West, it was impossible to find something in Bradley’s price range that wasn’t an absolute dive. Sherman had tried to explain this to Bradley, who had then claimed he didn’t mind living in a dive. He was a struggling actor, after all. Well, Bradley might not have minded, but Sherman did.
“Can you at least let me find you a place,” Sherman had asked when Bradley refused to budge on his budget. “I know Sydney pretty well, so I might get lucky.”
“You’re welcome to look,” Bradley had agreed after some prodding and poking. “But you’re not to sign anything – I get the last say, got it?”
“Loud and clear.”
Sherman had listened, but that didn’t mean he was going to obey. Bradley was being silly, he decided, so he wasn’t worth listening to anyway. Rather, Sherman came up with a plan that he thought was ingenious.
Basically, he was going to help Bradley find a nice apartment, regardless of the cost. Then he was going to talk to the realtor and convince them to allow for him to pay the difference in the rent, personally from his own account. The realtor was through the same company he rented his current place too, so it was actually rather easy to just tack the extra price onto his own apartment. This way, Bradley would have a nice place to live in, one that he could in no way afford, but not know about it. It was perfect.
The second reason today was going to be a good day was that finally, after nearly two whole months of planning and waiting, Bradley was flying into Sydney.
Sherman finished at the new apartment a few moments later and then headed straight for the airport. He had insisted on the airport pick-up and had been surprised when Bradley tried for the ‘It’s fine, I’ll just get the train,’ line. The two men were officially dating now, so an airport pick-up was all part of the deal.
He flew in at 11am, which had him walking out of the airport to the pick-up area at about 11:30am. He had three very large suitcases with him, another back-pack stuffed to the brim and the biggest darn smile that Sherman had ever seen.
“Hey, hot stuff,” Sherman crooned at the sight of him. Fuck, he always forgot just how sexy his boyfriend was; tall, chiseled in all the right places, and just classically handsome from the face down to the toes. “Need a ride.”
“It’s fine.” Bradley dumped his bags by the car. “I have someone picking me up – a real fine piece of ass, too.” He looked up and down the road, as if hoping to spot someone. “Should be here any minute – ow!” he yelped when Sherman slapped him. “What was that for?”
“Come here.” Sherman stepped into Bradley and gave him a big, wet, passionate kiss on the lips. It was perhaps a little much for an airport kiss, but he didn’t care. It had been months since he’s seen Bradley last and it was all he could do to leave it at just a kiss. “You taste good.”
“You smell good,” Bradley added as he pulled away. He lingered slightly as he did too, as if he didn’t want to let go.
It was silly, but Sherman was happy to see – and feel — the intent and desire behind Bradley’s touch. Bradley was a verifiable hottie and there was always that hidden fear in Sherman that one day he’d wake up and realize how much better he could do. Seriously, he could throw a stick in a gay bar and hit a better-looking guy than Sherman. It was dumb shallow shit that shouldn’t have mattered... only, it did.
But Sherman wasn’t going to let that deter him. Bradley might have been the looker of the two, but Sherman was the money and he intended very much to use his ample bank account to keep Bradley close, always wanting more, and remembering just how good he could be.
It started with the apartment, which Sherman took Bradley to right away. Not only did Bradley have a bunch of bags and things to drop off before anything else could get done, but he wanted to show the place off... and, of course, bask in the accolades of having done such a wonderful job.
“Ah... wow.” Bradley walked into the apartment and then froze as he took it in; his mouth hung open, his eyes were wide as they moved over the large, modern space.
It was
the exact response that Sherman had been after.
“You like it?” Sherman pressed. He slid up behind Bradley and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I got lucky with the pricing.”
“I’ll say – this is really only two hundred a week?” He didn’t sound like he believed it.
“I’m as shocked as you are.” Sherman quickly pulled out his phone and then brought up the lease agreement. He scrolled down the where Bradley had to sign and handed him the phone. “So you better sign quick, before someone else snatches it.”
Bradley didn’t have to be told twice. “You’re too good to me,” he mused as he finished up. “Dead set, sometimes I wonder how – hold on.” He blinked a few times. “An email just popped up for you. It said urgent.”
Sherman snatched his phone back and pocketed it without checking. “Nothing to worry about – just work stuff, is all.” He finished with a relaxed smile that he hoped deflected from the email.
It must have, as Bradley was done looking worried and was back on the apartment. He left his bags where they were and wandered through the living room and into the kitchen. Then into the bathroom and into the bedroom. And every room he walked into, he shouted out something like ‘Holy shit’ or ‘Look at this place!’ He really was that impressed.
Unfortunately, Sherman wasn’t able to follow so as to bask in the gratitude. Instead, he hurriedly pulled out his phone, read the email and then turned it off again. He had been expecting that email, and knew it wouldn’t be the last. As of the moment there was a... a rather big issue at work that he was doing all he could to ignore today. He didn’t want any distractions.
“So, what now?” Bradley walked back into the living room, just as Sherman finished pocketing his phone. He looked beyond relieved, and exceptionally grateful. Which was good, because that’s just how Sherman wanted him.
“You think this place is nice...” Sherman grinned wickedly at Bradley.
When they arrived at Sherman’s apartment some ten minutes later – it really was that close! — the look on Bradley’s face when he walked inside was all that Sherman could have hoped for. It was like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, like he had stumbled into the wrong apartment, like this was some sort of dream.
