Page 29 of In at the Deep End
He laughed. “Okay… he’s funny.”
“Older funny or actually funny?”
“Actually funny. And intelligent. Very intelligent. Not to mention kind.”
Eric looked at him. “You like him.”
Matt frowned. “I’ve known him two days.” Another shrug. “He’s good company.”
“Thank God. You spent the last six years surrounded by students whose idea of conversation began and ended with who they slept with.”
Matt groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“It was relentless.” Eric mimicked male voices Matt recognised in a heartbeat. “‘Mate, you should’ve seen her…’ ‘Mate, you should’ve seen him…’”
They laughed.
Eric shook his head again. “I never understood why people treated sex like a competitive sport.”
Matt leaned back. “Neither did I.”
“Which was probably yet another reason why we became friends.”
He nodded. “You were the only person in our year who never made me feel weird.”
“Weird?”
“For… not joining in.”
Eric frowned. “I never thought you were weird.”
“I know. That’s why you stood out from those idiots from halls who used to rank every girl they met. Some of the girls were just as bad. I swear it was all they ever talked about. It exhausted me.”
Eric laughed. “Me too. Everyone permanently chasing their next shag.”
Matt snorted. “Meanwhile we were arguing over whether Zulu was better than A Bridge Too Far.”
He gave a wry smile. “We really were the odd ones out, weren’t we?”
Matt shrugged. “I never really thought about it. I just spent years always feeling as though I’d wandered into the wrong conversation. I never knew what to say to them.”
Eric nodded. “Because you weren’t interested.”
Another shrug. “I thought I was.”
“Whereas I spent years trying to convince myself I just hadn’t met the right woman.”
“And then you did.”
Eric grinned. “And he had a beard. The funny thing is, once I admitted I liked men, everything made sense.”
Matt stared into his coffee. “I wish I had one of those moments.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t spend my life wondering if I’m looking at the wrong sex.” He hesitated. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m looking for the wrong thing altogether.”
Eric was quiet.
