Play It Safe Read Online Free Page B

spot in your bedroom for him to work in? Put up something he can hide behind.”
    “A room divider.” Fergus shoved the samples back into place. “That’s brilliant. Come on.”
    As they hurried toward his favorite used furniture dealer at the other end of the indoor market, Fergus started thinking aloud. “I could get a dressing screen, and maybe one of those old school desks, the sort with the chair built in and the wee shelf beneath?” His mood soared as his artist’s brain began firing on all cylinders. “A surface like that’d be just enough room for a laptop.”
    As they passed a nervous-looking tobacconist, Liam slowed down and took a deep inhale. “Och, that smells amazing.”
    Fergus noticed the dreamy smile on his friend’s face. “It doesn’t bother you, now you’ve quit?”
    “Nope. Is that weird? People tell me it’s w—oh my God!” Liam stopped in his tracks in front of a toy seller. “Rabbie used to love these.” He darted over to a small tub filled with floating rubber duckies. Two of them were blinking lights of every color.
    Fergus was confused for a moment. Liam had so many younger siblings, it was hard to keep track of their names. “Our Rabbie? As in McKenzie?”
    “ My Rabbie,” Liam said with a growl. “You know he hates anyone else calling him that.” He reached out for the yellow flashing duck.
    Just then, Fergus was knocked from behind. He stumbled forward, barely regaining his balance before hitting the shelf of jigsaw puzzles, then quickly felt for his wallet to ensure he’d not been pickpocketed.
    “Sorry, mate!” said the tobacco seller who’d just bumped into him. Fergus turned to see the man grab the corners of the canvas sheet to gather up his products. With a practiced twist, he formed a large bundle with his wares and cash box inside. Then he spun on his heel and sprinted off, dodging passersby with the grace and speed of a man half his age.
    A large group of police officers barreled past Fergus, one shouting into his radio. Mouth agape, he watched them go, then turned back to Liam, who’d barely spared a glance for the fracas. The toy seller also ignored the commotion, frowning at the rosy-pink baby hat she was knitting.
    Fergus sighed, wondering how anything in Glasgow could still surprise him.
    “Did you fuck up John’s twenty-first birthday?” Liam asked him.
    “Sorry?”
    Liam picked up one of the flashing ducks. “It was a couple weeks ago, aye?”
    “It was, but why do—”
    “You’re so keen to do nice things for him today. The new headboard, a room divider so he can study—it’s a lot, even for a nice guy in love such as yourself.”
    Was that what this was all about? Was Fergus trying to make up for being a coward? “The thing is…” He stepped closer, then glanced around to ensure no one could hear. “John wants to stop using condoms.”
    “And?”
    “I’m not ready.”
    Liam looked up from the duck. “Not ready for what? Better sex?”
    “Not ready to make that commitment. So are you buying anything or can we go and see the furniture seller?” He went to step past his friend, eager to end the conversation. “On second thought, you stay here and I’ll—”
    “Wait.” Liam put a hand to Fergus’s chest to stop him. “Please tell me you didn’t say no.”
    “I didn’t say no.”
    “Thank God.”
    “I also didn’t say yes.”
    “Fuck’s sake.” Liam punched Fergus’s arm. “Now John probably thinks you don’t trust him.”
    Fergus rubbed the spot where Liam had hit him. “Unsafe sex isn’t a sign of trust. It’s a sign of stupidity.”
    “In some cases, aye. Like if it’s a spontaneous thing in the heat of passion.” Liam’s voice rose, drawing the attention of the elderly toy seller, who brushed a wisp of slate-blue hair behind a cocked ear. “If one guy’s like, ‘Let’s do it raw. I’m clean. You?’ and the other guy’s like, ‘Aye, sure, I’m clean. Let’s do it.’ It’s stupid because the