Short Stack by Lily Morton

Author:Lily Morton [Morton, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2020-10-01T16:00:00+00:00

Henry and Ivo

A Change is as Good as a Rest

This is a deleted chapter from Risk Taker. It’s set between the events of Chapter Four and Chapter Five, in the two months that separate them. Ivo is seeing his therapist, and I wrote this chapter to show Henry’s attempts to help Ivo get interested in exercise again. I took it out because it unbalanced the other chapters.

Henry

I clatter down the stairs and grab my jacket from the coat hook. Like usual, Ivo’s jacket is slung half over the bannister and half on the floor, and I stop to tut and hang it up. Order restored, I leave the house. Gabe’s car is parked in front, and Ivo and Gabe are leaning against it, waiting.

“What?” I ask as they both look me up and down.

“Is that outfit new?” Ivo asks.

Gabe snorts, and I glance down at my outfit of royal-blue checked trousers with a royal-blue V-neck jumper and a white polo shirt. “It is,” I say happily. “I must say I like the golf section in Harvey Nicks.”

Ivo looks dubious. “This is your first time playing golf. What if you don’t like it?”

“I’m sure I will,” I say cheerfully. “Any sport where people dress like this is one I know I’m going to love.”

Gabe shakes his head. “You never change.”

“What?” I say indignantly. “Just because I like to look nice, whereas you two…”

“What about us two?” Gabe asks.

I tilt my head. “You’re a bit blah, aren’t you? Would a bit of colour have killed you?”

“If it was in the form of plaid trousers, yes,” says Gabe.

Ivo nods. “You should have done what I did, Henry. I borrowed my gear from Max.”

“Max, who? Do you mean Journalist Max?” I ask testily.

Ivo obliviously nods.

Gabe smirks. “Was that a growl?” he whispers to me as he turns to open the car door.

“No,” I snap. “Max is one of Ivo’s oldest friends. Why would I growl?”

“Isn’t he one of Ivo’s oldest fuck friends too?” Gabe asks cheerfully. “Oh, look, there’s that noise again. Henry, I must say golf brings out a very animalistic side of you.”

“It’s going to bring out a very serial killer side too if you persist in trying to be funny.”

“The ginger pertness is suffocating around here,” he observes.

Ignoring him, I sneak a glance at Ivo. Even dressed in borrowed gear, he looks amazing. He’s wearing black trousers with a subtle grey check and a black polo shirt and jumper. He and Gabe in his all-black outfit look sleek and expensive.

Ivo looks up, and, catching my gaze, he grins at me. “Are you really sure you want to do this?”

I nod emphatically. “Yes. It’s a proven fact that exercise and sport help with sleep and… other things.”

Ivo smiles. “You can say it, Hen. I’ve already told Gabe about the mild PTSD.”

Gabe shakes his head. “The way he emphasised the word mild made it sound like a cold.”

“I know. He’d moan more about a cold. He’s a dreadful baby over minor ailments, but he’d be terribly stoic if you chopped his leg off.

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