Wes Christ, I’m knackered. That was – (Sees Jonathan isn’t there.) Hey, where’d you go?

Wes comes in from the bedroom.

You’re getting dressed?

Jonathan I thought we were done.

Wes You might be.

Jonathan It’s pretty late / and I have a big day tomorrow.

Wes It’s only / eleven thirty.

Jonathan I gotta be up pretty early.

Pause.

Wes That was … I think that was, like, the greatest sex I’ve ever had, ever.

Wasn’t it?

You just … devoured me. At one point I thought you were actually going to eat me.

Jonathan Listen / I really should –

Wes Could I have some water?

Jonathan Sure.

Jonathan pours Wes a glass of water.

Wes You look different from your pictures. Less, um, less boyish.

Jonathan Are you calling me old?

Wes I’m calling your pictures old. I mean, I knew you were fit but I wasn’t expecting those muscles when you opened the door. I thought you were the bouncer.

Jonathan Oh. Yeah. I’ve started working out.

Wes Yeah, I can tell.

Pretty mental that we live so close, huh? I never see you out and about.

Jonathan I don’t go out a lot.

Wes How old are you?

Jonathan Thirty.

Wes Wow. You’re like the oldest guy I’ve ever had sex with.

Jonathan Thank you?

Wes No, thank you.

Jonathan You’re …?

Wes Twenty-one.

Jonathan Right.

Wes I think we’re pretty good at this, you and me. Good chemistry.

Jonathan Yeah.

Wes Maybe we should make this a regular thing.

Jonathan It’s probably better if we just left this a one-time thing.

Wes Are you kidding? I live two hundred metres away!

Jonathan I just … I’m not really looking for that.

Wes You know your phone doesn’t come with Grindr pre-installed.

Wes puts his arms around Jonathan’s neck and gives him the hard stare. Jonathan is not immune to Wes’s allure. He puts his hands on Wes’s hips and pulls him closer. Wes leans in for a kiss. But then:

Jonathan I have to work in the morning.

Wes You’re killing me.

Jonathan I’m sorry. It’s late and I –

Wes Yeah. Okay. Yeah, it’s cool.

Wes pulls away and starts hunting for his clothes.

I can always go back on Grindr, right?

Jonathan Or read a book.

Wes Or write a symphony. There’s a million things I could be doing right now.

Wes dresses. Annoyed, awkward silence as he does.

Jonathan I, ah …

Wes Yeah?

Jonathan I didn’t mean ‘read a book’ as if you didn’t ever.

Wes I know.

Jonathan I didn’t mean to insinuate that you don’t read because you’re –

Wes A bottom?

Jonathan No, I meant –

Wes I know what you meant.

Wes looks at Jonathan’s books.

You own a lot of books.

Jonathan Yeah.

Wes Well, of course you do. You’re a top.

You haven’t actually read all of these, have you?

Jonathan Maybe half?

Wes I chucked most of my books when I moved here.

Jonathan Why?

Wes They were heavy.

Jonathan But they’re your books.

Wes That’s what Kindles are for.

Jonathan That’s just not the same.

Wes Why? Same words.

Jonathan A book is more than just the words on the page.

Wes You have to admit that they’re helpful.

Jonathan It’s the width of the margins, the smell, the paper stock. It’s tactile, you know.

Wes feels Jonathan’s arms.

Wes You’re tactile.

Jonathan Reading is a physical act.

Wes Like fucking.

Wes starts rubbing Jonathan’s arms and chest.

Jonathan You don’t just engage with the ideas in the book, you engage with the book itself. Its size, its dimensions. Is it a hardcover or paperback?

Wes Hard, definitely hard.

Wes’s hands move to Jonathan’s arse.

Jonathan But on a Kindle, every book has only one edition and it’s the same as every other book. It obliterates uniqueness.

Wes You know how to catch a unique animal? Unique up on it.