“Maybe one day you’ll both be able to forgive them,” Newt said. “They made a terrible mistake, but now they’ve lost you both all over again.”
“Man hands on misery to man.” Leigh shrugged and faced forwards.
“Oh God, now he’s quoting poetry.” Newt groaned.
“They fuck you up your mum and dad, they might not mean to but they do.Wise words from Philip Larkin. No one is perfect.”
“Except me,” Newt said.
“Goes without saying.” Leigh chuckled.
“No, it doesn’t. I need to hear at least once a day.”
Ru laughed.
“So have you and Jasim had sex yet?” Newt asked.
“Newt!” Leigh snapped.
“Not yet.”
“You don’t need to answer Mr Nosy Parker.” Leigh glared at Newt.
Ru shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“You know what you’re letting yourself in for?” Newt asked.
“You introduced me to Pornhub. I know everything now.” Ru smiled. “I can’t wait to talk to Jasim about fisting. I’ll credit you with having told me though.”
Newt and Ru sat together to watch the match after Leigh had gone to check the ponies. Ru had brought his backpack with him and pushed it under the seat. They’d tried to persuade him to leave it in the vehicle but Ru suspected he’d be going back to Benning Park in a horsebox, so it saved him having to return to the Land Rover. Vets parked in a different area to the teams.
Newt went off to buy them a drink and Ru looked round at everything that was happening, which was a lot. He felt underdressed in his jeans, though the white dress shirt Newt had given him when he’d come down for breakfast in his T-shirt, made him feel a little better. Most of the men were wearing pastel-coloured trousers or well-cut jeans, with dress shirts or polo shirts. The women were in pretty dresses.
“Here. Pimms.” Newt handed Ru a glass. “Don’t be fooled by the cucumber and strawberries. It’s more alcoholic than you might think.”
Ru sipped the sweet and tangy drink. “Mmm. Thank you. It’s nice.”
“Who’s more beautifully groomed? Ponies or people?”
Ru laughed. “Who’s more competitive?”
“You’re right. They’re all dressed to seduce.”
“Even the ponies?”
“Most of them are mares so… Who knows?”
The ponies were stamping and fidgeting as they waited, straining against their reins. Ru watched Jasim pull round Cheyenne to talk to Joaquin.
“The club house has flags flying for the nationality of every rider,” Newt told him.
“Which one is the Saudi Arabian flag?”
“The green one with the Arabic inscription and a sword. It’s the Islamic creed: there is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Islam’s a heavy weight on the shoulders of any Muslim struggling with their sexuality.”
“I don’t know if he follows Islam.” Ru had lowered his voice.
“He was born into it whether he does or not.”
