The men’s bathroom was ludicrously plush, with marble toilet seats, neatly folded hand towels and a chrome shelf holding toothbrushes, disposable razors and mini bottles of cologne, mouthwash and shaving foam.

Gabe had opened one of the foams and used it to make a smiley face on the mirror, secure in the knowledge that his mum wouldn’t use the men’s and nobody would dare complain to Bunmi about her favourite son’s mischief.

Gabe had vanished when Julius stepped out, smelling of Tom Ford Noir and with a couple of mini colognes in his pocket to experiment with later. He thought about sticking his head out to check on Gabe, but there was a bodyguard outside, so his little brother couldn’t cause much trouble. Julius also realised Gabe’s absence might be his only chance to speak with Duke before the evening.

He sat with his back to the door, which would give him a couple of seconds to pocket his secret phone if Gabe came back. Duke answered after a couple of rings and seemed chuffed to hear Julius’s voice.

‘Hey, you,’ Duke said, soft and cheery. ‘I was thinking about you. Where you at?’

‘Stuck at The Cross, waiting for some stupid buffet function to start. I’ve been reading articles your Uncle Remi wrote about my family.’

Duke laughed. ‘I’ll assume we’re no longer on speaking terms …’

‘I feel dumb,’ Julius admitted. ‘All this stuff is there online for anyone to read. There’s a ton of evidence, but nothing ever sticks.’

‘People hear what they want to hear,’ Duke said philosophically. ‘Frankly, I wish my uncle would stop being so obsessed. He thinks he’s going to change the world, but his blog keeps getting trashed by hackers, he’s been sued by so many people he’s broke and if he’s not careful he’ll wind up at the side of a road with his guts hanging out.’

‘My mum is such a cynical bitch,’ Julius hissed. ‘Telling me I’m breaking God’s law by kissing you or being around you, but at the same time, she’s ripping off millions from a vaccination programme that’s supposed to save kids’ lives.’

‘Don’t get too political with me,’ Duke said irritably.

‘What do you mean?’ Julius asked. ‘I’m reading all this eye-opening stuff …’

‘I hear it from my uncle all the time,’ Duke explained. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d rather talk about something else.’

‘Pick a topic,’ Julius said. ‘Sport? Science? iOS versus Android …’

Duke laughed. ‘Close your eyes, take a deep breath. Imagine you and I are on a golden beach. Out of our lives, a million kilometres from anywhere.’

‘I like that,’ Julius replied, feeling some of the tension drop out of his shoulders. ‘I could kiss you as the waves wash up over us and drink salty water out of your belly button.’