"What do you mean he's staying here?!" Calum exclaims as Joy puts two cups of tea down in front of her on the kitchen table.
"I talked to his Mum, she's all for it," is all she offers in explanation.
"Well I'm not!"
"What do you care, you're moving in with Stephen!"
"It's my room! It's still got some of my things in it!"
"Well, maybe you'd like to move some of your things out, Sunshine here's going to need the wardrobe space," Joy says, looking at Luke who's silently sitting next to Calum as he rants on.
"This is all your fault!" Calum looks up at Michael who's leaning on the kitchen counter with a smirk on his face. "Thanks a fucking lot!"
"Wait a minute!" Joy can put up with Calum raving on about his old room and the fact that he doesn't want Luke staying in there but this is a step too far. "Michael finally did something right!"
"Why Joy, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me!" Michael tells her, bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek as she beams at him.
"Don't press your luck," She warns him in a sickly sweet voice.
"Don't worry," Luke reassures Calum sarcastically, "I promise I'll take good care of your room."
"You'd better! Because I'm going to be doing unscheduled checks. If anything's missing. Or damaged..."
"Okay, why don't you two boys run along," Joy says, looking at Calum and Michael, "And let me explain the rules of the house to the newest member of our family?"
"More rules?" Luke looks crestfallen. Michael had laid down enough rules for a lifetime when he was driving everyone back to Sydney.
Joy continues, undaunted by Luke's dismay, "Starting with not bringing tricks home after midnight..."
Luke raises his eyebrows, maybe living here will be okay, that's at least one rule that he can live with, it's better than his parents rules after all...and he guesses he has to live somewhere since his running away spectacularly flopped.
~~~
"Hey, the traveller returns!" Stephen calls out, holding his front door open as Calum walks up the drive. "So how was Melbourne?!" He shows Calum in, pleased to see him back, as he loosens his tie with relief.
"I didn't really see much of it!" Calum confesses.
"That's okay, it gives me a chance to show you myself. So can I er..."
"Get me something to eat?"
Stephen stops, a thought occurring to him. "You just finished my sentence," He says, his lips twitching into a smile.
"I'm sorry."
"No, no that's nice!"
"I've been thinking a lot about..."
"Moving in?"
"I was thinking about it practically the entire time..."
Stephen's on tenterhooks waiting for the next part of the sentence, "And?"
"And...I love you. I really do. But..."
"The answer is no?" Stephen says, taken aback. He'd really thought that Calum was going to tell him yes.
"I'm just not ready," Calum offers apologetically.
"Oh. I understand."
"You do?" Relief sweeps Calum's body, he'd thought this conversation was going to be a lot harder than it was.
"All the excitement and adventure of taking off in the middle of the night with your friends to Melbourne...being with Michael...with all the history you two have...I can't compete with that! No, all I have to offer is me...us...this home," Stephen says a little sadly, his eyes becoming bright with emotion.
"Can't we still be boyfriends?" Calum asks, watching Stephen's face change, suddenly realising that his words seem final, like a goodbye.
"We could be," Stephen searches for the right words. "But...I don't want a boyfriend Calum. I want a partner."
Calum blinks back tears as he nods at Stephen before turning to let himself out of the house. He turns back when he reaches the front door, taking one last look at his now ex boyfriend who's standing forlornly alone in the middle of the living room, before walking out.
Once outside he stops to gather his thoughts. He only came here to let Stephen know that he had doubts about moving in so quickly. How did their conversation get from there to them breaking up? But if that's what he wants...
Stephen stands still for a while after the door closes, thoughts of the dreams he'd planned for both of them run through his head before he shuts his eyes against them, letting out a deep sigh. Maybe he should never have tried to go up against Michael in the first place. He might have known he was never going to win that one.
YOU ARE READING
Queer as Muke
Fanfiction"The thing you need to know is, it's all about sex. It's true. In fact they say men think about sex every twenty-eight seconds. Of course that's straight men. With gay men it's every nine." Twenty nine year old advertising executive Michael Cliffor...
