Queer as Muke

1.20.5 The King of Arq

"Have you had enough pulsating grinding flesh for one evening?" Stephen asks Calum, finishing off his beer.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are!" Calum cheers the leather daddy off the stage before turning towards his boyfriend.

"Nope! You can't leave yet, you'll miss my big number!"

"Yeah right Michael! Like you'd really go through with it!" jeers Calum, rolling his eyes at his friend. There's no what Michael would put himself down for King of Arq. Is there?

"Well, if you leave now you'll never know!" Michael leans back on the bar with both elbows, a self satisfied smirk on his face and nods towards the stage where Drag Queen Marilyn is just about to read off a bright pink cue card.

"Our next contestant likes younger men! His favourite past time is feeling superior, his special skill is manipulating people..."

"Must be you!" Stephen calls over condescendingly.

"Let's put our hands together for Sydney's hunkiest chiropractor, Doctor Stephen Chesterton!!!"

Calum's head swivels towards Stephen in shock.

"You arsehole!" Stephen snarls at Michael.

"Doctor Stephen, paging Doctor Stephen?" Marilyn calls, peering out into the sea of people surrounding the stage.

"I thought you were signing yourself up!!" Calum squeaks, glaring at Michael when he starts to get his voice back.

Michael pulls a face, "Now why would I want to do that?! When I find this obsession with youth and abs and sex so appalling?"

Calum sends daggers to Michael before turning to Stephen, "You don't have to go through with this!"

"I have no intention of doing it."

"Thank god! You wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself dancing around in your underwear at your age!"

Michael smiles to himself, does Calum even realise what he's saying? He quickly turns the whole thing around and absolves himself of any wrongdoing, "Don't worry about it Doc, it was just a joke."

But Stephen's forgotten all about Michael, his attention now firmly set on Calum, "Do you think I can't do it?! At my age?"

"Paging Doctor Stephen!" Marilyn calls as her skirt flies up in the air from the umpeenth blast of air as she's been looking through the crowd, "Mother of God!" she shrieks as she disappears behind a cloud of white silk.

"Doctor Stephen!" she shouts into the microphone in much more of her normal voice, all pretence of Marilyn Monroe fast disappearing when she finally has her dress under control once again, clearly getting annoyed. The crowd take up the chant; "Doctor Stephen! Doctor Stephen!"

Stephen chews his lip, looking at Calum who realises exactly what he's said and done and sets his face stonily, not wanting his boyfriend to go up there but also not wanting to admit that he may have just pushed him into doing it.

"Stephen!" Calum begs too late, as Stephen takes one last look at him and walks off.

Standing on the stage Stephen looks awkward as fuck for a few seconds, in his doing-the-laundry-jeans and check shirt but then he starts to unbutton his shirt and the crowd goes wild. Calum buries his head in his hand as Michael leans back on the bar watching his handiwork, not quite believing what he's seeing.

Calum's embarrassment gets larger and larger and he seems to shrink against the bar particularly when Stephen rubs his shirt between his crotch before ripping his white tee off, literally. Michael hollers along with the crowd, finally getting into the atmosphere, he can't knock him for trying.

"He isn't?!" Calum says, eyes wide as Stephen starts to undo his jeans.

"Yes he is!" Michael answers, peering over the top of the crowd.

Stephen realises too late that he hasn't got any underwear on so he cups himself with one hand, teasing his audience with a flash of hair, and then whips around exposing his bare bottom. Calum bristles visibly next to Michael when someone's hand from the audience tries to have a feel, but relaxes a little when Stephen slaps their hand away before he goes back to taunting the men crowding around the stage, going mad for an older guy.

~~~

"Excuse me, we're here to see David Perata?" Maddie asks when they reach the desk sergeant at the Police Station on Freedom Street.

"Perata? Oh, sorry ladies you'll have to come back later, he's still being processed."

"But I'm his sister!"

"And I'm Mr Perata's lawyer, can you just tell me how much his bail is set at?"

"Five thousand," The policeman tells them after consulting with the paperwork.

"Five thousand?!" Joy screeches.

"Five thousand? Isn't that a little high for a first offence?" Maddie says calmly, glancing at Joy to try to get her to calm down.

"It says here he has a previous offence."

"For what?" asks Maddie, confused.

"Possession of an illegal substance."

Joy shuts her eyes, she'd forgotten all about that. "He was pulled over, it was ten years ago!" she explains to Maddie, "There was a joint in the glove compartment. It wasn't even his!!"

"If it wasn't his then why didn't he say something?"

"Because, even when we were kids he never squealed on me!" Joy tells her. She'll never forgive herself if he ends up in jail because this is his second offence. "Look officer, my brother's very sick, can you please see to it that he gets these meds?"

"What's wrong with him?" The officer asks, examining the pills that Joy's brought with her.

"He's HIV positive..."

"Oh. Well. Figures," he says, giving them back to her.

"Excuse me?!" Maddie explodes.

"No drugs in the holding cells until a police doctor has examined him."

"But these are prescription medications, his life depends on them," Joy tries to explain.

"Well if he's so sick what was he doing hanging out in a public men's room?"

"Taking a piss!" Joy shouts, her eyes blazing with frustration.

~~~

"You are so cute!"

"You have great abs!"

"Well, they're essential for good back support and posture," Stephen says, feeling a little ruffled by all the attention but still a little bit proud that all these men have surrounded him as soon as he came off the stage.

"Call me," another guy says, giving him a note with a number on it.

"Do you mind! He's already taken!" Calum shouts possessively, as he ploughs through the crowd Stephen's gathered around him in a matter of seconds.

Stephen smiles and laughs a little at Calum's indignant face as he tries to shoo everyone away.

"Oh I suppose you're pleased with yourself?!" Calum asks him, also telling him off. "You can wipe that grin off your face and put your shirt on!"

"Cal..."

"I don't want to hear another word about it!" Calum tells him firmly, grabbing Stephen by the ear and marching him off.