Soho Pride: A Soho Nights Story

Episode 4

'Can you grab some more mixers while you're down there?' said Stuart.

'Sure thing,' said Charlie. He wasn't even going down to the basement, but he didn't mind doing that first. He actually wanted to go upstairs to check everything was ready there.

He grabbed a box of tonic waters and walked back up into the bar.

'Thanks,' said Stuart, taking the box from him and unpacking them into the fridge behind the bar.

'It's going to be such a huge weekend for us,' said Charlie.

Stuart smiled. 'I know. Our first Pride weekend in our own bar. Who'd have thought we'd be here after the year we've had.'

'You don't miss dancing on bars?'

'Not at all. Although I can't guarantee I wont be doing that later on after a few drinks.'

They both laughed.

'Everything set upstairs?' Stuart asked

'I'm just going to check,' said Charlie. That was his part of the business, whilst Stuart looked after the bar.

Stuart and Charlie's rise to success had been a phenomenal one over the last six months. They'd worked so hard to pay for their mother's care bills, resulting in Charlie collapsing with exhaustion. But after their mother died, they found themselves with excess cash and nothing to spend it on. Stuart was out of work and Charlie didn't want his sell his body forever, so when the lease of The Eagle bar came up, they decided to take it on. In the short time they'd been open, they'd already m become the most profitable bar in Soho. It wasn't by coincidence. They'd taken on a way of running it that meant it was the must go place.

Charlie went upstairs, unlocked and went in. When they'd first taken over the bar, the room was used for junk. The previous owners had left it how it was, so it had taken hours to clean up the boxes of old paperwork, Christmas decorations and old promo stuff for the bar. They knew they could find a better use for it. The extra room was one of the reasons they'd taken the bar in the first place.

They'd put up temporary walls made of hardboard to split it into three rooms, each with it's own locking door. In each room was a single bed.

Charlie checked each room, made sure everything was clean and that the bedside tables were fully stocked up with supplies. Once he was happy, he locked up again and went back downstairs.

'You got all the boys working?' Stuart asked Charlie as he got back in the room.

'Yeah, three in the day, three at night. How many bar staff you got on?'

'All of them, even all the part-timers. Andy will be around too. He's got a couple of guys working the bar floor.'

Andy was the name of the dealer who pretty much owned Soho. He had dealers in every bar and had previously paid Stuart to deal at Tramps. When they took over The Eagle, Stuart had contacted him asking if he wanted to work from his bar. He wanted it to be a place that people could get whatever they wanted, no matter what time of day or night. It way one of the reasons the bar was so popular. Andy paid them a cut of everything that was sold. He used the bar as a base and was often seen working on one of the tables during the day. Managing that many dealers was hard work.

'I think we're about ready then,' said Charlie. 'Shall we open the doors?'

'Yeah, let's do it,' said Stuart.

❤🧡💛💚💙💜

Luke was shocked at how many people had come out for Pride. He immediately felt comfortable there, which was a surprise to him. He thought it might be an overload for him, but he felt the amazing buzz that was going on around him. There was a real feeling of love and acceptance. He finally felt like he was with his kind of people.

Luke had spent his life hanging out with overly macho straight guys and he'd tried to fit in with them. They were his friends. He loved them, but he'd been coming more and more aware of late that he was very different to them. What he'd wanted was for things to carry on the way they had with his friends even after he'd broken up with his fiance. But that was never going to happen. All his friends dated his ex's friends, so it became really difficult. When they did things as a group, only one of them could be there.

It was very uncomfortable for a while, until one evening after a few too many drinks, Luke had come out to one of the guys. Thst friend had told the rest of the gang the following day. He wasn't upset that his secret had bern shared. In a way it was a relief, as it meant he didnt have to have that conversation with them himself.

He started seeing them less and less often. He found out that they were still all doing stuff together, but without him.

He confronted his best friend Alex, who'd told him that it was awkward now he was no longer with Annabel. Alex also told him that the boys didn't feel comfortable around him anymore. They all played rugby together and didn't like being in the changing room or the showers with him after the game. He tried to explain that they had nothing to worry about. They were his friends and he didn't see them in other way. He wasn't checking them out in the showers and that nothing had changed.

Alex told him that it wasn't going to work anymore, so they cut all ties. So here was Luke, twenty-two years old with no friends. That was why he was so excited about Pride. He wanted to find his new group of friends. People who would understand him and accept him for who he was. He knew there would be thousands of people there. His crowd had to be somewhere amongst them.

As he walked through the crowds, he noticed already he was getting a lot of attention. Several men smiled at him and said hello. Most of them were checking him out. It wasn't difficult to see that Luke was a handsome guy with an athlete's body. But Luke wasn't looking for a hook-up. He wanted to meet new friends. He wasn't completely against the idea of finding a boyfriend either. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that so soon after breaking up with his fiance, but he was up for dating. He had to start somewhere.

He walked passed Jack and Ali. As he did, Jack turned his head and watched him walk past. Luke smiled. He knew he was being checked out, which felt good.

Jack watched Luke's ass as he walked past.

'Could you be more obvious?' said Ali.

'I'm sorry,' said Jack, 'but did you see that ass and those muscles?'

Ali rolled her eyes and checked her phone again. 'Where is he?' she said.

'I'm here babes,' said Kai, appearing behind her. He kissed her on the cheek. Ali's face lit up in a big smile. Even after six months, she was still excited every time she saw him.

'You're just in time,' she said. 'The floats are on the move.

Author's note

Hope you're enjoying the new story so far. I'm really living these characters and what's going on in their lives. As always, if you enjoy what you're reading, please consider giving me a like, a follow, or drop me a comment.

Hope you're all keeping safe x