Soho Pride: A Soho Nights Story

Episode 8

After an initial rush when they opened, things had quitened down at The Eagle. It wasn't unexpected. They knew that everyone would be over at the park by now. But once the park closed in the evening, everyone would head back to Soho.

They were kept constantly ticking over though by people coming back for supplies. Stuart made sure that the dealers working had whatever pills and powders their clients wanted. There was a real demand for it over Pride weekend. A lot of people would be partying pretty much nonstop for three days. They'd need something to keep them going and Stuart was happy to provide it for them.

Charlie had three of his boys working, one for each of the room upstairs. They sat at a table in the corner waiting for their first client. Often people would email or call in ahead, asking for a particular one of them, but today they had a walk in. It was a man in his fifties that none of them had ever seem before. Charlie knew straight away what the man was looking for as he walked in. He went straight to the bar.

'Can I get you a drink?' Charlie asked. The man shook his head.

'Something else?'

The man nodded.

'Sure,' said Charlie. 'Want to go on upstairs?'

The man nodded again.

'Which would you like?' Charlie looked over at the boys in the corner, who all knew what was going off. The man turned his head, looked at each one, then turned back to Charlie.

'The black guy,' said the man.

'All right. Go on up.'

The man disappeared up the stairs without a further word. Charlie held up two fingers to the boys, letting them know which of them was required.

Daryl was a tall black guy who'd worked for Charlie ever since they opened the bar. He hadn't previously had any escorting experience, but Charlie knew first hand that he'd be an asset to the business. The two of them had hooked up maybe a year before (for pleasure, not as a client of Charlie's). When Daryl came for he interview, Charlie knew he had to hire him straight away.

Daryl stood up and followed the man upstairs. They went into the room and the man paid upfront.

Charlie did very little escorting himself these days. He was approaching thirty now and wanted to leave that game to the younger guys. He still kept on some of his regular clients who he enjoyed seeing, but rarely took on amy new ones. The job had lost some of its appeal as he'd worked so hard to get the money that eventually paid for the bar. His favourite was miss Vivienne, the drag queen at Tramps, but he was off doing that drag competition on TV. He doubted he'd ever see him again.

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Sam felt as though he'd seen a ghost. It was so long since he'd seen Milo. He felt shaken by the whole experience and he couldn't put his finger as to the reasons why. Maybe it was because his two worlds had come so close together. There he was with his husband and child, standing a few meters away from the guy he'd been sleeping with. Sam didn't know if Michael would even know Milo if he'd seen him. Yes, he'd walked in and seen them in bed together, but he wasn't sure if he'd seen his face. Plus it was a long time ago now. Even if he had seen him, would he remember him?

But it was more than that. When he'd first seen him, he realised how much he'd missed him. He'd thought about Milo a lot over the last few months. He knew he'd done the right thing ending it with him. He had his family to think about. Even if he had been a single guy, Milo was too young for him. It wouldn't have been fair to keep seeing him. He knew that Milo needed to be with someone his own age. But now it looked like he was. Sam hated that Milo had moved on and met someone new. He knew how selfish he was being thinking that, but he couldn't help himself. Milo had been more than just a fling. Sam had genuine feelings for him. He'd kept them locked away, but now after seeing him again, he wasn't sure if they'd completely gone away.

'You okay?' Ocean asked him.

'Yeah,' said Sam, 'I'm fine.'

'You saw him, didn't you?'

'Who?'

'Milo, of course. I saw him with Jack.'

'I didn't know you knew who he was.'

'So how do you feel after seeing him again?'

'I'm fine. Honestly, it's in the past.'

Ocean looked at Sam and could tell he wasn't fine. 'Okay,' he said. 'Maybe best avoiding him if we see him again. I'm here if you need to talk.'

'Okay, thanks, but honestly I'm fine.'

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Seeing Sam had been a shock for Milo too. He'd been so in love with him and was devastated when Sam ended their relationship. He was his first great love. He'd probably always have feelings for him. But Sam had made his choice and he needed to respect that. Besides, when Sam had dumped him, who was the one who'd comforted him and told him everything would be okay? It was Max. They were just friends at the time, but Max had really supported him through that tough time.

Milo had tried not to think about Sam. He was part of his past and no good would come of it. But sometimes when he did, it felt like a betrayal to his boyfriend. He knew how lucky he was to have Max. He was cute, funny, kind and amazing in bed. Everything with Max was so simple. They were both young, free and able to do whatever they wanted. He didn't have to sneak around or hide what they had. Max was proud to walk hand in hand down the street with him. Not like his time with Sam. Milo was his dirty little secret, which at the time had felt exciting. He was over that now. He wanted a boyfriend who he could be openly with.

So why did it still hurt so badly when he saw Sam?

'You okay babes?' Max asked him. He flashed his perfect smile.

'Yeah,' Milo replied.

'Want to go get a drink?'

'Sounds good.'

They linked hands and went in search of the beer tent.

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Danny walked through town after his session with the therapist. He felt like he'd made some great progress. It was like every single time he went, he felt a little better than the last time. He still had a long way to go yet though, he knew that. He'd long since stopped trying to deny his own sexuality. He was a gay man. He knew that now. Not only that, but he was a gay man with a really great boyfriend. A really hot boyfriend. He could never have imagined six months ago that he'd be at this place. He was happier than he had been his whole life. He hadn't once thought of killing himself the whole time he'd been with Ocean. He was so grateful to him for that. He literally owed him his life.

Because he owed Ocean so much, he was dedicating his new life to try and do the right thing by him - by them as a couple. He kept on going to therapy and knew that he had to get things right. The best way he could thank Ocean was by being the best version of himself that he could be. That way he could be a good boyfriend and he knew that Ocean deserved that.

If anyone found out about the two of them, he knew what the reaction would be. They'd tell Ocean to get away from that bad guy. He couldn't really blame them. He had done some terrible things, but now was his time to prove them wrong. He had to be better man.

Getting through town back to Ocean's apartment was difficult without bumping into somebody celebrating Pride. Whilst most of it went on at the park or in Soho, there were people all over, grabbing some food or going to the shops. He felt really exposed as he walked down the streets, hoping nobody would recognise him. He put his hood up and walked with his head down.

Author's Note

Hey peeps. Thanks for continuing to read my LGBTQ soap opera. I've got another few chapters ready to publish this week. If you're enjoying it, please consider giving me a like or dropping me a comment.

Hope you're all keeping safe x