“Okay, Boys,” Will said as he pointed to the stage. “Get up there and remove your clothes. I want to see what you got.”
Will is a middle-aged man about 50. He’s a little heavy, but I’m sure at one time he had a body like me and Dexter. A couple of bartenders were behind the bar getting things ready for the evening crowd. They quickly glanced at us when we entered, but they didn’t seem to be paying us any attention. I guess they had probably seen it all by now, so we were just another guy taking off his clothes for money.
Dexter and I walked to the center of the small stage and started to remove our shoes. Dexter walked over to me and whispered in my ear, “Let’s really give this guy a show.”
“What do you mean?”
He grinned and said, “Just follow what I do.”
“Damn,” said Will said enthusiastically when we finished performing. “That was a fantastic show.” I looked over at the bartenders. Both had stopped to watch our show. One of them even winked at me before he turned and started wiping glasses.
“If you boys are half that good tonight,” remarked Will, “you’ll walk out of here with a pocketful of cash. I got to warn you, though. You can’t get naked. I’ll get busted if you do." He reached into his pocket and handed us each $200. Here's an advancement for tonight."
As we headed for the door, Will hollered out, “Remember. Be here at 9.” Dexter gave him a thumb’s up as he closed the door behind us.
I gotta admit, Dex,” I replied as I laughed loudly. “You really came through with this gig.”
“Yeah,” laughed Dexter as he put his arm around my back as we walked down the sidewalk. “It sure beats standing on a street corner begging for money."
“You got that right,” I responded as we continued toward our run-down house.
Dexter turned to me and said, “I’m going downtown and buy me something.”
“What?” I asked. Suddenly, I started violently coughing. It had been a few days since my last attack. “Oh, God,” I moaned. “I don’t feel too good.”
“Come on, Matt,” responded Dexter worriedly. “Don’t get sick on me now. We got a big night ahead of us.”
“I’m going back to the place and lay down for a while. You go do your shopping, and we’ll hook back up later.”
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked worriedly.
“Yeah,” I replied as I attempted a smile. “I just got overheated in that small room.”
He nodded and headed off down the street. I returned to the basement, toed off my shoes and lay down. Dexter woke me up when he returned around 6:30. When I opened my eyes, I didn’t recognize the guy grinning down at me. I sat up and exclaimed, “Would you look at you!”
He grinned and posed for me. “Yeah,” he laughed. “I clean up pretty nice.” His scruffy red beard was nicely trimmed, and he had gotten a haircut. It was the first time since we met that I could remember not seeing his hair a red mess on his head.
“You look good,” I replied.
He explained, “I stopped at one of those yuppie hair salons downtown. You should have seen the look on their faces when I walked in.” He roared with laughter. “I think they thought I was there to beg. When I showed them the money, they agreed to make me look good.” He walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. “They did a pretty good job, don’t you think?” He turned and looked at me for a response.
“You look terrific,” I responded. “The guys will be all over you tonight.”
He grinned and said, “That’s what I’m hoping.” He then looked at me worriedly. “How about you? How are you feeling?”
I rose and stood in front of him. “Okay, I guess.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Living in this damp basement is killing me. I think I got a bad cold.”
“You really should get a doctor to check you out,” he replied worriedly. “Maybe he can give you something for it.”
I grinned and replied, “Maybe after tonight, I’ll be able to afford to go to a doctor.”
“You could go to the free clinic over on Clover,” he suggested.
I spat, “I’m not a charity case.” I headed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. I removed my clothes and took a long shower. When I stepped out, I was feeling a little better.
We arrived at the club a little before nine. The place was already packed since it was a Saturday night. Several guys turned and stared at Dexter and me. Since they had never seen us before, I guess they were trying to size us up. Little did they know that in an hour they would be shoving dollar bills into our bikini underwear.
We sat at the bar, and I talked with the two bartenders we had met earlier. One was named Jason. He seemed to be really into me. Several times he reached out and touched my hand and winked. Dexter sat and talked to the guy on his right. He was an older gentleman.
Fifteen minutes before ten, Will walked over and put his hand on our shoulders. “Are you guys ready?” We smiled and nodded. “Come with me,” he said. We followed him to a storage area behind the bar. He reached into a bag and pulled out two skimpy bikini underwear. He handed me a white one, and he gave Dexter a bright yellow pair.
“You guys get undressed, and put these on,” he said. “I’m going out to warm up the crowd. When you hear me say Tom and Jerry, come strutting out.”
Dexter asked, “Tom and Jerry?”
Will laughed and replied, “I don’t even know your real names. So, for tonight, it’s Tom and Jerry.” He smiled and headed out the door.
We heard Will exclaim from the small stage, “And now gentlemen. And I use the term gentlemen loosely.” There was laughter from around the room. “For your entertainment tonight, I present the fabulous Tom and Jerry. Be sure to shower them with your love.”
Someone in the crowd hollered out, “You mean dollar bills!” Everyone in the club laughed when Will made a joke about the guy not trying to stuff quarters inside our underwear like he did last week.
The room erupted in cat calls and whistles when we entered the club and started walking to the stage. We hopped on the bar and began the performance we did earlier during our audition. We would stop occasionally and walk to the edge as guys held out their hands offering us money. When one man held out a twenty, I let him open my underwear and peek inside.
Dexter and I were enjoying ourselves. We couldn’t believe the money we were making. Our underwear was bulging with bills. We continued for about a half hour before Will jumped onstage and told the audience that we were going to take a break, and that we would return in half an hour.
We went to the storage room and pulled the money from our underwear. Dexter was dancing excitedly around the small room. Will entered and closed the door. He was as excited as Dexter. “You guys are great!” he exclaimed.” Guys are texting their friends, and we had to stop people at the door from entering. We’ve got a crowd outside waiting to get in.
Jason brought us a couple of drinks while we rested. Dexter was so excited. He kept walking over to the door and looking out. Will soon returned. He smiled and told us what he wanted us to do for our second show. “Just prance up and down the bar,” he explained. “Squat down and let guys put money into your bikinis. I’ve walked around the club and I haven’t seen any cops.” He grinned widely. “So go for it. I’ll be in the back. When I nod, strip naked.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Dexter. “This is going to be fun!”
I was a little nervous. It didn’t bother me to be naked. I had already exposed myself earlier when guys stuffed money into my bikinis. I was worried that there might be a cop hidden in the crowd, and Dexter and I would be arrested. However, Will seemed pretty confident that wouldn’t happen. I guess he knew what goes on better than me.
We listened for our introduction. We stepped from the room and into the club. The bar takes up much of the space. It is a large oval bar, and Will had placed steps for us to climb upon it. There were about fifty men sitting around it. Along the remaining tables and along the wall, I would guess that there were probably another hundred guys ready to watch us perform. There were also a few women. I guess it was the only place in town they could see a naked guy perform.
We climbed onto the bar, and the room and again the room erupted in whistles and catcalls. A guy immediately grabbed my leg. I squatted and he pulled my white bikinis down and placed a twenty-dollar bill inside.
The men at the bar were very generous. Dexter and I kept looking at each other and smiling as we strode back and forth. Occasionally, we would stop and kiss each other. This always brought a loud round of applause. We walked to the edge and looked down at Will. He looked around quickly and nodded. I danced over to Dexter, gripped his bikini underwear and pulled them down. The crowd roared when he stepped out of them. He then did the same to me. After a quick kiss, we resumed our rounds around the bar. We were told that any money we received we could hand it to Jason, and he would hold on to it until our set was over.
Dexter and I changed sides on the bar. He had been working one side, and I had been on the other. As I was dancing, another guy grabbed my ankle and caressed it. I looked down and noticed a fifty-dollar bill in his hand. I squatted, and he began to feel me. In the darkness, I got a good look at his face. When I did, he froze and quickly removed his hand.
I stood and screamed, “You bastard!” I then kicked him in the face. It was Pastor Simpson! He was in a gay bar paying to feel a naked dancer. It was the same Pastor Simpson who had ruined my life when I was sixteen!
Rage filled every fiber of my body. I could tell by the look on his face, he also recognized me. When he got up to flee, I leapt from the bar and grabbed him around the waist. I screamed, “You ruined my life, and you’re a faggot too!”
Patrons scattered as I tried to stop him from leaving. He swung at me several times, landing punches to the side of my face. He managed to pull away, pick up a bar stool and swinging it at me.
That is the last thing I remember before I fell to the ground.
******
“You okay, Matt?” My eyes managed to focus on Dexter kneeling and looking worriedly into my face.
I groaned and asked, “What happened?” We were alone in the storage room. I was lying on the floor with a blanket over me.
“You went crazy out there,” he replied. “What was that all about?”
I asked, “Did you see the guy leave?”
He replied, “He couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Did you know him?”
I sat up, and my head began to throb. “Am I hurt bad?”
“Not too much,” responded Dexter. “You got a knot on your head, but your hair covers it.” He gave me a worried look. “Now, tell me who that guy was.”
I spent the next few minutes explaining to him about Pastor Simpson. Since we had talked before about how I ended up on the streets, he was familiar with what had happened to me when I was younger. He grew angry and said, “You should have killed him.”
I smiled and said, “I tried.” I slowly rose to my feet and asked, “What time is it?”
“Something after two,” he replied.
“Does Will want us to do another set?”
He frowned and said, “There won’t be any more sets. We got fired.”
“Fired!” I exclaimed. “Why?”
“Will didn’t like you assaulting a customer,” he explained, “so he canned us.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large wad of money. “He did give us our earnings for tonight. Jason said it is close to eight hundred dollars.”
“But you didn’t do anything,” I responded adamantly. “Why did he fire you?”
He smiled slightly and replied, “I told him we were a team. If you didn’t perform, then I wouldn’t.”
“You’re crazy,” I laughed.
He opened the door to the storage room, and we walked into the bar. The room was empty. I didn’t see Will anywhere. Jason was cleaning glasses behind the bar. He waved as we exited and headed down the sidewalk.
I awoke the next morning with Dexter’s arm around me. He was snoring heavily. I managed to crawl out of bed and tiptoe quietly to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. Even though I still had a youthful appearance, I felt old. The past few years had taken a toll on my mind.
I hardly slept at all. Pastor Simpson’s face from the night before was etched in my memory. After everything he had put me through, and all the names he called me and Charles, he was a fraud. He led his congregation to believe that he was righteous and godly, but he lusted after men.
As I looked at my image in the mirror, only one thing consumed my thoughts- revenge. He had to pay for what he did to me. Somehow, I had to pull back the curtain and let his congregation of adoring worshipers see the man for who he really is. I had to expose him, and in doing so, I might find some peace.
He had ruined my life. I am who I am today because of him. All this time he has grown richer. I’m quite sure that he still lives in the same large home he lived in when he locked me in the bedroom. He stole everything from me. He took away my youth, my family and my future.
Now, it was time for him to pay.
Dexter sat up in bed when I entered the bedroom. “Would you look at you,” he exclaimed when he saw me. My hair was brushed and styled. I had gone through the closet to find the best clothes that I owned. A few weeks ago, I had purchased a nice pair of khaki pants and a green dress shirt just in case I need to dress up for some occasion. Today, I wanted to make an impression. I didn’t want to appear like a beggar on the street.
“What’s the occasion,” laughed Dexter. “You got a hot date? Did you pick up some guy at the club last night?”
“Naw,” I replied. “I got some unfinished business to take care of.”
He gave me a skeptical look. “What’s going on, Matt? What kind of unfinished business?”
“Remember that guy in the club last night?”
“The pastor guy?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “He got in the last punch last night. Now, it’s my turn to get even.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Not really sure,” I said. “But it is Sunday.”
“Matt,” pleaded Dexter. “Don’t do what I think you’re going to do.” He climbed out of bed and stood before me.
I gave him a somber look and said, “I gotta. You know that.”
He nodded his head. “Yeah. If it was me, I would do the same thing.”
I leaned forward and gave him a long hug. I was afraid it might be the last time I saw him. “You take care, okay?” I said as tears welled up in my eyes and I kissed him on the cheek.
“Matt,” he responded.
“Yeah, Dex?”
He started to say something, but he stopped. “Just stay out of jail, okay?”
I smiled and replied, “I’ll try to.” I kissed him on his lips. He reached out for me when I pulled away, but I was determined to carry though what I knew I had to do. I gave him one last sad look before I closed the door.
I wasn’t sure what the rest of the day would bring, but I knew my life had reached a turning point. I had stuff to do.