Chapter 10 - Dying at the Club
Callum left Julian’s company late, with a dead phone. That annoyed him right from the start because they couldn’t firm up any plans for Sunday.
As the car sped through the city lights, Callum’s phone rang; his mum’s face flashed on the screen. He sighed and swiped to answer.
“Callum? Callum, is that you?” Her voice was tight with that specific brand of motherly worry. “I haven’t heard a peep from you in ages. I was starting to think you’d been kidnapped or something.”
“I’m here, Mom. Sorry, it’s been a crazy week. Work, extra sessions, you know, just stuff going on.”
“Stuff? You sound different,” she said, her motherly intuition cutting through the static. “What stuff, what’s going on? And don't tell me nothing, I know that tone.”
Callum hesitated, looking at the red battery icon. He wasn't sure he was ready to bring his mom up to speed with stuff. So much had happened, but this joyous secret was burning a growing hole in his chest. “Mom, I’ve started dating someone.”
There was a stunned silence, followed by a literal shriek of joy that made him move the phone away from his ear. “Oh, Cal! That’s wonderful! I knew there was a reason you were being so quiet. Tell me everything! What’s he like? What does he do? What’s his name? When can we meet him?”
Callum frowned. Saying it out loud made it feel very real, and making it real suddenly made it feel fragile. “He’s Julian, he’s four years older than me,” Callum said cautiously, keeping it vague. “Successful city type. Very driven. He lives in Manhattan.”
Mom took it all in, drinking up the details. “Well, he sounds like a catch,” she chirped. “Listen, can you come visit tomorrow? We haven’t seen you in ages. Your brother is coming with the boys. They’d love to see you. Bring him! Bring the mystery man! We all want to meet him!”
Callum winced. The thought of the Titan of Industry sitting at his mum’s cramped dining room table was just about enough to give him a heart attack.
Plus, he knew Julian wanted to see him tomorrow as well, and he’d half-committed to that.
Out of the two, Callum wanted to see Julian more.
He loved his mum, but these early days with Julian were precious.
Mmm, more of those kisses, he thought, rubbing his lips together and feeling an instant rush of blood to his groin.
The phone gave two quiet beeps, battery on its last legs. Shit.
“Cal, are you still there, honey?” his mom said after the prolonged silence.
“I’m sorry I can't tomorrow, mom. I've got stuff planned I can't change,” he said, his heart sinking at disappointing her. “But I promise, I’ll try to come over Tuesday on my day off instead. Just me, okay? We’ll talk then.”
“Tuesday? You promise?”
“Mom, I will…”The phone gave one final, goodbye chirp and went dead. Great!
Callum stared at his reflection in the dead glass, the dilemma of his two worlds weighing heavier than ever.
“I should have brought my fucking charger!” he whispered to himself, just as they arrived at The Vault. He was late, his shift started at 11 p.m., and it was now 11:11 p.m. Tony would be pissed. He was late, flustered, and annoyed.
He entered the side door, saying a quick hello to Bruno, the backstage manager.
The place was busier than normal. Saturday night was drag night, so the club was always packed.
Who was playing tonight? He couldn’t remember who was on the bill.
Must be someone famous, he thought, based on the crowd.
He entered the changing room, which was empty; the other dancers were already busy.
He hung his trench coat up and went to find a phone charger first. That was a priority.
“You’re late,” growled Tony from the corridor. “Man, I’m so sorry. I’ll make up the time, I promise,” he replied. “Tony, have you got an iPhone 16 charger anywhere, please? My phone is dead and I need to charge it?”
“There might be one in the office; either there or check behind the bar. But you need to get your cute little tush out there buddy. I asked Sean to cover your podium, but you know he dances like a honey badger on heat! We’re packed tonight. Need my prime American rib on show!”
They both laughed, and Callum hugged him. “Thanks, Tony, I’ll be out there in five minutes, I promise!”
But, despite his best efforts, not a single phone charger could be found anywhere that fit his phone. Reluctantly, he left it dead behind the bar, gave Sean the nod, traded positions with him, and became the object of fantasy he was required to be.
Up on the podium, Callum surveyed the sea of bodies beneath the pulsing neon lights.
The club was certainly busy, and from his elevated vantage point, he could see several cute guys in the throng watching him dance.
Some were just looking at him with lustful eyes, others were being more forward, trying to catch his attention as he moved.
He threw out a few playful winks to keep the crowd energised, but his heart wasn't in the flirtation tonight, despite the rain of dollar bills piling up in his podium base.
He was dating now. Julian had said it himself, so he hadn’t just dreamt it. A few winks were all these guys were going to get tonight.
Just the fleeting thought of Julian caused that familiar rush of blood, making the codpiece in his leather shorts feel suddenly rather snug.
He ran his hands over the growing bulge, using it as an opportunity to slightly adjust himself.
The watchers were clearly enjoying the show, and more dollar bills were thrown into the low Perspex wall around his podium.
As he got his groove on to a club remix of Miley Cyrus, a sweet smile grew on his face.
He was dating New York’s most eligible bachelor. You can’t make that shit up!
During the drag show, which was his break,, he frantically searched again, checking with the other staff if anyone had a charger, but no one did. He really would have to wait until he got back home. He hoped Julian wouldn’t take the lack of response the wrong way!
He joined the guys behind the bar to watch some of the show. Bob the Drag Queen was onstage, and on top form, the audience loving every minute of it.
The night went slowly, but he did stay behind to help clear up, still feeling a pang of guilt for being late. Tony was grateful and organised an Uber to take him home. He knew he was one of Tony’s favourites, and they had a great working relationship.
He practically ran up the four flights of stairs to his apartment, fumbling the key in the door.
He was so desperate to plug his phone in.
The minute he did, he got undressed and straight into bed.
It was extremely cold in his apartment. The radiator was making the clanking noise again, which meant little or no heat.
He was going to have to raise it another time with the super.
He lay awake in bed, in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, just waiting for his phone to turn on.
The minute the white Apple logo appeared on the screen, followed by the passcode, he unlocked it and went straight into his WhatsApp messages. Nothing from Julian. The last message was his response, saying:-
Callum: I can make 4 p.m. work. See you then.
Little did he know that Julian had agonised for hours whilst Callum was at work about whether to text him or not since they parted.
Brow furrowed, he’d been checking his phone constantly for hours, pacing around the apartment, then in bed, before finally succumbing to sleep.
He was sure there was nothing wrong, but would have loved a little message about Sunday, knowing he’d get to spend more time with Callum, before he finally fell asleep, dreaming about the day they’d had.
***
Back home, phone in hand, Callum hesitated.
He didn’t know what to say, plus it was now almost 5 a.m. Did Julian put his phone on silent overnight?
He didn’t want to risk waking him up at this early hour.
Should he just wait until morning? No. He decided to text.
Julian wasn’t the sort of guy you let down, especially when you promised to do something.
He decided to inject a little cheeky humour into his messages, in an attempt to distract Julian from any disappointment over the delayed response…
Callum: Hey, my hairy, beary, solid, fit, man mountain!
I’m so sorry about the really late message, but I had no time to charge my phone, forgot my charger, couldn’t find one at work, blah, blah, blah.
Basically, as you already fully realise, I’m just your ditsy personal trainer - thank God I’m handsome, hey! LOL.
Would Julian know what LOL meant? He deleted it, then re-typed it again. Just be me, he thought! Also, saying he was handsome felt a bit odd, but he left it in.
He pressed send, then wrote the next message:-
Callum: Anyway, I’ve checked my social calendar and it’s absolutely blank, so I’m very happy to do whatever you want tomorrow, as long as it’s with you. x
He put a kiss, then deleted it. Was it a bit infantile? But he felt childish about them. He wanted to send kisses. He pressed send. Then, he wrote a final message, added a few more kisses and an explanation:-
Callum: xxxxxxxxxxx (1 kiss for every day since I met you!) LOL
He hit send. Hoped it was okay? Took one last look at it, undecided.
He put the phone on the nightstand and tried to sleep.
He thought about the day. So much had happened, it made his head spin.
He needed time to process everything fully.
But as he drifted off to sleep, he knew one thing with absolute certainty... he felt really happy.