DISCLAIMER
As this story involves the turn of a character from straight to whore, it was necessary to smooth out some things, lengthen and fictionalize the effects of others, and exaggerate yet more. Please accept any offenses found as simply being narrative devices meant to allow the plot to slide forward.
*
"... and these are poppers," the man continued. In a heavily tattooed hand covered in fingerless leather biker gloves, a small white bottle with a metal lid.
The cameraman focused in on the bottle, taking a close shot for the benefit of the future television special.
Daniel nodded. "I've heard of these. Something about making the gag reflex go away? I can see how that would be useful around here," he said. There was a smugness to his tone that was just...
always there
. The host's brow furrowed momentarily but smoothed almost as quickly.
"Something like that. It doesn't really do that, but it can convince a guy to ignore his. Think of it like... short-term Ecstasy and you're almost there." The host shrugged and stashed the bottle in the little sling-bag around his torso.
"I'd heard there were health risks," Daniel said.
"Such is life, friend. There's risk to everything."
The host, Carlos, raised his glass from the stained, black wood bar and Daniel followed suit. The camera shifted to take them in as they shared a shot. Daniel was beginning to feel quite warm and comfortable, the liquor soaking into his stomach with a pleasant burn.
Daniel, a small, thin man with thick glasses was incongruously dressed in tight,
tight
leather pants, platform leather combat boots that came up to his knee, a leather harness across his chest and a leather choker around his neck. The black straps stood out strongly against his pale skin, a body that looked like it had never tasted sunlight. Carlos had also suggested the green bandana trailing from the tight leather jeans' back left pocket.
When he'd asked Carlos via email earlier in the week what to wear for his special investigative feature into the dying leather club scene, Carlos had suggested something along those lines.
Carlos himself was clad in what he described as jodhpur leather pants (pants with strange padding and an oversized pocket area), jackboots, a leather shirt and had a leather jacket slung over his shoulder.
Carlos nodded to the large, bald bartender clad apparently only in a leather vest, and two more shots appeared on the bar top.
"So have you... sorry, it's a difficult question to ask, but have you had... been in...?" Daniel was stuttering a bit. The interior of the dark bar was very intimidating. Shapes moved in the smoke and the dancing strobing lights, often shining with leather. Hatted, masked, or bare.
Carlos seemed unphased. "Fucked? Been fucked? Both at once? You name it, brother, I done it in these walls probably. That's the thing; the message I invited you in here to send out to the world. You gotta
try
things to know who you really are and what you really want."
Daniel sensed the message of his feature revealing itself. The camera moved back and forth between them as they each spoke. "You're saying places like these can have some kind of transformative effect?"
"Sure, man. Hey, I didn't consider myself even gay first time I came into a place like this. I was, you know, in fuckin'
mourning
. Got my ass dumped by some
senorita
who thought she could do better elsewhere--and hey, maybe she did. Point is, I found out a bunch of things about myself that night, and so did the other guy."
Privately revolted, but pretending outside interest, Daniel nodded. He considered his next question, but was saved from having to hurry by a large black man emerging from the smoke. The new figure, at least six foot three, bent Carlos's ear for a few moments and spoke quietly. The two exchanged nods, then the big man moved off.
When Carlos returned his attention to Daniel, the reporter was ready. "So would you say places like these are places to rebel against what's normal?"
Carlos's eyes briefly narrowed at
normal
, but once again smoothed almost instantly. Instead, he seemed to take a moment to weigh his reply and study the camera. "Here, lemme tell you what I see when I look at the news, at social media, at all this bullshit being pushed around by politicians and talking heads and and shit. I see hordes of dudes fawning over like fifteen percent of women. I see dudes throwing money at bitches who sit behind computers and dress like hookers. I saw a report of some chick making a quarter million dollars selling bottled farts.
Then take it the other way. Bitches talking down to men. Women demanding multiple guys in a relationship. Women setting financial conditions for staying with guys. And listen even if
none of this is true?
It shows that what guys think they are is beginning to cost 'em. Places like my bar here? It's not rebellion. It's just freedom. I'm hoping someday, somehow, the message gets out that men ain't prisoners to women like that. You can be
gay
here one night and go back to your
normal
on the walk home. No one knows. No one cares. But it opens, you know, this huge world to explore and I bet the ladies gonna seem to have, suddenly, a lot less demanding power."
Carlos had not sounded angry. The word
bitch
had no specific connotation. It just seemed to be a way to refer to women, sometimes--value neutral. There was no malice.