The Cowboy Queen by Patricia Logan

A grinding beat came from the speakers overhead, on both sides of the stage and from all four corners of the dark bar. The only bright lights were trained to the stage where a very beautiful Barbara Streisand belted out “Superman” at the top of her lungs. She bent and stuck out her ass, clad only in tight white shorts cut so high her pretty white butt cheeks stuck out. Red, yellow and white tube socks and a tight T completed the look. Someone in the bar yelled out an obscenity. It didn’t faze the hot little performer at all. As a matter of fact, it encouraged the beautiful drag queen. She turned her back on the stage, began a bump and grind and the “Whoots” ramped up as cat calls and whistles continued at an even louder pitch.

“I…I’m Superman…. Cause I’m with you…,” she sang perfectly on pitch.

“I got your Super Man right here baby!” A deep voice screamed. Laughter followed as the crowd went crazy.

“There’s nothin I can’t dooooo… cause I’m with youuuuu….” She turned toward the front, the lights highlighting the blonde in her curly red hair. Her breasts were high in a tight white T with a bright red, black and yellow Superman logo emblazoned across it. Her eyes shimmered and her cheekbones were high and roughed. A blush of red stained her pouty lips as she sang.

“Supermaaaaaaaaaaan…..” As the song ended with a long instrumental, the crowd went wild. Barbara postured, her knees pushed together and stuck out her tight ass again. As an encore, she poked out her breasts one last time and shimmied. She cocked her head to the side shyly and grinned at the audience before blowing air kisses and waving a royal wave as she prepared to leave the stage.

“I love you, Ricky!” A deep voice yelled from stage left and she screamed suddenly, as a gigantic bald headed biker jumped up on stage and flew toward her with a bunch of roses in his hand. Before she could make a move to get away, four huge bouncers were on the stage tackling the big biker. She watched as he hit the stage floor with a “Whoosh,” the roses flying out of his hands and landing all around him in a hail of petals and broken stems. Barbara burst into tears, crying into her hands as an Amazon sized black man dressed in a frilly pink dress and blonde wig appeared from somewhere back stage. He folded Ricky into his arms and bent down to croon into his ear as he rocked the small performer.

“It’s okay baby, let Mams take care of you,” he soothed.

Ricky nodded into the strong chest of his best friend.

“Come on, mon cher.” He led the trembling small man off of the stage. As they pushed through the curtain, Mams led him by the hand to the dressing room. “There there child, stop all those tears. What will Michael think if he sees you with puffy eyes?” The beautiful cherub looked up into Mams eyes and blinked his obscenely long eyelashes. He knew he must look a mess.

“Oh dear, you’re right, Mams.” He sat down before a large lighted mirror and stared at his reflection. Black eyeliner ran in rivulets down his cheeks. He shuddered and ripped off the wig, exposing a wig cap held in place with bobby pins. He started hastily, removing the bobbies before Mams stepped up and swatted his hands away.

“I’ll do that, baby. You clean your face. Here.” He handed him eye makeup remover and a wad of cotton balls and Ricky began cleaning. “I’ll just bet Michael is going to be so surprised.”

“Do you think so? I want him to be happy. It isn’t every day you reach the quarter century mark.” He blinked false eyelashes up at the handsome black man.

Mams dropped a kiss on the silky blond head as he removed the last pin and then the cap. He met Ricky’s bright eyes in the mirror, combing out the long tresses with his fingers.

“How can he not be happy, baby? Look at yourself. You’re by far the most beautiful person on earth.” Ricky offered up a tiny smile, not really sure of himself at all. His boyfriend, Michael Francis, was a famous super model known the world over. He jet-setted all over the world and had women and men falling at his feet. He could have anyone he wanted. So why had he settled on a farm raised Nebraska boy like Ricky LaGrange? It still made no sense to Ricky at all. Ricky’s job at “The Red Room,” one of the hottest gay bars in all of West Hollywood, though prestigious within the gay community, wasn’t anything compared to being flown all over the world and making hundreds of thousands of dollars to strip down to a tiny Speedo and be photographed. Michael’s cell phone never stopped ringing. Everyone wanted a piece of the tall, handsome hunk.

Ricky stared into the mirror seeing the damage the drama had caused and tried to ignore it. He applied cold cream to his face and wiped through it with a tissue as Mams struggled to style the young man’s hair.

“There now, look how beautiful you are.” The large wigged man stood back, admiring his handiwork with a smile. Ricky’s hair lay flat now, brushed out and hanging over one eye, just the way he liked. “But why would you ask me if Michael would enjoy his present? Of course he will, darlin. What kind of crazy man wouldn’t want to go to a dude ranch and be surrounded by Marlboro men and cowboys for a week? Oh… the smell of leather…” Ricky watched him hum in ecstasy.

“Straight men,” Ricky answered with a quirky smile and tongue in cheek. The tall black man stared down at him, his wrinkles prominent in the aging face. He grinned and Ricky was nearly blinded by the whites of his teeth. A wave of love washed over him. Mams, a nickname for Malcolm, was his very best friend in all the world and it seemed since Mams lover Scotty died of complications from AIDS last year, the older man had fully adopted Ricky. Truth be told, it felt good to be loved. Ricky’s own family had turned their backs on him and thrown him out of the house when he came out to them at the age of eighteen. Mams was the only family Ricky had and that was just fine with him.

“I don’t know. I want so badly for Michael to have a good birthday this year. It’ll be the first birthday of his we’ve spent together.” Mams reached out and cupped Ricky’s soft cheek. The contrast between the dark hand and Ricky’s pale skin was stark.

“Honey child, I told you Rudy and Mark just came back from that dude ranch. They said it was the most liberating experience of their lives.” Ricky couldn’t help but smile at the dreamy quality in Mams eyes. “Just thinking about all those macho cowboys riding around in assless chaps and cowboy boots and Stetson’s is giving me wood.” Ricky burst into laughter.

“Mams, the brochure said nothing about assless chaps, though the idea is very intriguing,” Ricky replied. Mams looked at him and leaned in to peck his ruby red lips.

“Let a girl dream hon, let a girl dream.” Ricky chuckled then he glanced at the clock on the wall. He jumped up and began to quickly change out of his costume and into the beautiful fuchsia suit Mams had laid out for him. The addition of a black dress shirt and shoes set off his blond hair and good looks. He cocked his head to the side and stared into the mirror. He was a flamboyant gay man. His slight stature didn’t help matters. No one would ever call him macho. He loved the bright colors he chose to wear almost as much as the bright lights that spotlighted him on the stage.

He wondered fleetingly how people outside the gay community saw him. Were they disgusted? He grinned at his reflection. He could really care less if they were or not. He was who he was and he was loved by Mams and… He thought of his family for a moment and uncharacteristically, he felt a little stab of pain in his heart. He hadn’t thought of their outright rejection of him for a long time. Looking lovingly at Mams, he told himself it didn’t matter what his family thought, that the assault from bullies that happened so long ago didn’t matter. He threw himself into Mams arms, hugging him for all he was worth.

“What was that for, Sugar?” Mams frowned down at Ricky, worry etching his kind features. He held the young man out at arm’s length and Ricky knew he was being studied. He schooled his features not to show just how upset he’d become as a result of bad memories only seconds before.

“Nothing,” Ricky said, pulling away. “I gotta get going. I’m sure the limo is here already.” Mams shook his head. Ricky knew the older man could read him like a book.

“Fine, don’t tell me baby, but you know who loves you.” Mams smiled at him and caressed Ricky’s cheek. “Now go and give that man ‘a yours a sloppy kiss for me… and honey,” he paused, his big brown eyes twinkling, “have a good time.” Ricky nodded, kissed Mams quickly on the cheek and hurried up the stairs to street level where the limo was indeed waiting. The driver got out and opened the door for Ricky, looking him up and down. Ricky started humming “Superman” as he climbed inside, oblivious to the driver’s scrutiny. He looked around the interior. A bottle of champagne was chilling in an ice bucket which was set into the bar. Perfect. Everything is going to be perfect for Michael tonight.

He wondered absently if Michael could fall in love with him. Ricky had certainly fallen hard for the handsome super model. It wasn’t hard. Michael was drop-dead gorgeous and funny, and when they were together, Ricky always felt as though he could tell Michael anything. They got along great. With Michael’s tall, dark good looks and Ricky’s shorter, blond good looks, they made a stunning couple. Michael signed autographs wherever they went and Ricky was always proud to be on his arm. Except when the spotlight was turned on Michael, he lit up like a Christmas tree, and Ricky melted into the background. Ricky told himself that it didn’t matter, that he was lucky to have a lover as gorgeous and generous as Michael was.

The limo sailed through the streets of Los Angeles headed toward the Brentwood condo Michael owned. Michael had never asked Ricky to move in with him, though Michael was well aware of Ricky’s much smaller means of income and much crummier apartment nestled in a seedy part of Hollywood–Sunset and Normandy. The neighborhood had one redeeming feature and a place Ricky frequented, The Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Built with a helipad on top, the hospital had been expanded multiple times since it’s conversion from a private residence in the 1900’s. It was now a very large and important facility and housed the finest pediatric doctors in the world. Ricky had volunteered there numerous times.

His very favorite nurse was on the pediatric neurosurgery floor. Most people knew her as head nurse Dayna, while Ricky knew her as a gay/male author by day and pediatric caregiver by night. Until Ricky met her, she’d been writing novels and screenplays but hadn’t focused on male/male romance writing. His influence helped her realize her publishing goals and that made Ricky very proud. Her first work was due to be released this coming April. The hospital’s amazing new facility was claimed from broken down housing and rose in the Hollywood skyline to a magnificent skyscraper where more unfortunate children would be saved and comforted or given loving measures to help them pass into the next life by loving and compassionate women and men. Ricky himself had witnessed one nurse, Edleen, a beautiful Filipino wonder, spend a grueling 45 minutes removing tape from an IV site of a frightened child with patience and compassion. Ricky loved the people he encountered doing volunteer work in this magnificent place.

Aside from the time he spent with the kids, Ricky spent most of his time at Mams or at The Red Room. He told himself it didn’t matter that Michael rarely had him spend the night at his upscale Brentwood place. Michael’s bedroom alone was larger than Ricky’s whole apartment. Within fifteen minutes, the limo pulled up to the call box at the security gate. The driver rolled down his window and punched in a series of numbers as he read them off a yellow paper in his other hand. The gates swung open and they drove inside. Ricky directed him to park in a place close to Michael’s condo and he jumped out of the car before the driver even had the time to come around and open the door for him. He was excited to get the evening started.

“Wait here, please,” Ricky intoned. “I’ll be back in a few.”

“Very good, Sir,” the man replied flatly. Ricky ran across the parking lot, his heart racing. Would Michael be surprised? Would Ricky finally get fucked tonight? It had been months since Michael had given him a proper fucking. He complained that work was exhausting and when he was at home in L.A., all he wanted to do was rest. Ricky tried not to be hurt that Michael never came to the club to watch him perform, but when one of his buddies phoned him, Michael jumped up to meet them out at some bar or restaurant… without Ricky. Ricky tried to be understanding about the sex, too, settling for an occasional blow job from his boyfriend though he really didn’t like the lack of anything else. An insatiable bottom, Ricky knew he was a very good lover and he’d always been very attentive to his boyfriends. None of that seemed to matter to Michael and at times, Ricky felt like he’d fallen into a black hole where there would never be any more sex. Tonight he was determined to turn that pattern around. Michael was going to love his present so much he was going to make love to Ricky all night.

He ran up the steps to Michael’s front door and knocked. After a minute or so, Michael appeared at the door. He wore a dazzling model’s smile as he asked Ricky to come in. Once the door was closed, Ricky moved in for a kiss. Michael bent and kissed Ricky softly. But Ricky didn’t feel a bit of passion coming off of his lover.

“Happy Birthday, baby,” Ricky purred against Michael’s chest. His lover’s arms wrapped him, holding him close. Ricky felt like he was in heaven.

“Thank you, baby,” Michael parroted back. “You have some plans for us?” Ricky leaned back and looked into his lover’s face. Then he grinned.

“You bet I do. Come on, grab your coat and let’s get going. I have a really special night on the town planned and… Well, just come on, silly.” Michael walked out of the tastefully decorated living room and down the hall toward the bedroom. Ricky stayed put. He knew Michael had a thing about him walking around the condo. Michael called it snooping. He told Ricky he was a really private kind of guy which surprised Ricky given the nature of his job.

Regardless, Ricky waited for a few more minutes, bouncing with excitement from one foot to another, while Michael seemed to drag his feet. He thought about that. Michael sure didn’t act all that excited about Ricky taking him out on the town. Michael finally returned and had his suit jacket on. His suit was black, his shirt a beautiful dark shade of purple and his tie was a light lavender. Suddenly Ricky remembered exactly why he loved Michael. Because he was a hotter than hot, fucking, super model.

“Ready,” Michael drawled, sounding bored. Ricky sighed and forced himself to smile, wondering whether this trip was going to be worth his while at all. Michael’s cell phone rang and he pulled it out, looking at the smart phone’s screen. Ricky watched as Michael read the caller I.D. Michael connected eyes with Ricky and held up an index finger.

“Sorry, I gotta take this, Ricky,” he said as Ricky nodded. Michael turned and walked back down the hallway and stepped into his bedroom and shut the door. A wave of distress washed over Ricky. Well, that was just great. Now Michael was taking secret phone calls Ricky couldn’t listen in on. That sucked hairy balls! Ricky crossed his arms and flopped down on the sofa, checking his watch. He’d rented the limo by the hour. Fuck! Almost thirty minutes later, the bedroom door opened and Michael emerged. He acted as if absolutely nothing was wrong and didn’t even go so far as to apologize to Ricky for being late.

“Well, are we going or what?” Michael said, sounding almost annoyed. Ricky’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t even believe the selfish nerve of the man before him.

“I’ve been waiting nearly forty minutes on you, Michael. I’ve been ready.” The look on Michael’s face seemed a little guilty and it soothed a bit of the storm raging in Ricky.

“I’m sorry hon. That was Arnold calling about a new gig for the cover of G.Q.” Arnold Newhouse was Michael’s agent with Artist and Models for Hire, one of the top agencies in L.A. Arnold also represented the famous British model who does all the cologne ads. Surely you’ve seen the billboard on Sunset.. Ricky felt kind of chagrined. He knew he couldn’t possibly compete with the opportunity of a cover with G.Q. His big, exciting surprise couldn’t possibly top Michael’s news.

“Oh,” Ricky said. “I see. G.Q. Wow, that’s really something. When will you find out if you’ve got it?” He asked as they stepped into the night air and Michael turned from locking the front door. Ricky’s boyfriend had the strangest expression on his face.

“I’ve already got it, Ricky. That’s why the call took so long. Arnold was giving me the details of when and where the shoot will be.” He rolled his eyes and Ricky suddenly felt really stupid.

“Oh, of course you got it,” he said quietly as they walked in silence to the parking lot. When Michael saw the limo, he grinned and Ricky was just about knocked out by how beautiful his lover was. Perfect straight teeth, gorgeous shoulder-length black hair, stunning bright blue eyes and dimples in each cheek. Michael was the man of all gay male fantasies and he was all Ricky’s tonight. Ricky almost wanted to jump for joy.

“You like, babe?” He asked hopefully. He knew Michael had a lot of opportunity to ride around in limos in his line of work, something Ricky rarely did.

“I like. Thank you, Ricky.” Ricky noticed that when Michael said “I like,” he was looking directly at the limo driver who stood tall and beautiful in his uniform, waiting for the couple with his hand on an open door. Ricky swallowed hard, glanced at the grinning driver and followed Michael into the limo, determined to make something of the night.

When Michael proceeded to carry on a conversation with the handsome limo driver while on the way to “La Bonne Vie,” Ricky began to get really annoyed. He realized he had to change up his game or he was going to lose the upper hand.

“Can you excuse us?” He asked the driver. “Please put up the privacy screen. I want to talk to my boyfriend.” He was surprised it came out sounding petulant and he wanted to kick himself. The guy just smiled and turned as the screen began to roll up.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Michael pouted. “He’s a struggling actor. I just thought I might be able to help him with his career. I do have connections you know, Rick.” Ricky hated being called Rick and Michael knew it. His father called him Rick and his father hated him.

“I know that, but you were acting like I was invisible the whole time.” Michael began to laugh and Ricky seethed.

“You’re jealous! I told you that doesn’t work with me. Everyone wants to fuck me. It’s just the way things are, Ricky. You’d better get used to it.” Ricky wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He’d had this beautiful special evening all planned and it was rapidly deteriorating to dust. All he wanted to do was show his boyfriend just how special he was to him and instead, he was ruining Michael’s whole night. He reached over and took Michael’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Michael. This evening couldn’t have started off much worse.” He smiled guiltily, although something told him he had nothing to feel guilty about. He crushed the thought and pushed forward as Michael looked at him haughtily. He needed to stop this or the whole evening would be ruined. “I have a present for you,” he said excitedly, hurrying to change the mood in the car and was relieved when Michael seemed to brighten.

“Okay.” He squeezed Ricky’s fingers encouragingly. “Let’s have it.”

Ricky reached inside his fuchsia suit coat and pulled out an envelope. It was decorated with hand drawn hearts and lips and simply said “To my Love, Michael.” He knew it was sappy but that’s the kind of guy Ricky was. Michael didn’t stop to read the little love note or comment on the pretty hearts and kisses but instead ripped right through them, tearing into the envelope. Two plane tickets and a brochure dropped out into Michael’s hand. Ricky bounced on the seat, having to slide his hands under his legs to keep from yanking Michael into a hug, while Michael read the contents. Michael looked up at Ricky with surprise.

“You’re taking me to a dude ranch? With real cowboys? In the Texas wine country?” Ricky wasn’t sure if Michael was happy or annoyed. He couldn’t tell from his tone. He leaned forward and pointed to the date of departure on the tickets.

“I picked a date cause I wanted to surprise you with the tickets but it’s flexible around your schedule. I mean you did tell me that cowboys have always been your fantasy, didn’t you? And I know you love a good bottle of wine. They say Texas wine country is the next best wine country in the whole U.S. after Napa. And you know they don’t have cowboys in Napa so I picked Texas because I wanted to be authentic. And…” Michael’s lips stopped Ricky’s endless tirade. Ricky immediately heated up as his boyfriend’s kisses turned incendiary. Before long, they were horizontal on the bench seat and Michael was lowering the zipper on Ricky’s pants as he kissed him wildly. Within seconds, Ricky’s cock was in Michael’s hot mouth and Ricky’s hands were buried in the gorgeous super model’s hair as his head bobbed up and down.

Ricky screamed out as his climax erupted from his cock, pumping his load into Michael’s sucking mouth. The second he finished, Michael whipped out his hard cock and sat back in anticipation of payback. Ricky was only happy to reciprocate. After Michael came in his mouth, Ricky sat up and adjusted his clothes. It was only then he realized that the limo had stopped. He wondered how long they’d been parked and if the driver had heard the goings on in the back seat. Neither he nor Michael were exactly quiet lovers. When they were adjusted, he rapped on the privacy screen and it lowered.

“We’re ready to get out,” Ricky murmured, a little embarrassed. The guy smirked at him in the rearview mirror.

“Of course, Sir,” he said mockingly. He got out and opened the side door for the two men. A blushing Ricky got out and glanced the driver’s way. It seemed to him that the driver was finding it hard to keep a straight face. Michael followed him out and Ricky turned in time to see him handing the driver his card. He put his hand up to his ear and made the “call me” gesture and Ricky’s anger returned.

They were ushered into “La Bonne Vie” by the Maître d, Pierre. He’d known Michael for a long time and they conversed easily in perfect French as he led them to a special table. Pierre pointedly ignored the flamboyantly dressed Ricky and Ricky realized all too clearly how out of his comfort zone he really was. All through dinner, Ricky noticed the pointed stares at him and his boyfriend. Normally they didn’t bother him but tonight was special for Michael and he didn’t like the idea of being on display for a group of strangers. When a fan of Michael’s approached them between dinner and dessert, Ricky had had enough. If it hadn’t been for the broad smile on Michael’s face as he signed an autograph, Ricky probably would have decked the flamboyant gay man fawning all over Michael.

The large tab was delivered to the table and Ricky took out hundreds to pay the exorbitant prices. Michael looked sated and happy and that was enough. When Michael fell asleep in the limo on the way back to his condo, Ricky knew he wasn’t getting any more sex tonight. He helped the weary man into his condo, helped him brush his teeth, undress and climb into silk

pajama bottoms. As Ricky undressed and snuggled up to Michael in the bed, he threw his arm over the sleeping man’s eight pack and wondered just where the fuck this relationship was going. It wasn’t long before he was sound asleep.