When I went home that weekend, I felt like my world had turned upside down. I tried to put a good face on things, so I didn't say a word to my parents, or to anyone else for that matter. But the truth was that Chad had totally thrown me for a loop. I'd never felt so strongly about anyoneโ much less a dudeโ and I didn't know what to make of it.
I tried texting Chad, and I messaged him on Facebook, but he never responded. I tried calling him too, but he never picked up, and he never called me back. I ended up having to keep all my thoughts to myself.
The most awkward part was that all my friends and family wanted to know how I'd been. It was my first time back from college, so everybody wanted to see me, and of course they all had a million questions. I didn't want to deal with that right then, but there was no way around it. I didn't want them to think I didn't have my shit together, and I definitely didn't want to tell them I was gay or bi or whatever I was. So I just went through the motions: I smiled and nodded and acted like everything was fine.
I did my best to distract myself with work. I had an internship with my dad's firm, so I basically spent my days answering phones, scheduling meetings, and all the other crap you do in an office. But it was a nine-to-five job, so I still had evenings and weekends to myself. No matter what I did, my urges wouldn't go away; I kept having more and more sex dreams, night after night.
Eventually I broke down and downloaded Grindr. I didn't actually hook up with anyone, because I still wanted to meet up with Chad. But I did spend a lot of time checking out my neighborhood's man meat. I was amazed at how many gay guys there were. I definitely hadn't known about them in high school, yet here they were, one profile after another.
My own profile was as anonymous as I could make it. I called myself RJ630, which was the vaguest name I could think of, and I used a picture that only showed my chest. I never posted anything that could be traced back to me. I did get responses, and I chatted with a few dudes here and there, but I never had the balls to meet up.
At the same time, I watched an awful lot of YouTube. I found a bunch of guys who'd been vlogging about their experiencesโ some more anonymous than othersโ and the more I got to know them, the more interesting they got to be.
One guy named Ayden chronicled the ups and downs of his life, including the dates, fantasy crushes, and full-on boyfriends he'd gone through. Another guy, who called himself the Hillbilly Homo, talked about growing up gay in the South. Then there was a couple named Nick and Jay, who kept traveling the world; their channel was full of fancy landmarks and exotic locales, with a bunch of shirtless clips thrown in for good measure.
I also started following gay celebrities online. I'd heard of a few of these guys in the news, but this was the first time I'd really checked them out. I'd never realized how hot Ricky Martin was, or Matt Bomer for that matterโ or Lance Bass, Dustin Lance Black, or Jonathan Groff, just to name a few. I found myself starting to fantasize about them: I imagined them with their men, and how they probably had sex. I also started following some not-so-gay guys, like Zac Efron and Channing Tatum, for the sake of the eye candy.
All that stuff fed my jerk-off habits. I had my bedroom to myself, which was way more comfortable than my old dorm room. But it was also less private: I did have a lock on my door, but my mom didn't like me using it, and I didn't want anyone hearing me anyway. So I always made sure to listen for footsteps, and I was always prepared in case someone surprised me.
My sister was the main person I was worried about. Her room was right to mine, and she was a night owl just like me. She was the nosiest person I'd ever met, and worse yet, she was a blabbermouth. I knew I could never give her the slightest inkling of what was going on. If Amy figured me out, then the whole world would know, starting with my parents. I couldn't imagine them all knowing I'd taken a liking to dick.
After three weeks of that shit, I knew I had to get out of there, at least for a while. As soon as I got off work that Friday, I hopped on a train and went all the way to Boystown.
I'd always thought of that place being weird, probably because of how my friends made it sound. But when I got there that day, I felt like I was seeing it through totally new eyes. I didn't know my way around, and I definitely didn't know what I was doing. But it seemed like a place where I could hang out and be myselfโ or at least so I hoped.
There were more gay bars there than I knew what to do with. They all had rainbow flags and shit in the windows, but I could only imagine what was inside.
I walked up and down the street, trying to gather up my nerve. I was afraid of getting carded, since I was still underage, and I couldn't afford a fake ID. Most of all, I dreaded the thought of running into someone I knew. I tried to tell myself everything was cool, but I was still on pins and needles.
I eventually went to a place called the Meatpacking Plant, where they let me in without batting an eye. It took me a second to get my bearings: the space was a lot bigger than it looked from outside, and a lot of it was dark. The dudes inside were in all shapes and sizes. The bartenders were all shirtless, and they were damned good looking. A half-dozen go-go boys were dancing on the stage.
I didn't know what to do next, so I just sat at the bar. The menu was basically shit: the food was just snack stuff, and the drinks were mostly cheap beer and cocktails. Not that I could afford much anyway, and from what I could tell, no one came there for the food or drink to begin with.
"What's good here?" I asked to the guy sitting next to me. But he didn't answer. He was playing with his phone, swiping through profile pictures. He looked up at me, swiped left, and looked away.
What the hell?
I thought to myself. I wasn't sure if that was how it was there, or if that guy was just an asshole.
The bartender walked up to me. "What'll it be?" he asked.
"Uh," I said, "I guess a Sex on the Beach?"
"You got it," the bartender said, and he started making my drink.
I turned around and watched the go-go boys onstage. I was so used to checking out men in secret that I felt weird doing it in plain view. I kept having to tell myself that in a place like this, it was fine.
The dancers were gyrating all over the stage, dressed in nothing but g-strings. They waved their bulges and asses at the crowd, while the people in the front rows stuffed money in their thongs.
I had to wonder if these guys were all gay, because a lot of them didn't look it. I wondered if at least a few might be doing it for the money, like those gay-for-pay people. One way or another, they were putting on a good show: they were basically strippers, and they seemed totally into it. I couldn't take my eyes off them.
The bartender slid me my drink, and I turned to pick it up. As I did, I noticed a dude near the end of the bar. He looked like a total manly man, with a tank top that said in big letters "Sorry girls, I'm gay." I suddenly realized he was checking me out.
I wasn't sure what to do next. I sipped my drink and looked in the other direction. The guy on his phone had finished swiping; I had to wonder if he'd found the hookup he'd been looking for. A few feet away, two guys were busy flirting, and they looked like they were about to make out. Another man was just nursing his drink and staring at the stage, as if he was transfixed by the dancers. A bunch of others were just wandering around.
Finally the dude in the tank top walked over. "So," he said, "what's a cute thing like you doing here by yourself?"
I didn't know how to answer. I was tempted to say I'd just gotten out of a relationship, but I wasn't sure where Chad and I really stood, and I didn't know if we'd had a relationship to begin with. "W-well," I said, "I guess I'm here for the same reason you are."
"Atta boy," he said. He waved to the bartender. "Hey Fitz, put his drink on my tab."
"You don't have to do that," I said.
"I know," he said as he sat down beside me. "I'm Gabe by the way."
I almost gave my real name, but I went with my online alias instead. "R.J.," I said, and I shook his hand.
"Cool," he said. "So what does R.J. stand for?"
I felt a pang of fear. Those initials were totally random, so they didn't stand for anything. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Rick James," I said.
"Rick James? No shit!"
I suddenly felt like an idiot, but I tried to play it off as best I could. "You see why they call me R.J.," I said.
"Yeah, I guess," he said. "But you gotta admit, it's kind of badass. You could totally say 'I'm Rick James, bitch!'"
I didn't want to embarrass myself any more than I already had. I just shrugged and sipped my drink.
"So R.J.," he said, "what do you like to do with a guy?"
I was caught off guard by that. I wasn't used to being open about sex, at least not like that. I was used to girls wanting to beat around the bush. "O-oh I dunno," I finally said.