Steve and I had worked together for several years. We were always friendly to each other and enjoyed spending time in hotel bars together on business travel. I always assumed Steve to be gay. His mannerisms and lifestyle seemed pretty typical for that. I know that sounds prejudicial but in some respects, I guess that's why I enjoyed spending time with him. It was a covert way of me experiencing my curiosities.
My curiosities? Yes, for many years now I have recognized a leaning towards homosexuality, or at least not 100% straight. My wife knows this. We've talked, role played, explored this facet of my sexuality. She has always been accepting and supportive, even to the extent of giving me a hall pass for homosexual play dates. No heterosexual play dates, however. Even being out to her made a big difference in how I felt about my interest in sex with men.
My first, and only until now, experience was not very satisfying. It didn't turn me off to same sex relationships, but did help me identify my mental and emotional blocks to playing with another man. The concern over STDs and hookups with random strangers prevented me from exploring and even being in the moment.
Back to hotel bars with Steve. The first time I got a hint that Steve may be interested in me was after several drinks together. During the conversation, he showed a lot of interest in my personal side. I reciprocated with conversation about his interests and aspirations. Through the evening, our body language became more open towards each other. I liked that and tried to show interest in the way things were going. Steve ordered the last round of drinks and said he was taking his to his room. I agreed that I was headed up as well. When we reached our floor, we chatted briefly before going in opposite directions. But the intriguing thing I remember is his reference to being given an extra big suite this stay. I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake, but as I look back, that may have been a disguised invitation to 'see' his hotel room. But, it did make me think there was some shared sexual interest between us.
We returned to the office and over the next several weeks there was just normal interaction. I try hard to not mix personal and work. We attended a few of the same meetings, exchanged a few work emails. Very normal.
I had a need to talk with him about a work issue one day so I sent him an instant message asking if he had time to chat. He suggested we meet in a n area where the office has some sofas and casual chairs. He got there first and sent me an IM telling me where he was sitting. We chatted. I was conscious of my body language, trying to be open. We chatted about the recent holidays and concluded our business. When I got back to my desk, I noticed he had sent me an IM from our meeting location prior to me getting there. I didn't know you could do that.
I used this as an opportunity to plant a seed covertly sharing my openness to exploring homosexuality. I sent him an IM... 'Question for you...' He responded, 'What do you need?' I sent, 'I'm curious.' Paused. He replied, 'About?' I type, 'How did you send the IM when not at your desk?' My subliminal messaging... 'I'm curious.' Now to wait to see if that seed grows, maybe with a little fertilizer.
It was a couple of months before our work schedules put us in the same city together again. We really hadn't had much contact in the mean time. We were staying in the same hotel and ended up in the bar again. We talked, caught up on work changes before exhausting that topic and moving onto to personal lives.
'So, you're married?' he asked. I replied 'Oh... yes. She's great. Very happy together.' He said, 'I thought so, but you threw me before when you said you 'were curious' before I realized you were asking about how to IM.' 'Ha! Yes, I can see where that might be unclear out of context. But, I would never have such a conversation at work or on any work IM or email system.'
'We aren't at work and we're just talking, so have you ever been, curious that is?' He asked.
'That's an abrupt subject change.' I said with a nervous laugh. He said nothing and left the question hanging. 'I suppose, yes.' I said.
'Does she know?'
'She does'
'And how does she feel about that?'
'She's ok with it. We've been pretty adventuresome at times.'
'Ever experimented?'
'Just once. Wasn't that great for a variety of reasons. Mostly the guy was pushy and I never could relax into it. Too nervous.'
'Too nervous about what?'
'STDs, hooking up with a serial killer, being at the wrong place at the wrong time...'
'So, not about her finding out?'
'No. We kind of have an arrangement. As long as she knows about it and it isn't a woman. I can't believe I'm telling you this!'
'Why are you?'
'I don't know. Just going with the flow, I guess.'
'So would you do it again? If the situation were better?'
'Maybe. Just depends.'
'On...?'
'You're persistent!'
'Just talking is all.'