On Suburban Knees
My adventure, if you can call it that, began at a Starbucks on an early May Saturday morning. I sat on a tall stool with my black coffee--nothing elaborate--at the counter that overlooked the front of the store after finishing an hour run along a nearby path. It was not far from my apartment and in the middle of the main street in an affluent New York City suburb.
I was
between relationships
as they say and was content with my one bedroom a five minute walk from the station and thanks to my running and use of my building's gym, I was in pretty good shape for a guy in his late twenties.
It was a fine spring morning, and I had a slight coating of sweat and relished the thought of getting home and taking a nice long shower before figuring out what I was going to do for the day.
As I say, it was into my weekend routine. As I scrolled my phone, a woman asked if the stool to my right was taken, and when I said it wasn't, she sat down with a muffin and whatever coffee concoction she'd gotten for herself. I didn't get much of a look at her and figured I should be off in a minute or two so I wouldn't gross her out with my odor.
Before I could leave, though, she surprised me by asking if she could have a brief word.
"I have a proposition for you," she said, and I turned to study her wondering, frankly, whether she was some sort of escort working the suburbs and, I must say, she could have pulled it off. She was pretty but not too pretty. Probably early thirties, brown hair, which was in a ponytail, and leggings below a loose t-shirt. She looked to have come straight from the yoga studio across the street.
She smiled. "Not
that
sort of proposition."
"The furthest thing from my mind," I said, and she told me I was an awful liar.
"No, I'm curious about whether you're, well, curious."
"About what?"
"I've seen you come in here the last few weeks and I looked at you and thought"--she lowered her voice--"that you might be worth talking to about a little project I have going in town."
"Project?"
She glanced out front. "Look. It's a little personal. Can we take this outside?"
As we left the café, a couple left a small table in the corner of its patio, and we moved to it. I was beginning to get chilled as my sweat was drying, but she said it wouldn't take long.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a card.
"I'll cut to the chase. Would you be interested in earning a hundred dollars for an hour's work, work of the sort you might like?"
"You've completely lost me."
She leaned in closer as I tightened my grip on my cup. "Have you ever sucked a cock?"
I pulled back more in confusion than revulsion.
"What kind of question is that?"
"I mean no disrespect. It's a simple question and I assure you it's relevant to my little proposition. Pardon the expression."
I leaned back in. "I mean, it's been a while, but I did have a phase when I lived in the City after I graduated."
"Did you...like it?"
"Sometimes I did. Sometimes I didn't. It's only been women for the past few years."
"Are you straight or are you bi?"
I hadn't thought of that in a while but my memories of being with guys and the quick hook-ups I, yes, enjoyed when I would venture down to the West Village came back to me. Frankly, I fantasized about some of them when I was alone and lonely before going to bed. So for honesty's sake, I told this complete stranger that I was bi.
"Okay. And feel free to cut me off at any time. I have an intimate party once a month in my house. It's not entirely mine, but my schmuck of a husband left me about a year ago and we haven't worked out the details. But for all practical purposes it's mine. And I have a select group of people over each month to basically do whatever they want to do."
"Wait. Are you inviting me to one of your parties?"
"Not exactly. I mean. I am, but not in how you probably think."
We were now leaning close to one another, and we each looked around now and then to confirm that no one was listening. She told me that a glory hole was something she set up and she wondered if I'd service anonymous cocks for an hour or so the next Saturday.
"It won't be just you. I've installed a wall with four holes. The
servants
are next to one another. Two men. Two women. There's a sign on the other side saying which so the men know if they have a preference, although they don't always do."
She explained that we'd each be on duty for twenty-five minutes and then would have a break and then finish with another twenty-five.
"It's a nice enough room with a shower and all you'd need to be as comfortable as you want. Mouthwash and towels and such and a nice, padded runner along the base of the wall. You can wear whatever you want. They can't see you from the other side. You go in through the backdoor so no one knows who's behind the wall."
I was quite stunned.
"Look. I've seen you for a couple of weeks. I like what I see and thought I'd approach you. Just say no and I'm gone."
She reached into her bag and took out a card. It had an email address on it and nothing more.
"If you're interested, create an email account. Include Bill in the address--"