"Would you like to go into The Darkroom with me?" he asked.
I smiled politely and said to him, "Thanks, Barry, but I've already seen it."
He seemed disappointed, and somewhat surprised. "OH...okay, I'll talk to you later," he said and abruptly walked away in the middle of our conversation.
Why are these guys so interested in showing me The Darkroom? I wondered. Barry had been the third guy I'd met at the party who asked me that question.
Earlier, in search of a bathroom, I had mistakenly opened a door with a small green light near the doorknob and walked inside. In the darkness I fumbled for the light switch and when I flipped it on, the room became aglow in red. I looked around and recognized it to be a photographers darkroom. I turned the light out and continued my quest to find a bathroom.
The whole party had an odd feel to it. When I arrived and began looking for Thomas, I noticed there were probably more than double the number of guys than girls.
Oh great, I thought sarcastically, my chances of getting laid went from slim to none!
I say that not because I'm some hideous creature who repels women, no, in fact I have been told by many girls that I'm very cute... the problem seems to be my size, I'm only 5' 6" and 130 pounds, and almost every time I engage a pretty girl in conversation, and I'm making her laugh and we're having a good time, she always ends up leaving with some 6' 2" hunk...it's like I'm the warm-up act and when the star of the show arrives---she goes home with him!
"Johnny," I heard Thomas call out behind me. "I'm so glad you could make it---I wasn't sure if you'd come or not!"
I've told him many times at work that I preferred to be called 'John' not 'Johnny' but it seems to fall on deaf ears...well, he is my boss, and well, what difference does it make anyway?
When I turned to speak to him I was taken aback by his attire. He was dressed in a tight, white tee shirt and faded blue jeans. At the office, he always wore dress shirts, nice slacks and a suit coat with no tie...he is a good five-inches taller than me so when he came closer I couldn't help but stare at his chest...I knew he worked-out, but at the office, the suit coat hid his body, but now, his finely chiseled and sculpted chest seemed to threaten to burst his tee shirt.
He smiled and asked, "Like what you see?"
I blushed and stammered, "Uh, you're in great shape!" I didn't know what else to say.
"Well, you look nice too---I love your shorts...and your legs!" he said.
I was wearing Bermuda shorts and a golf polo shirt. For some reason I said, "I, uh, don't own any blue jeans."
He smiled and said, "Doesn't surprise me a bit" then quickly added "Have you been here long?"
"No, uh, I'm only on my second drink," I lied, I was finishing my third drink.
"How about showing me where the bar is?" he said. "You need a refill and I could use something myself."
All the rooms in the big house were dimly lit, but at parties, I always made sure I knew how to find the bar.
"I'll have a glass of chardonnay!" he said pointing to the bottle chilling in the wine bucket.
"Oh, okay," I said. I found a wine glass and filled it three-quarters full. I then put a couple ice cubes in my glass and filled it with Jack Daniels.
"Oh, you're a serious drinker, aren't you!" he said.
I blushed and momentarily wondered if it was such a good idea to look like a lush in front of the boss, but he smiled at me, raised his glass and said, "I'm glad you could come tonight."
We clinked glasses and took healthy swallows.
From beside me I heard a female voice say, "As long as you're pouring, cutie-pie, I'll have a glass of wine, too!"
I instantly recognized the voice of our Office Manager, Linda. "Certainly!" I said.
I didn't look at her until I gave her the glass of wine. OH MY GOODNESS, I thought when I saw her towering over me. She was a tall woman to begin with, but in spiked high-heels she looked like a giant...and then came the second shock...she was holding a leash and it was attached to a dog collar fastened around the neck of a young, pretty girl.
OH MY GOODNESS---that's Tracey, our receptionist!
I tried my best to stay calm and nonchalant. I asked Tracey, "Can I get you anything to drink?"
Linda spoke for her. "No, she's been a naughty girl---I'll give her something to drink in The Darkroom!"
Thomas and Linda both laughed. I didn't know what she meant, but said to myself, Boy, what's so special about The Darkroom?
I looked at their slutty 'costumes' when they walked away from us and asked Thomas, "I know this is the middle of April, but is this supposed to be some sort of costume party?"
Before he could answer, an older man passed by us escorting a boy about my age...the boy was naked except for a white jockstrap---the boy's plump buttocks jiggled as they went by...then I saw the boy's wrists were handcuffed behind his back.
Thomas laughed. I guessed he was amused by the stunned expression on my face.
He placed his hand on the back of my neck and gently massaged it. A chill ran up-and-down my spine.
"I thought you knew this was a gay party?" he calmly said.
And then---OH MY GOODNESS---the sudden reality shook my brain.
"I, uh...well, it never occurred to me that you could be gay," I answered softly.
"Really?" he said sounding surprised. "It never occurred to me that you could be straight!"
My face burned red. Two guys got up from lounge chairs at a small table nearby, and Thomas said, "C'mon, let's sit and talk!"
He guided me to the table by the nape of my neck. His gentle caress caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand straight.
He leaned in and I stared into his beautiful blue eyes waiting for him to speak. "Be honest with me, Johnny---you're really NOT gay?"
Another fierce blush covered my face as I vigorously shook my head back-and-forth.
Thomas sat back then took a sip of wine. I took two large gulps of whiskey to try and calm my now-frazzled nerves.
"So tell me, how long have you been telling people you're not gay?" he asked with a smile.
Huh? WHAT?
"I-I...uh, well, I---"
He laughed out loud. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me!"
"No-no, really...I don't have anything against gay people at all...I even knew some back home!"
"Well, it does take one to know one, don't you think?" he said.
He keeps twisting my words---why is he talking to me like this?
"You moved here what? Three-months ago? (I nodded) You've gone to bars with some of my warehouse guys and they say you're more interested in drinking than meeting women...in fact, I've heard that whenever they try to set you up with a girl, you make excuses not to meet her, isn't that right?"
"No, uh, I'm shy...I really don't know what to say to girls...I get all flustered and say stupid things...I like girls---I want to meet them---I'm just not very good at it!"
"Have you met ANY girls since you moved here?" he asked.
"Well no, it's like I said---I'm not good at it!"
"Have you EVER had a steady girlfriend?"
"Well yeah---of course!"