I didn't set out to do anything that day that would change my life forever. It was just another workday in downtown Chicago and I had just finished another meeting with a client. However, on this fateful day I walked past an adult bookstore and decided to stop in to check out the hot ladies in the magazines.
I walked in and was asked to pay a $1 browsing fee. I handed the clerk a $20 and scanned the store to make sure I didn't see anybody I recognized. As I did I noticed the 15 people in the store, all men, and from all walks of life. There were white, black, and Hispanic men that were a good representation of the cross section of people you see in downtown Chicago every day. A few were in suits, others wore casual clothing, and it looked like others had just finished work at a construction site. I also noticed that most of them were checking me out, but figured they checked out everybody who walked in the store hoping they didn't recognize them. At the time I was 25 years old, considered myself to be pretty good looking, and my 5' 11" frame was very fit and athletic looking. As I turned back to the clerk he handed me my change, all in $1's, which I thought was odd. I left the clerk and walked further into the store with the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. What self respecting attorney would be in a place like this, especially in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.
I walked to the nearest rack and started browsing through the magazines, happy to find the store offered a much wider selection than the standard Playboy and Penthouse I had been looking at since my early teens. I lingered a while in the section that had the BDSM magazines, but soon noticed the video booths at the back of the store and decided to check them out. With my eyes downcast I walked past a few men lingering by the booths and walked through a door that was ajar along the left side of the hallway. I quickly closed and locked the door behind me and was struck by the darkness and the smell that reminded me of a high school locker room after practice. The room was about the size of a small closet with a video screen at the front and a small chair to sit in. It couldn't have been more than three feet wide and five feet long. However cramped, I was relieved to be away from all the other men and in a place where nobody could see me.