Traveling is a lot of fun. Indeed, it is an activity I will highly recommend. Who am I? Thomas Brown, a twenty-something Black man, recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts, and man about town who is doing some traveling in the wonderful cities of America. If you don't travel, you do tend to miss out on some of the most wonderful experiences which can be had. What experiences? If you care to find out, then please read on. Oh, and hold onto something because it's about to get hot in here. Don't say I didn't warn you.
My latest excursion into unknown towns took me to Jersey. I like Jersey. Especially Atlantic City. I like the city, the people, I like everything. I was at this bar, just checking the scene when this couple approached me. The man was tall, lean and muscular. He had dark brown skin and pale gray eyes. A good-looking Black man, just like me. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, so I guessed his height to be around six feet six inches. The woman who accompanied him was equally alluring. Tall and curvy, with dark brown skin, long black hair and pale brown eyes. A very pretty Black woman. They introduced themselves as James Kane and Felicia Brown Kane. A married couple exploring the night life in the big city.
I wasn't often privy to such interesting company, so we began to chat. I learned that James was a police officer in the city and his wife Felicia worked as a fitness trainer and accountant. Well, that explained her good looks. They looked so beautiful. As we spoke, I must say that I was really charmed by them. It's good to see a young Black couple that is so good-looking and also successful. Gives me hope for the Black community, you know. We talked about sports, politics and the state of relationships in Black America. We had a lot in common. I had been chatting with these two for hours before they dropped the ball on me. Hit me with the truth. They were a couple of swingers looking for a good time. I looked at them and smiled. I hadn't met any Black swingers before but I was definitely pleased to make their acquaintance. They smiled at me. I smiled back. We left the bar together.
There was a motel conveniently located nearby. We went into it, and since I was their guest, they paid for the room. I looked at them as we stood in the room together. I definitely wanted to do this but occasions like this often required icebreakers. Thankfully, Felicia proved to be quite congenial and straightforward about the whole thing. She let me have it. Looking me right in the eye, this sexy Black woman told me that she and her hubby had noticed me at the bar long before approaching me. They had noticed me checking out both men and women and that both of them found this appealing. I looked at her, shocked. In my experience with Black women, most of them were not fans of bisexual men. Especially bisexual Black men. Immediately, I felt suspicious. And more than a little worried. This woman knew who and what I was. What did she want from me?
As if reading my mind, James decided to join the conversation. He gently rubbed his wife's shoulder, then smiled at me. He did the most shocking thing I'd ever seen a Black man do. He told me point-blank that he was bisexual. I stared at him, astonished. What in hell was going on here? In my experience with Black men, especially those among them who were bisexual, they'd rather be shot than to admit their bisexuality. Part of the reason was the homophobia in the Black community. Another reason was their own self-loathing and fear of social condemnation. That's what kept a lot of Black men and Black women in the closet. Would the Black church be accepting of Black men and Black women who were openly gay or bisexual? Not now. Not bloody likely. Not any time soon.
Smiling gently, Felicia took her husband's hand and kissed it. Then, she hit me with another ton of bricks. She told me that she had known about her husband's bisexuality long before marrying him and that she was fully accepting and supportive of him. I stared at her like she was a dinosaur springing from the Jurassic Period. If she sprouted wings and flew away like a bird, she wouldn't have shocked me more. Was I really hearing what I was hearing? Damn! I shook my head in disbelief. My mind swirled with questions. How could this happen? Why? I had read about mixed-orientation marriages, but that was an article about white folks. I could imagine white couples where the husband or the wife was bisexual with both spouses trying to make the relationship work but in my experience with Black people, it didn't happen. If one half of the couple was anything other than straight, and it came to light, chaos and violence were sue to ensue. That's just how it is in our community.
