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Last night was Naked Night at the club Shobhit and I like to go to on Capitol Hill just for that event—this usually happens monthly on the second Monday, but we just went to one recently, because of the twice-annual bonus one they do on the fourth Saturday every time there is a fourth Saturday in a given month.
We had thought we might go on the second Monday in August (August 11), but we didn't feel like it that day. We figured we were good with skipping it since we were definitely going to go on Saturday, August 30.
We had previously gone on Monday, July 14. But then we didn't go again for a month and a half, the next one being August 30. But after that, we went again only nine days later—because the second Monday in September was September 8. Presumably this is what happens a lot with Fourth Saturday events, as the Fourth Saturday would typically be right at the end of the month, with the first Monday being only two or three days later—and the Second Monday being one week after that.
I have to say, the vibe was decidedly different between the August 30 event and the September 8 event last night. There was a little while there last night where Shobhit had wandered off on his own for a bit, and I just found an empty table to sit at by myself, in a small area miraculously not packed like sardines with naked men. I just nursed my rum and Coke there for a while, taking in the scenery. Then Shobhit came back and sat with me at that table, and Shobhit is much more inclined than I am to strike up conversations with people. This couple of young guys in pup gear, but with their pup hoods pulled off, came near us, and Shobhit struck up a conversation with them. After some discussion about how even younger Americans are less frequently circumcized anymore, the different vibe of the crowd last night was brought up as well. That was when the one named Sparky (presumably a "pup" nickname) said: "It's much more social, and less porny."
That was kind of an odd take, in my opinion, all things considered. The room was packed with naked gay men, after all, some of them making out, in varying states of arousal—pretty typical, I have learned, of this event. The key difference, I suppose, is the small room off the hallway in the back, where there are now signs posted that say "This is not a sex club, please do not treat it like one," and "No Loitering," among a few other things. It was printed on regular 8.5 x 11 paper, in a font only barely big enough—I had to lean in pretty close to be able to read it. I do wonder if it was a response to the August 30 event, when things did get a little wild back there. I also wonder if those signs will stay up long, and whether they will still be there the second Monday of October. I guess we'll see!
They have a clothing check just like a coat check, and they provide paper sacks for you to put your clothes in. They also provide pens for you to write your name on yourself; I wrote Shobhit's name on his chest and he wrote my name on mine. Between these two "pup" guys, one had "Sparky" written on his chest and the other's name was "North." I really wondered if that was his real name. It might have been. Anyway, after they chatted with us for several minutes, they both put their pup hoods back on before entering the crowd to mingle some more.
There was one other guy I nearly forgot to tell you about, an older guy sitting at the bar, fully clothed, right next to where Shobhit and I, and several other naked men, were standing in line to order drinks. I was wearing my
Washington State earrings yesterday, and this guy leaned over, put his arm around my shoulder, and kind of shouted over the din, "You give me the confidence to get some earrings of my own!" I just kind of smiled at him. After a minute or two, he shouted again, gesturing to his ears, "I'll get two pansies!"
He was clearly trying to flirt with me. I really wasn't into him, though. Odd how even as I age myself, I manage still to get hit on by guys who feel way too old for me. Ironic for me to say that when I'm pushing 50. This guy actually smelled a little bit. Not oppressively so, but—well, noticeably so. And it was a peculiar body-odor-type smell. I spent much of the rest of our several minutes in that line right next to him trying to avoid any eye contact.
A bit later, when Shobhit was in another area with some other guy, I was standing with my drink next to the bar counter, about four bar seats down from that guy. I thought I was far enough away from him but he still managed to holler in my direction, "My god you're beautiful!" That's nice to hear, of course. It would be nice to get it from a svelte man ten or more years younger rather than older, but whatever. I just smiled and said thank you.
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It got to the low sixties last night, and I was a bit chilly walking there—ironically, I wasn't cold at all walking home. We weren't there very long, maybe an hour or so. I did comment on the way there that this will likely be the last time we go when I would not be bringing a jacket. Event though these days October often remains surprisingly warm in Seattle, by October 13 I think it will have noticeably cooled down in the evenings.
By then, perhaps Shobhit will bring his backpack again. He's just checked our clothes in one of the provided paper sacks the last couple of times we've gone. But in the colder months we'll be arriving in more layers to be stripped off.
On our walk back, Shobhit suggested we stop at Carmelo's Tacos, on Broadway and Denny. Even though we already had dinner earlier in the evening—I made myself another veggie ham & cheese sandwich—we bought a mushroom quesadilla. We took it to go and ate it at home, and it was delicious, but also rich, of course. My weight was up a tiny bit this morning and it almost certainly would have down if not for just that quesadilla. Oh well. It was worth it!
Naked Night is scheduled from 7 to midnight. Shobhit had a Zoom audition at 7:00, and I think we were headed out there shortly after 8:00—the bar is a 0.7-mile walk from home. We were back home again by 9:30. Tonight Shobhit has a social event with TPS that I am not invited to; maybe I'll find a movie to watch or something. I'd go to a movie, but all the options among movies I haven't seen either suck or have terrible showtimes. The next movie I'll be going to see will be
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale on Thursday, which will be with both Laney and Shobhit. No plans tomorrow either.
This is all very riveting to you I'm sure. Well, I did reveal more about Naked Night than I usually do. This is kind of a new adventurous thing Shobhit and I have been doing together, and it's fairly effectively been making things a bit more interesting in our relationship.
We did have a therapy appointment yesterday, and this was alluded to, but only vaguely. We hadn't seen Amy in about six weeks, and nothing major has happened since then. She suggested we come back in a month. She pretty clearly suggested that insurance won't like continuing to cover our couples therapy unless there is a specific problem we're working to solve, and as things are basically going fine, that's not happening. I'm good with this, really. I think therapy is always helpful, and I do think it has made a difference. I think a couple of people in my life would think we're pulling back prematurely, but that's also not for them to decide. As Amy said, we can always come in earlier if we feel a need to.
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[posted 12:44pm]
