This weekend with the soldier…

“Yet another gay boy,” I said, referring to the man in the Mexican restaurant where we got takeout, obviously attracted to the soldier. “It’s uncanny.”

“It is uncanny,” he said. “I don’t understand it.”

“Well you know how you always tell me your brother has women crawling on him, all his life.”

“He does.”

“Well he’s got nothing on you when it comes to gay men. I have never been with a man in my life who attracted so many gay men. My God they adore you. And this guy was as nice as they come. He was trying very hard to be aware I existed. He was polite. He had manners and tried very hard to talk to me equally but his gaze just kept drifting over to you. He literally couldn’t help it. He just liked you.”

“Yeah and he wanted me to come back and get a cd from him,” he said.

“Yeah, but that wasn’t a come on. Not like the kind we’ve seen. He wasn’t trying to get you to sneak back and meet him like some of them do. He wasn’t trying to talk in code I just think he liked being around you. Er… I think he liked us. Us, as in he could see we were in love. You’re both singing love songs in Spanish that are about me, for Godsakes. He knew you were with me all the way, he just still enjoyed you. I think he loved love and we’re standing there obviously in love but when it came to glancing at me, why do that when you’re there?”

“Sorry, P.”

“No reason. Nothing you can do. What about that other gay guy who invited you into his private space for a shower?” I asked.

“He swept the bed of my truck for me.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I forgot. That guy was begging. He was auditioning to be your wife, I think. Wife for the day. Or for the afternoon anyway. Oh my God, the competition.”

“I have never met gay men like this in my life. I swear it, P.”

“I believe you. I don’t remember this when we were kids and I would have.”

“Maybe I am putting out some kind of signal I don’t know about.”

“I don’t think so. I just think you have a lot of sexual energy and it leaks out wherever you go. So they pick up on that, plus it’s your body and your tattoos… you’re a stereotype, a prototype rather plus you are just plain in town. You are where gay people are you really haven’t been most your life. And there were gay men around you when we were kids. That roommate you had, the piano player turned to be gay and your first Sargent was gay. You were friends with him and you still are so I would just say gay men like you and leave it at that. They like you because they like men and you’re a man. Plus you’re nice to them. Well you’re not nice - nice but you’re not out there beating them up. You treat them normally. You have no affect when they interact with you and they don’t get that very often. Treated regularly, I mean. They can just talk to you and be around you and not have problems.”

“Yeah, well I wish it were women,” he said. “I wish I were like my brother. He’s had a million women chase him in his life.”

“Well I’m glad that’s not the case. This is bad enough. As it is, everywhere we go I have to stand down and let some gay guy interact with you. You think I’d put up with that from a woman?”

“No, hell no.”

“Right. There would be like a pool of blood where she used to be standing,” I said with a chortle. “Or where you used to be standing. You know. Someone would die and then I would be carted off the jail for my crime of passion and since I don’t want that, I’m very grateful the women leave you alone… for the most part. I don’t worry about the ones who don’t leave you alone because they’re always so stupid. Any woman is throws herself at a man who is already in love is a fool, even if they happen to be a judge. So anyway, I don’t mind these boys who like you so much but I have to say there sure is a damn lot of them. You say you’ve never met so many gay men in your life and guess what? Either have I. All we have to do is walk in anywhere… anywhere we go, give us 2 minutes in the place and if there a gay man on the premises he is going to be right there, meeting, greeting and grinning at you.”

Do you exude sex or know someone who does? How does it show up in the chart?