"Is it worth waiting around for?"

"If you have any interest at all in anthropology...It's a trip."

"Oh," he said, and we fell back into silence.

My thoughts went something like: "Hmmmm...three for three." There isn't much conversation at the baths and, limited though it was, I'd managed at least part of one three times so far.

I also thought of propositioning this guy.

He was good looking, pleasant and seemed decent. I've certainly done tackier things. But I was thinking, and that's always the opposite of deciding. I probably would have more fun at the baths if I thought less and decided more. Because in the instant of initial eye contact, if you find willingness and something to spark your interest, you must follow up quickly; say something that will convey your humanity and lust (probably "Your room or mine?"); or else lose your chance. So while I was mulling this over, the dancer decided he had sweated enough. He got up, muttered some noncommittal pleasantry in my direction, and left.

At this point we have to make a fundamental decision about the rest of this letter... I guess I will not make it pornographic. The rest of the evening was more devoted to the beauty of men than anything else. There were young men, old men, handsome men, plain men, effeminate men, butch men, cultured men, and untutored men, and I am still a kid in a candy store. Then too, it can be wonderful to be both an exhibitionist and a voyeur, or both at the same time. It is wonderful to be in a place where you can notice the beauty of men. You can even stare if you can stand the attitude that is sometimes returned.

But the most incredible thing is to set eyes on someone for the first time, and then, an hour later to know, not only where to find his birthmarks, but also whether he is gentle, or impatient, or a son of a bitch, or maybe a nice guy. And you know it with a direct certainty that transcends any other communication I can think of.

I didn't get home until the very wee hours. I lacked the capacity for sex for several hours before that. But though orgasm is fine, hugging and kissing are finer, and I was in love and made love and was loved more than once last night.

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