Well, last night was fun. In fact, I'm still reeling from all the debauchery.
My good friend from high school, Luke, was visiting from Cebu for the weekend so I decided to bring along my fairy-weather friend Erin because I thought they would get along well. Luke, having been an openly gay guy since back in the day, has been quite active and there's no one else I know who would do a better job at showing him, or us, around than Erin, a card-carrying Manila gay scene extraordinaire.
I thought it would only be the three of us. I thought we'd only have dinner then perhaps dessert and call it a night. Little did I know that Alfie, also a good straight guy friend from high school who's now based here in Manila, would also be there. He actually picked up Luke from the airport. Later on, his ex, who's now, apparently, a pussy-loving lesbian, followed.
Everyone seemed to be in the mood to go out last night. It was payday Friday after all. Another set of good friends from grad school were also in Greenbelt and were cool enough to drop by to say hi.
Moments later, Luke, who was turning 27 at midnight, said he wanted to go to a gay club to celebrate. I was not surprised at all but I naturally tried to counter the idea. I lost so off we went to Bed in Malate. Yes, including Alfie.
First of all, I can't say that I was completely against the idea. I pretty much knew it was bound to happen so I've had some time to think about it. It's probably not a big deal but for me who's a Bed virgin, it's quite significant. Good thing Alfie and his ex were there. I realized I wouldn't be the only one alienated in case things get too crazy. Yes, I was being paranoid.
We arrived a few minutes before one o'clock so the club wasn't packed yet. What convinced me to go was Erin's testimony of the club's strict non-smoking regulation. True enough, it didn't reek of cigarette smoke so I liked that. There were three go-go boys entertaining the crowd for most of the night. It was nice--they all had rip bodies-- but it got old after a while.
The club is pretty simple. I like that it's quite dark so it's more conducive to dancing in that sense. The biggest let-down for me though was the music. Ugh. I don't get it. Maybe the crowd that frequents the place just prefers remixed pop songs? It's not like I could do anything about it so I tried to have a good time just the same.
Now, for the juicy stuff; I spotted a few eye-candies but given the limited lighting, I couldn't be 100% accurate. There were definitely some head-turners in that crowd, though, especially when it got more packed at 2am. Some were looking at some of us, I could sense, while each of us were looking at someone who was looking at someone else. You know that cycle. There were some guys of course were brazen enough to actually come up to strangers and express interest verbally. One of them was Bryan who hit on me at the bar. After claiming his drink, he turned to face me and held out his left hand like I was supposed to clasp it with mine. It reminded of those awkward hand gestures that straight guys are so notorious for.
"Hi, I'm Bryan. What's your name?" he said while standing close to me with a polite smile.
He was okay-looking I guess although Luke and Erin said he was actually cute. It was dark and all that fog made it difficult to make out his face. I do remember being slightly taller than him and I think he was wearing a plaid shirt layered over a dark-colored tee.
"James," I said nicely trying desperately to suppress any nervousness. His hand was waiting for mine so I obliged. It was barely a shake-hand as it was more of a gentle squeeze from his part.
"I think you're cute," he said.
"Thanks!" I responded with a curt smile.
Probably sensing that I wasn't interested, he left and proceeded to hit on other guys I think. Erin said he saw the guy vomiting in the restroom moments later. Poor guy. Bad Luck Bryan much?
Another highlight of the night was this drag performance which recreated that legendary 'Like A Virgin' number from the VMAs starring Britney, Cristina and Madonna That was entertaining and come to think of it, that was such an appropriate song for me.
A few minutes after that, we decided to leave. It was almost 3:30 when the go-go boys were at it again and the club was still very much alive. It's interesting how everyone was observing everyone; some were discreet while others took no shame in making it apparent that they're on the prowl. It's exciting if not a little unnerving.
We capped off the night by walking a few blocks for a bite. I had a good time. I think we all did. Will I be back? I don't know. I'm still a little paranoid I think. I'm just glad I finally got to experience it. And hello, Bryan gave me enough validation to last me for about two and a half days!
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