Wonderland by Rob Browatzke

that he needs to stop watching such bad TV and get some better ideas.”
    â€œSo you think Steven is in on it?”
    â€œIt just seems too ludicrous to take seriously. Are you legitimately worried?”
    â€œWell I was, but actually saying it all out loud, it does seem pretty preposterous, doesn’t it? Maybe I shouldn’t even go, stop playing along. Steven and whoever will get bored, and then the joke’s on them.”
    â€œOh no, don’t do that, you have to go.”
    â€œYou just want to know what a bathhouse is all about.”
    â€œWell yeah, it’s not fair you gays get a place all set up for casual sex like that.”
    â€œBored with Twitten?”
    â€œHis name is Christopher, and no, he’s amazing in bed.” She stole some more fries. “But I wouldn’t say no to a threeway. Why should you get to have all the fun?”
    â€œSorry honey,” I laughed, “but I don’t think your dick is big enough for Jesse.”
    I felt a lot better after that, and managed to actually make some headway into the pile of loan applications, et cetera, piling up on my desk at the bank. That had to be it. It was some joke or test or something, maybe even Steven’s twisted way of punishing me for my drug fuckup the week before. I finished work, hit the gym for an hour to work off the bloating, disgustingly delicious lunch I’d inhaled, hit the tanning bed, then went home to feed Griffin and wait for ten.
    Jesse called around seven. “So are you going tonight?”
    â€œI told you I’m not.”
    â€œWho mentioned it?”
    â€œI don’t remember. It’s really not important.”
    â€œWe won’t judge you, Alex. I mean, we’re the last people to judge anyone else’s relationship. Open is the new married. The couple that plays together, stays together. Just be safe, okay?”
    â€œI’m not going to the bathhouse, Jesse!”
    He laughed. “Have you heard from Steven?”
    â€œNo, but I’m not worried. The more I think about it, the more I’m sure he is just taking some time to cool off.”
    â€œIf you say so. I gotta go, Colton just got home, and I’m horny.”
    â€œThanks for sharing.”
    â€œHave fun at White Night.” He hung up, laughing, and I started to get ready to have fun at White Night.

Chapter 14
    T here was an alley behind Wonderland. On a weekend night, you’d normally find people smoking joints and sucking dick in the shadows. On a Tuesday, it was pretty empty. Wonderland itself had been quiet as I walked by, and too bad. I could’ve used a stiff drink.
    At least it was about to be over.
    Like I said, I’d never been to a bathhouse but did have some idea how they worked and what to expect. When I got to the check-in window, I bought myself a room, and the guy behind the counter handed me a towel, a condom, and little packet of lube. I wouldn’t be needing any of them. I was just here to figure out what was going on. I got buzzed into the dark halls, and was immediately hit by the humidity.
    I assumed he would call me again, so I kept my phone on me. There were people of all ages and shapes wandering the halls in their towels. They gave me appraising looks, but did any of them look at me unusually long? Was one of these guys the reason I was here?
    I found my room and sat down on the bed, making sure the door was locked behind me. It was only nine-thirty, I had some time to kill. According to their website, the Hatter started spinning at ten. Right now, the music was canned satellite house, generic, flat, barely loud enough to conceal the grunts that floated from other rooms.
    I couldn’t help being a bit turned on. Even if none of the guys I’d seen so far had been hot, moans from the darkness could be made by anyone.
    Eventually, curiosity got the best of me, and I changed into my towel so I could wander the halls. I didn’t want to be