One evening last week, I'm cuddling up on the sofa with boyfriend T watching some TV, when suddenly he asks me a question.
"My shoulders have been quite stiff recently," he says, "do you think a massage would help?"
"Yes probably," I reply. "Do you want to come with me to visit
my masseur friends B and N sometime?"
"Yes please. Or do you think they might be able to fit us in now? It would be great if they could :-)."
"OK, let me call them and find out."
As luck would have it they're both available, so soon we're making our way round to see them. Since I'm a regular client of B's I take a massage from him, while N looks after boyfriend T. A couple of hours later, as we're walking back home together, we compare notes.
"So was N's massage any good?" I ask boyfriend T.
"Actually YES," he replies enthusiastically, "one of the best massages that I've ever had :-)."
"Wow, you sound keen! I've never actually had a massage from N, because I've always been B's client, but I'm glad you had a good experience with him. What did you wear?"
"Initially I had my
undershorts on," answers boyfriend T, "but after a bit, just before he started using the oil, he asked me to take them off. I was a bit shy at first but it was fine actually, once I got used to it! After all, he's just doing his job :-)."
"Did B give you an oil massage too?" asks boyfriend T after a short pause.
"He used to, but these days I normally get him to give me a traditional massage without oil."
"So you don't have to go naked, right?"
"I suppose, although I always do go naked :-)."
"Really?" replies boyfriend T, mildly surprised, "And what does B wear?"
"Shorts, just like you saw him wearing this evening, why?"
"Oh, just wondered ..."
I think I can guess where this conversation is going.
"GB ..." says boyfriend T after a pause.
"Uh huh :-)."
"Have you ever had sex with B?"
"
Yes!" I reply laughing slightly, feeling pleased with myself that I'd spotted this question coming, "Although in fact we haven't done anything together for about a year now."
"Why not?"
"I don't know really. Actually B started out as a
friend from
gaydar, but after I'd seen him a few times I decided to try letting him massage me. He doesn't like to mix sex with massage, otherwise he feels like a rent boy!"
"You've had sex with all your gay friends, haven't you!" asserts boyfriend T, with a playful tone in his voice.
"No of course not," I giggle.
I can't help feeling that boyfriend T is sometimes a bit jealous of my happy-go-lucky approach to gay life.
"Well, you slept with
that friend of yours that you were seeing earlier this year, around the time that we also started sleeping together, didn't you?"
"Yes, true," I reply. Ever since we started being boyfriends, I've been careful to be scrupulously honest with him about everything, especially if he asks me a direct question.
"And I bet that at some point you slept with
that friend who split up from his boyfriend recently?"
"Errr yes, true, but before he started that relationship."
"See," replies boyfriend T with a grin on his face, "you've slept with all your friends!"
"But I haven't slept with either
my friend P or
my colleague P," I protest.
"OK, but you've slept with
your colleague M haven't you!"
"Errr, well we didn't actually *sleep* with each other, we just ..."
"I don't need to know all the sordid details," he laughs, interrupting me.
We carry on joking with each other all the way back home, and soon we're cuddling up on the sofa again to watch a bit of TV before bedtime. I'm glad that I can talk freely with boyfriend T about
activities with other guys, because I think it makes for a much healthier relationship :-).