The first time I started hooking I was surprised to find that I wasn’t having all that much sex. My initial thoughts were, “What is this bullshit? Am I not fuckable, or something?!” It wasn’t until I started to get to know these wonderful people with whom I came into contact that I realized, contrary to popular belief, there was more to it than immediate self-gratification. Sure, there certainly is and can be the aspect of being a Rentboy where you develop a strictly sexual relationship with someone. But sometimes you encounter a person who simply wants to connect with others.
One person I met was a recently divorced man in his late thirties who was just coming into his identity after having been wrapped up in what he described as, “a lie I’ve been trying to convince myself was true for the past fifteen years.” We meet a few times a month for drinks and conversation, usually involving me and my life outside of being a Rentboy, what I’d been doing since our last date, and when he grew more comfortable with me, would open up about his life. His career kept him busy traveling and without much time for himself, let a lone pursue a romantic relationship, and his recent divorce only further complicated things.
For our first date we met for drinks where he sheepishly complimented my looks, and after learning more about each other over the course of several weeks, he grew to know me as a friend and confidant . While we haven’t been physically intimate, our relationship is symbiotic. I was surprised to find that those regular meetings fostered true feelings of friendship and mutual respect. While there have been instances when this is the kind of relationship that develops after multiple dates with guys, others have certainly been more transactional. I must admit that I have the privilege of deciding to be a Rentboy as a means to explore my sexuality while getting paid for it. But seeing this side of the industry made me appreciate the universal desire to connect.