DrownedBoy

If you're only measuring by escort donations, I guess Chicago is a "second-tier" city. Which is fine because we're always been the "Second City"....

All I can say is: I was young in the days before social media or cell phones, but all the (gay) guys I hung out with always knew which guys were selling it, or had a sugar daddy, or who had a sugar boy. So it won't stay unspoken long.

I have to add - if you're in a decent market, you shouldn't even have to think about negotiating. According to RM, there are 210 guys within a 50 mile radius who kiss, 63 of whom are currently available. It's not worth the time in that case.

I wouldn't have enjoyed Ravelstein as much if I hadn't both read Bloom's COTAM (reread it right before Ravelstein) and known his history and reputation at U of C.

I've read quite a few books on Alexander too, as well as other documentaries, and he was either gay or on the gay end of bi. He definitely had a romantic relationship with his best friend Hephaestion - he went apeship when Hephaestion died (the funeral mentioned above was so big even some modern historians were confused on why he did it), and drank himself to death shortly afterwards. And yes, Richard the Lionhearted was probably gay, and Frederick the Great wrote himself that he was. Then again, these conquerors weren't always shining examples of humanity.

Thanks for the heads up. Last time he was in Chicago, I considered hiring him. My busy schedule was a blessing in disguise.

Like others said, I try to arrange my sessions so there's wiggle room. I tried hiring a guy right before an appointment, and told him that, and he still showed up 20 minutes late. I'm also a looooot more tolerant if my regulars are running late. My regulars are all very punctual, so I know it's beyond their control, and they do text me. Radio silence for 20 minutes or so, after the appointment time, will result in me texting them and cancelling the session. One time a guy went radio silent, then claimed it was because he couldn't find my place, and left 30 minutes early since he considered that "part of the session." I rubbed in the review I gave him on RM.

Yeah, I unfortunately encountered a straight, meth-addict con artist who did this. I was the first guy who hired him, and the session consisted of him coming in, taking my money, not doing anything, then leaving on some pretext while insulting me for being gay, among other things. Later, according to this forum, he was going on social media bragging about how he rips off gay people. Hopefully one of these days, he'll accidentally take too much meth. This "boasting" mentioned above is real....and holds about the same maturity as middle school locker room talk. Some people never grow up, and not just providers.

I and my regulars use that technique too in my condo building, passing them off as Grindr hookups. Gay or straight, they just nod and leave me alone. Some of them actually are Grindr hookups; luckily, nobody has grilled me on the differences in appearance and age between the hookups and the hires.

You're supposed to mention Rentmen (or Friendboy, etc.) when you initially text them. I'm very careful when using the number given online, but luckily, I was never given a wrong number. I just say "saw your ad on RM," so that if the guy's 80-year-old grandmother sees it, I can make something up.

I go for gay, all the way. Or a bi person who leans more towards gay. It's true that straight guys are less likely to kiss or be able to pretend they're enjoying themselves. But attitude is an issue too - I've met enough cocky, "straight acting" guys who acted waaaaay too defensive about their sexuality, insisting they had girlfriends and avoided men. That's either borderline homophobia or closet case babble. I have a "gay activist" background as well, and always felt that looking for straight and "straight acting" men was a sign of internalized homophobia. I'm afraid I still.do - it shows a lack of self respect.

In my area, overnights can range from 1000 to 1500, although I've been quoted higher by visitors. I don't think it's worth it. Many escorts tell me an overnight is less than 8 hours, or that they wake up at 3 am. I've tried overnights before, but I wouldn't do it again. Personally, I need to be very close to someone before I can fall asleep in their arms. And I won't even mention conversation.

If I contact a regular, I usually ask, "as usual?" If a regular raises their price and waits until after the session to tell.you, you need to drop him. EDIT In my experience, good regulars lock you in at the original price. I only had one regular who (twice) raised his price, and it eventually ended badly. When it's a new guy, I always repeat the amount of time and amount when asking for the final agreement. The oral contract is made if he agrees.

This isn't a court of law. You should get information any way you can.