"You're putting on quite a show." (NYC Black Pride: Friday Night, Thirst @ Roam)

Black Pride in NYC has been floundering since the dissolution of POCC in '08. But this year, they did have a number of events in Manhattan. At the last minute, I decided to go to the Friday night party, Thirst at Roam.

Roam (19th just east of 5th) is a cute venue: on the smaller side, but it has two floors. For the Thirst party, I arrived right before midnight and paid a $5 cover. It's open bar 10-11 and 2-4-1 11-midnight. Well drinks are $10. Security is everywhere, but I found the bar staff to be friendly. Nathan Williams, the promoter, greeted me as soon as I entered (then again, my "Beauty Is a Talent" shirt is always a conversation-starter). As with any black club in NYC, it's a late crowd. It was pretty packed by 1:30, but I'm not sure if that was because of Blake Pride or not. DJ MK plays a great mix of hip-hop, R&B, with a bit of pop thrown in. It was actually nice to hear Lil' Kim and Amerie instead of Lady Gaga (just for once night). And the go-goes: easily among the hottest I've ever seen.

My night started out innocently enough: dancing by myself and trying not to look awkward in my painted-on lilac skinny jeans and cowboy boots. The go-go was on a narrow stage attached to the back of the booths that lined the wall. A girl (RG) was sitting on top of one of the booths' backs, more or less at the feet of the go-go with her back to him. At one point, the go-go walked over to the RG and stepped over her so that his crotch was in her face, grabbing the back of her head. She started screaming and waving her arms, and after about 5 seconds, she made her whole body go rigid, slid though the go-go's legs and landed on the seat of the booth with a hard bounce. Her friend and I were literally on the floor laughing.

I bent over the side of the booth and said to them: "One of y’all owes the other some money, but I'm not sure which one!"

As I finished my quip, I felt a smack on my ass. I turned around wondering whom the hell I knew that would have showed up at a black-targeted event unprompted. When I turned around, this sloppily drunk Asian guy was grinning at me. I gave the being-polite-but-annoyed smile as I let him pass. Then he used his reading of my quite tight shirt as an excuse to feel me up. After I brushed his hand away (still wearing the annoyed smile), he slinked off to go harass the go-go.

Drunk Asian went to the same booth as the earlier RG incident, and the friend of the assaulted RG wasn't having it. He tried to get the go-go to get the Asian guy to go somewhere else, but the go-go just smiled, shrugged, and turned his attention towards Drunk Asian’s fluttering dollar bill. Drunk Asian refused to give the go-go the dollar, beckoning the go-go to come down lower than he was. The go-go made a face and gave a fuck-that gesture, strutting to the other side of the narrow stage.

After wondering whether I recognized a hot Latin daddy from the Scene or from online . o O (does he think I'm acting stank because I'm not saying hi?), I went downstairs to check out the scene. It reminded me of a lower-key version of Greenhouse with music I actually recognized. After about a half hour, I went back upstairs. Drunk Asian was still there trying to keep up on the back of a 3-way grind with 2 black guys who must have been trying to either ignore him or make him look as ridiculous as possible (they succeeded in the latter).

I turned around almost literally ran into my hook-up from Mardi Gras '08 in NoLa. Okay, one of my hook-ups. He looked so great, it almost made me forget how he handed me a bottle of water-based lube and took about an inch of my dick before cumming. Twice. We made small talk and danced with each other until he declared that he was going downstairs. I left about 2 minutes after.

I walked west on 23rd street in a shirt that barely covered my waist and pants that left little to the imagination. I turned on my iPod (only one of my headphones worked) and sang my way to 8th ave.

Just as I was getting to the train station, I heard: "You're putting on quite a show."

I turned around to find a slim but nicely-built light-skinned black guy behind me. Cute, too.

Me (taking out my headphones): "What'd you say?"

Him (grinning): "Nevermind.

I thought he was giving up on his icebreaker, so I smiled and walked towards the subway entrance.

Him: "Hey, what's your name?"

Did I mention I gave my number to a guy who picked me up on the street at 3am while I was dressed like a hustler from Phoenix, AZ? Yeah.

Click here to check out an embarrassing story from last summer.