Have you ever been cruised by a stranger in public? How did you feel about it and how did you handle it? I was cruised in Kohl's in January near the underwear section. He walked right by me in the aisle and then turned around from the way he came. I froze, but I realize how cool it was to be actually considered good looking enough to be cruised.
I was cruised, once on the bus on my way to work. The guy was really sweet about it, though a bit older than me. But at the same time I was really uncomfortable with the idea of it, probably because I was contending with gender issues at the time. Politely declined, he was quite understanding. Sometimes it's really nice to not be rudely propositioned, which is the standard in the area I live. Maybe if I was in a better emotional place, I would have agreed? Mixed feelings.
People will look at me, but it's hard to tell if it's these amazingly sexy good looks of mine, or if it's just my attitude pulling them towards me. 'Tis a mystery.
Yup. Mixed experiences and feelings. In college, I was in the Student Union having breakfast one weekend morning when this guy sat down near me wearing nylon running shorts. I became aware that he was sporting a large erection through them and was aware that I was aware of him. After some period of time of kinda/sorta making eye contact he left and I left behind him and ended up following him to a restroom. Where I basically backed off, explained that I had felt sorry for him having an unwanted erection and went on my way. Heh. I'd forgotten this one until just now I can't say I had any feelings about it one way or the other. Some time later, I had my first time with a guy, when he hit on me in the middle of a locker room after martial arts practice. I would shower with the instructor and some of the other students and this guy was there at the same time. He started out just showering next to me and over the course of weeks became more and more blatant about wanting to do something, ranging from throwing looks at me, to fondling himself, to virtually masturbating in the shower next to me. And I was oblivious to it all. Eventually, he talked to me about meeting me outside (wearing only shorts and shoes) and the lightbulb finally went off that he was hitting on me (Why no, I'm not really good as subtlety, why do you ask?). The following week, after class and showering, I followed him into the bathroom stalls next to the locker room - and the rest is history. Since I took him up on the cruise, I guess I could say I enjoyed this one. I certainly enjoyed what came after. :icon_bigg Skipping over some years of going to gay bars where I was hit on/cruised from time to time since, while public, these are places where that sort of thing is just expected and part of the range of normal activity. Was mildly flattered by these, but also wasn't looking so didn't feel much more than that. Many years ago, after moving here to Virginia, I was in a Waldenbooks at the mall and this guy came over to the SF section where I was browsing. He squatted down, like you do to read the titles on the books on the bottom shelves, and turned toward me so his legs are open toward me before he started rubbing his crotch. I didn't acknowledge it but did move to another part of the store. He followed. I still didn't acknowledge him and after a couple more efforts at getting my attention, he went on his way. I didn't really feel much one way or the other on this. I wasn't interested, nor flattered, but neither was I bothered or creeped out. I think that covers it. Todd
Several times. Great, good, neutral, and bad feelings about them. The oddest one was at a smaller urban shopping mall that took up a city block and had one large store. It was in the gayborhood, but less of a gayborhood than the ones that usually come to mind. A good friend, now married for the second time, was in from out of town. We were on the lower floor in the atrium and my friend said he needed to go into the store to buy something, so I waited outside. On the level above, this guy was standing by the railing, looking down, making eye contact, and all that. The freaky thing is that he looked a lot like me in age, coloring, build, and even his style of clothing. If alone, I would have gone for it. This guy was making it real easy for me. However, my friend came back from having gone inside the store and the guy disappeared. Another time I was in Sausalito with a friend who identifies as bisexual visiting me from out of town. We had walked up the main road, after eating and going into shops, and sat down in an area with some benches. Out of nowhere, this guy, younger than either of us (my friend was 8 years older than me), starts chatting us up to no end. He said he was a waiter and lived aboard a boat. My friend and I were periodically looking at each other like "Is this for real?" We excused ourselves and later laughed about the situation, but I got the feeling both of us had a part of us that wanted to take him up on any offer. Waiters are an interesting breed and there are a lot of stories about when they're up to no good! One time I was at the gym. I worked out, showered, chilled in the sauna, and then was going to get dressed. This man, easily 10 to 15 years older, walked in and gave me a big friendly "hi." This was in sort of a snobbish area, so I found this interesting. He then went on to talk to me more. He had a gold band, said he also belonged to the most prestigious athletic club in the city (which I believe because he looked like an exec). He was balding, had a body better than most 25 year olds with the strategically placed body hair, and had a tan line - in the dead of winter. I told the friend I come up with a lot of jokes with (GMASS, "protect me baby," etc.) and we always laugh about people with memberships at more than ONE gym. I was working at a fair in the beverage booth. I went to take a break. You lose track of how many people you'd sold beverages to. I went into one of the buildings in this complex and a guy I had sold a drink to was also in there. I was just sitting on a folding chair, sipping on a drink, and he came up and started talking to me. He was sort of nervous and I wasn't interested, so I didn't want this to go anywhere. I was polite, made the small talk, and then excused myself to go back to work at the booth. When my shift was over, I made sure I left quickly after saying goodbye to the others working with me. There have been some others, but those are more representative of the interesting or clumsy ones.
