helping out a stranger
21 years old, Circa 2013, in a hotel room, months before Marine Corps Boot Camp. Retelling a true story about my first time being of service.
I wrote some of this to Frank Ocean’s Pink Matter. This song always feels soft and reflective. Feel free to hit play while you read.
In the early 2010s, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. I trained for months before I took my oath and started boot camp as a recruit. Before I got to Parris Island, South Carolina, I worked on a charter boat, helping out a middle-aged couple who owned it.
Before the charter boat gig, I spent two years as an editor for an educational institution's online newsletter. I was split between college and job hunting, unsuccessfully.
Sometime in 2013, my friend Minnie asked me if I’d be down helping out one of her friends. She said he’d be in town visiting his family, and he needed a release. He asked her to find someone cool and discreet. To keep his identity a mystery, his name in this story will be Andre.
Andre said he was straight.
On his visit, he wanted to try something with a guy for the first time. I was around 21 years old at the time, and he was a year younger than me.
Minnie planned everything. All I had to do was meet him at the room he booked, a hotel once owned by an infamous pirate…
I’m rolling with it at this point. After all, Andre wanted some ass, and I wanted some dick. My curiosity grew stronger the further I drove away from home. I kept wondering if he was curious, horny, or both.
When I arrived, I sent him a text, “I think I’m lost, can’t find your room.” He responded, “I’ll come get you.”