On the road with my sidekick, Raygun, and our first stop is Romantix in Decatur, IL. It was around lunchtime when we pulled up to the no frills building, but the parking lot was nearly empty. We went inside to find a clean, well-organized store stocked with the typical naughty odds and ends. We took a few minutes to look around while I gathered my courage to chat up the store clerk who was busy on the phone.
The clerk finished his call and we asked about the various points of interest in the store. We were told they had private viewing rooms, video booths, and two theaters: one straight and one gay. Actually, he said one was heterosexual and the other homosexual. He explained that the heterosexual theater showed, well, heterosexual movies (yup, got it), while the other showed male, transsexual, and lesbian movies, basically anything not heterosexual. I wanted to comment that typical so-called lesbian porn usually caters to straight men, but kept my thoughts to myself.
I asked the clerk if I could check out the straight theater. He hesitated but then said "sure, go ahead." So I went to have a look, leaving RG behind as collateral.
I tried to get a feel for the layout in the dark. The only light was from the movie showing on the screen. The room was divided into several smaller areas by a couple of low walls and furnished with several "leather" armchairs and sofas. To the right of the entry was a dark hallway which led to a bathroom. I didn't think there was anyone in there with me, the clerk hadn't mentioned anyone being in the theater, but it was so dark I was actually a little nervous and decided not to investigate any further.
I considered checking out the gay theater, but decided to move on to the booths instead. I left RG behind again (sorry, baby) and went through the curtain leading to the arcade. I was startled by someone standing just inside the door; tall, bearded, and arms crossed over his chest. I hadn't expected to see an attendant. I apologized for jumping, and explained I was just there to check it out. He asked what I wanted to see and started to show me around.
There were a lot of booths, maybe 14 or 16. And nice sized, too. Two people could fit easily, though the seating looked uncomfortable. Taking me into a booth, he showed me how selecting movies worked. I didn't have the heart to tell him I was already familiar with arcade movies. ;)
Exiting the booth, I commented that I hadn't seen a glory hole and asked if there were any in the other booths. He said no and seemed surprised that I had asked. Knowing that my innocent façade was slipping away, I thanked him for the tour and left to rejoin my sidekick.
Happy to find him still waiting patiently, I returned to his side. The store clerk asked if I had any other questions. No, I said, the doorman in the arcade had been very helpful and shown me around. He looked confused and glanced at RG and then looked back at me. "Doorman? We don't have a doorman." read more