Back at the Hotel

Back at the hotel
She had me lie down
On the bed

And pull my shirt off over my head
Like they do in the movies

Hands criss cross
At the bottom
Pulling up
So that the shirt goes inside out

No messing around
With removing arms from sleeves
And the plus side?

From the bottom up
Doesn't mess up your hair

If you do it right

It's a good technique

She had me touch my chest
And rub the spot
Where little kids think their hearts are
Not realizing it's farther to the left

She has me keep me my hands at my side
She has me put my hand on my stomach
She has me learn all my lines
She has me lie on the bed

I mentioned that, didn't I?
Lying on the bed?

She has me unbutton my fly
She asked for a button, not a zipper
Because she likes the slow undoing
Of a man's pants

She likes to see a hint of baby blue boxer briefs
She likes to see the elevator go down in inches
First a hint, then a clue, then a crime, then a collision

She likes a lot of thigh
She likes the boxers to ride up
So that they're tucking me in
And raising me up
Like a training bra

She likes that

Snap, snap
She goes

Snap snap
And the camera knows
I'm a little too shy for this
And loving it at the same time

She wants me to slip my hands
Down, down, down

She says 'Yeah'
She says 'Smile'
She says 'Good, good, good'

She wants me to pull down one side
Then the other
Show her my lips
Lick my lips
Tilt my body back
Until I'm an archway
To a place she can't capture on film

This is when I go down
On the bed

I sit back on my elbows
So I'm looking right at her

Snap, snap
She goes 'Yeah'
Snap, snap
She tells me to turn over
To put my face down
Into the pillow
And pretend I'm not being watched

Then she wants me on my side
And she's on the side of the bed
Getting me head on
Betting she can make me laugh
And I'm not ashamed to admit--

She can

Then we come to the grand finale
With her standing up
On the bed
Like she's going to jump up and down
Like a slumber party sleep-over sort of thing

Without the pillow fight

Okay, maybe a pillow fight or two

She tells me to take them off

...And I do

Then she says 'Go'

And I go

Snap, snap

She says 'Show me'
And I show her

Snap, snap

I close my eyes
And let her tell me
Where to put myself

She says I'm floating
She says I'm beyond sex
She says this is art
She says I'm a man

And not in a bullshit
I play football sort of way

But really, a man

I'm a man

And she's getting it all
On film

Snap, snap

And my hands back on my chest
My other hand is doing its best
To give her what she needs
To give her the art
To make her believe I can do this

And I'm biting my lip
And I'm tripping over my insecurity
And I'm slipping further up against the headboard
And I'm going and she's snapping and I imagine an audience
Applauding me

And finally
We get it

She says 'Stop.'

We got the shot

. . . . .

Twenty minutes away
In a lovely little apartment
There live a couple
Who go to bed every night
With a kiss on the cheek
And soft linen sheets

Snap, Snap

The boy is a waiter
The girl is a wannabe photographer
And they're happy
They're happy

Snap, Snap

But back at the hotel
There are no linen sheets
And kisses on the cheek

Snap, Snap

This is where they come
To be who they'd like to be
If they weren't suffocating underneath
Marriage expectations
And Christian beliefs

Snap, Snap

So they come here
And take pictures
Of people they don't know

Snap, snap

Then they go home
And they never say a word
And the baby blue boxer briefs
Get thrown in the trash

The lines are unlearned
And the film is always burned

But at night after they kiss
One quiet peck on the cheek
They lay down to sleep
And they hear the camera

Snap