Rad,
I think the narrator was an "Alex" in his young days. I picture him to be in his late twenties, single and very much alone. So much alone that he hooks up with a twenty-one year old in a straight bar. He's had ten years of one night stands, internet hook-ups, and endless nights inside of bath houses. A man that has grown up with the idea that being a gay man is about sex, bars, and orgies. The idea of having and maintaining a lasting relationship is something he wants but really doesn't have the proper tools to achieve this happiness. A man who has been taught that gay men aren't equipped to remain with a single partner forever.
This is an observation I've made of the gay lifestyle here in San Francisco. Have you ever wondered why you rarely see older gay couples hanging out at the clubs? I think they know that that lifestyle is detrimental to staying together.
Over the years, I've seen so many "Alex's" in the clubs. Little lost twinks that believe being gay consists of behaving like Brian Kenny from Queer As Folk. They lose the best part of themselves doing drugs, sleeping with a different boy/man every night. I think for some of them, they are merely mimicking what they see on TV and from what they see other gay men doing. It's really a sad sight, to see these young boys get lost in this world of mirrors and lies. Because I think most of them really want to find someone special and live out their lives in blissful love. But rarely can you find true happiness that lasts sitting on a bar stool.
If you notice, at the beginning of the story, the narrator blocks out the real reason he feels dirty. He spends his time cleaning the shower, the sheets, the carpets, and even himself. And when this fails to eradicate his feelings, he begins putting the blame on Alex. He describes Alex as having bad breath, too much body hair, and only going through the motions. He tries to convince himself that having sex with Alex was never about pleasing the boy.
But when he saw the look in Alex's eyes, realization hit him of the night's true consequences. The emptiness that consumes him, maybe for the first time, when he sees how his behavior affected the boy. When he sees how much damage he did to Alex, he saw the innocence leave as the boy fought back the tears, he feels dirty. Because not only does he know that he will never achieve happiness in one night stands, but he might have just set the boy on the path to becoming another jaded man, to walk the same empty path the narrator walks.
In that moment, he admits that Alex didn't have bad breath, or too much body hair. And that Alex wasn't lifeless in bed, but passionate and filled with vigor and life. He admits that he might never feel clean again, the consequences of his actions consume him.
Jason R.
PS: I have to thank DesDownUnder for giving me the title, Poetic Justice of a One Night Stand. Without him, it would still be named something very stupid.