When DOWN THE BASEMENT was originally published, it was in a collection of short stories edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Then it went on to be part of BEST GAY EROTICA 2009, a book that won a Lambda Award this year. And now it’s been published by Loveyoudivine.com as a stand alone e-book.
Here’s an older review, from http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/2154.html , when the story was in the first collection:
In “Down the Basement” by Ryan Field, the narrator explains:
“One Halloween night during my senior year in college, I went to a costume party in a broken-down frat house, dressed as a character I’d been inventing for months–years, if you really want to get technical. I looked like any normal guy in college by then: short, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, white polo shirts, and khaki slacks . . Most people would never have guessed that I was gay or that I had a secret passion for lipstick, earrings and very high heels.”
“One Halloween night during my senior year in college, I went to a costume party in a broken-down frat house, dressed as a character I’d been inventing for months–years, if you really want to get technical. I looked like any normal guy in college by then: short, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, white polo shirts, and khaki slacks . . Most people would never have guessed that I was gay or that I had a secret passion for lipstick, earrings and very high heels.”
The narrator is invited to descend literally into an underworld of drunken frat boys who all seem to think he is a sexually-available girl. He worries about what they will do if and when they discover the truth, but one of them already knows.
