Before he can open the application, his “You’re gonna be late” alarm beeps loudly on his phone.

“Shit,” he curses, hastily closes his email app, and jumps up to finish getting ready for work.

BY THE time his lunch break hits, Rowan is itching to open the application. He pulls it up on his phone, zooming in to read the small text. The top portion is all standard name and contact info type stuff, but the bottom half and the second page are far more detailed, most of the questions having several lines to type in longer answers.

Rowan mentally thinks through his answers to the nearly two-dozen questions as he reads through the rest of the application. It’s… thorough. Intense, even. His application to be an EMT wasn’t this long, and the one to become a paramedic a couple of years later, even shorter.

And it doesn’t say anywhere what they’re looking for in this application. Rowan assumes it’s a way of making sure only those who are into this lifestyle join and that they won’t damage the club’s reputation, but he can’t be sure. He could email Clover and ask, but he figures he’ll just fill it out and send it off. If he’s rejected for whatever reason, he’ll ask then.

He can’t fill out the pdf on his phone, so he plans on doing it first thing when he gets home in a few hours. But he can call his primary care physician’s office—because he has one of those now, no longer needing to rely on the underfunded clinics of the South End—and schedule an STI test.

The call is brief, efficient, and Rowan has an appointment for Thursday—tomorrow—before work. He was clean the last time he got tested a few months ago and has used condoms with the sporadic hookups he’s had since then, but it never hurts to be sure. And besides, the club requires it.

He finishes his lunch quickly, eager to get through the rest of the day.

HAVING ALREADY thought about his answers to the longer questions on the application, he fills it out in record time as soon as he gets home.

Why are you interested in joining The Menagerie?

Because I want a safe place to re-explore my sexual interests.

Do you have any experience with BDSM? If yes, for how long?

Yes, with past partners. About 5 to 6 years.

Would you describe yourself as submissive, dominant, or verse?

Dominant.

What are your interests in BDSM? Check all that apply.

Rope bondage, leather bondage, toys, collaring, edging, flogging/impact play, rough sex, group sex, exhibitionism, voyeurism.

Are there any areas of BDSM that you are interested in trying?

Roleplay, shibari, sensation play, maybe others.

How important are safewords to you?

Extremely.

Do you have any interest in attending special workshops (alone/in a group) to learn new techniques?

Yes, both.