The invitation for Rent a Gent's "Exclusive Launch Party" (above) shows a buff, shirtless (but not bow tie-less) man propping up a glass surface with his hands and knees. It looks heavy; there are glasses and bottles and plates and candles all over it. Above him, four young women with space hair sit gathered on a couch, cackling. They look delighted and the man-table beneath them looks miserable.

BuzzFeed had a lot of questions about Rent a Gent — a new site that, per the invitation, "boasts a wide ranging, exclusive assortment of sexy, smart, and sophisticated men for rent," for $200 an hour — but none more pressing than "What...is this?"

It seems, at first, confused glance, like an escort service. Sara Shikman, former corporate attorney and Rent a Gent's founder, explains it in terms vague enough to allow a dirtier mind to run free. In an email to BuzzFeed, Shikman wrote, "It's fun. It's a luxury, being able to dispose of a good looking and smart guy, show him off, or be entertained by him."

Welllll... wink... what kind of fun? "Not sexual fun, because other agencies seem to already provide that," Shikman explained in a follow-up. "Usually women don't need to pay for it, but intellectual fun, that, unfortunately is more difficult to find."

Per company policy, the gents cannot have sex with their clients, or go halfway to second base with them, or kiss them. Some of the gents are strippers, and with them it's easier to imagine situations in which their services might be requested: bachelorette parties, predominantly, or various ladies' nights in.

But for non-stripper, non-prostitute gents (and that's most of them), what exactly do they offer? The party invite email says they can "assemble furniture," but surely there are much cheaper ways. They can be your party or wedding date, but is this real life, or that movie with Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney?

We decided to rent one — to come to the BuzzFeed offices for two hours, "to blog," we said — and find out.