After Marilyn's
Thursday night explosion at the Jet Set, I decided our Friday
night date with her was a very bad idea. I chose not to
call her because I knew Marilyn was bound to try to persuade me
to change my mind. She did not return on Monday and
neither did her two girlfriends. Although I never saw
Marilyn again, I will never forget her. I would love to
meet Marilyn again to see if she indeed turned into the
spectacular woman I expected her to become.
My second date with
Karen took
place on Saturday, August 12th. As we drove
to the Pistachio Club, I decided to make conversation.
"So, Karen, what took you so
long to decide to go out with me a second time?"
"You mean why
did I sit there in your car and hesitate?"
Wow. Karen had actually
responded. Wonders never cease.
"Yes."
"Kirk and I have
a firm rule to hit it once and break away clean. I
have never broken that rule before, but I was dying to see
you again. I did not know whether to ask for Kirk's
permission or not, so I decided to follow my heart and do
what I wanted."
Good grief.
Karen had just mimicked something Jenny had told me about Randy
almost word for word. To be honest, I still had not gotten
Jenny out of my system. Same for Marilyn. My
emotions were pretty raw.
"I am very glad you
did."
Karen smiled.
"Okay, now it's my
turn. Who was that young girl at the Pistachio Club
two nights ago? She has quite a crush on you."
"Oh, her?
I'm surprised you noticed." Then I laughed in spite of myself.
"What's so funny?"
Karen asked with a hint of irritation.
"Don't be angry. Here I was hoping to get you to talk to me a
little, but I forgot about the saying be careful what you
ask for."
"Ha ha. Very clever.
For your information, I can talk just fine when I feel like
it."
I paused for a
moment to wonder how much trouble I was in. "So you
saw what happened?"
"Why, yes,
I did. Kirk and I
arrived late. I could not help but notice that girl
fawn over you like you were the goddamn Sun God.
Stupid me, I had worn a low-cut dress hoping to fan your
flames only to discover I had a serious rival half my age
with a low-cut dress of her own. However, when I saw those
bar flies stream to the dance floor, I was not about to risk letting those creeps touch me,
so I remained in the shadows. I was amused when your little
girlfriend lost her temper and stomped out."
I laughed
whole-heartedly. "Aren't you the smart girl! Chalk one
up for age and cunning."
Karen turned to look directly at
me. Uh oh, here comes the truth test. "So what's the story, Rick?"
Hearing the sharp
tone in her voice, I swallowed hard. Beware the wrath of a
woman scorned. The only way to rescue this was to tell the
truth. The whole truth.
"Her name is
Marilyn. She's starting college at the end of the month.
Marilyn has got it in her head that she does not want to be a
virgin anymore. She treats it like a stigma. So she made it her summer project to
persuade me to handle the problem."
Karen rolled her
eyes.
"My, my, aren't you the lucky one? All these women chasing
you, first Marilyn, then me, God knows who else."
"Don't give me
a
hard time, Karen. I have kissed Marilyn one time. That's where it
stopped and that's where it will stay."
Karen looked
surprised. "Interesting. I did not have
you pegged for the noble type. Most men would rob the
cradle. What stopped you, a guilty conscience?"
"Yes and no.
To be honest, I don't even know what stopped me. Do you
mind if I talk about it? Maybe you will have some insight
on the problem."
"No,
please, go right
ahead. Most men talk about the weather, so this is a
definite improvement."
"To begin with, I
have
never met anyone like this girl. Marilyn is only 18, but she
acts like she's your age and mine. Marilyn exudes
confidence. She is fearless. She is convinced this is the
perfect time to receive her sexual initiation.
The way Marilyn explains it, I have no reason to feel any guilt
whatsoever. She makes it sound like I would be doing her
a favor, sort of like getting her ears pierced."
"She's old
enough. So why deny her
the pleasure?"
"Because I am
superstitious. Marilyn has done everything but roll out
the satin sheets for me. But I can't do it and I don't
know why not. My inner voice tells me not to pursue her."
"I beg your
pardon, but what do you mean by inner voice?"
"Now you're
embarrassing me. This isn't something I talk about very
often."
"I have a
superstitious streak of my own, so go right ahead."
"I believe in Fate.
I believe things happen for a reason. Before you came and
sat next me on Thursday a week ago, I
had already made up mind to grant Marilyn's wish. But just when I had made up my mind, you sat down next to me
and asked me to take you dancing.
That is when the weirdest feeling came over
me. Please don't get mad, but when you asked me out, I felt like someone had sent you
to distract me from Marilyn. I mean, the timing was so
weird."
With a wry
smile, Karen retorted, "Have I just been insulted?
You make me sound like a consolation prize to an 18 year old.
I usually rank higher than that. Do I only get half a
notch on your bed?"
"No! Please
don't take it like that. I am thrilled to be with you!
My God, Karen, you're the best looking woman I've ever made love
to. When you sat next to me, I could not believe my dream
girl had just shown interest in me. If you
only knew how often I have thought about you in the past few
months, you would understand. All I mean is you are the
only woman I know who could make me forget about Marilyn."
"Nice.
Very slick. You
got out of that one. I see you have a way with words."
"Don't give me
a hard time. I mean it, Karen,
you blow me away. You are the only woman I know who could
make me forget a girl like Marilyn. That's my point."
"Why not have us
both? That is what most men would do. The guys I know
wouldn't think twice. A babe like Marilyn has all
night long written all over her."
"I thought about it.
But our time together last Saturday was so spectacular, Marilyn
drifted to the back of my mind. All I could think about
was seeing you again."
Karen looked at me
skeptically.
"Are you
serious?"
"Yes. [a
fib perhaps, but only a little one]"
Karen smiled.
"That's sweet. But you have not explained what you are
superstitious about."
"I was on the fence
about Marilyn. She may act like she is 30 years old, but
Marilyn has no idea how powerful it is to make love. You
are right, she has a crush on me. My main fear is
that once she goes all the way, she just might fall in love with
me. Or I might fall in love with her. Then what am I supposed to do? She thinks people
can just have sex and walk away, but I know better. Her
problem is that she cares about me. Things could get very
messy if her heart gets any further involved. That said,
until you came along, I was going to take that chance."
"How did I
change your mind?"
"It is tough to explain.
I was not seeing anyone when Marilyn began making her pitch.
I was wrestling with my conscience, but I was willing to have a
sit-down talk with her before deciding. When you asked me
out, I was very flattered. What I did not expect is how
powerful my feelings were towards you after our night together.
You reminded me of how risky things are when the sex is very
good."
Karen furrowed her
brow. "I am not quite
sure I catch your drift."
"That is
probably because I am talking about three different things.
First and foremost, I could believe the intensity of our
passion. Second, I worried that if Marilyn had similar
feelings, she was in for a world of hurt. Third, I thought
it was very strange that you came along at the perfect time to
make me hesitate about making Marilyn's wish come true.
The timing of your arrival was the only thing that could have
derailed my promise to Marilyn. It made me that Fate did
not want Marilyn and me to connect."
"Do you feel like I was placed in
your life so that Marilyn would spared from doing something
foolish?"
"Yes, you hit the
nail on the head."
"That is a very
strange thought, Rick. Do you talk like this to all
your girlfriends?"
"Heavens no, I worry
they will think I'm strange."
Karen laughed out
loud. "Add me to the list."
"Thanks a lot.
Ordinarily I have
a rule to keep my weird thoughts to myself."
"That's
interesting. I do the same thing. So why did you
break your rule for me?"
"I don't know,
Karen. We both seem to be breaking rules for each other.
What does that tell you? To answer your question, there
are times when I do things without really knowing why I do them.
I just follow my gut. Besides, you said you were
interested. Since you already witnessed Marilyn's temper
tantrum, I thought you
might want to know the rest of the story."
"Weren't you
afraid I would laugh with scorn and tell you how crazy you
are?"
"No. You
strike me as different from the rest, you know, a kindred
spirit. You were drawn to me, I was drawn to you, but
neither of us realized what the other person was thinking.
I did everything I could to keep my cards to myself and I think
you did too. Then
suddenly at the exact time when your presence would make a huge
difference in Marilyn's life, you popped up out of nowhere.
It all adds up, the timing, the context, the major impact.
How do we know why two people connect when they do? Or why
they fail to connect."
Karen had a bemused
look. "I will give you credit for one thing. Most men shy away from discussing the Outer Limits."
"So what made you
approach me when you did?"
Karen did not reply.
Instead she turned her head to look out the window. Karen
obviously had something on her mind, so the conversation ended there.
Worried that she thought I was weird, I left her alone.
Our evening was an instant
replay of the previous week. Again we went dancing at the Pistachio,
again we dominated the floor, again we went back to my house.
Karen was insatiable. Once, twice, three times. Her
appetite for sex was matched by only one woman I had ever been
with before. Vanessa. If I didn't know better, Karen
liked being chosen over Marilyn. Jenny had said how
competitive women are. The more attractive the rival, the
more valuable the man.
However, in the morning, Karen paid
the price for our excess. She woke up with a massive headache.
Karen went and took a shower hoping to shake the pain.
Afterwards she came wrapped in a towel as she joined me at the
kitchen table.
She immediately
grabbed her head with both hands. "Jesus, my head is
absolutely killing me."
"Would you like me
to rub where it hurts?"
"Do you think it
will help?"
"I don't know, let's
find out."
I rubbed her shoulders, neck and temples for ten minutes in complete silence.
Then Karen spoke up.
"You can stop
now if
you wish."
"Did I hurt you or
something?"
"No, not at all.
In fact, the pain is gone. That's amazing."
Karen took a long,
hard
look at me. Without another
word, Karen stood up and deliberately let her towel fall to the
floor. Seeing me transfixed, Karen was content to let me
stare.
Karen was not at all modest. And why should she be?
When a woman looks like Venus de Milo, she had right to be proud of her body.
After granting me an appreciative look, Karen
took my hand and led me back to bed.
I drove
Karen home that afternoon. This time Kirk was not there.
"I don't
see his car. I have no idea
where Kirk is. He's probably with another woman.
Kirk enjoys his variety. Would you like to come in?"
To be honest, the
answer was no, I did
not want to enter. Fearing the wrath of her husband when
he returned, I was quite reluctant to follow
Karen in. However, just when I was about to
disengage, Karen kissed me right there on
the doorstep. Karen was impossible to resist,
so, yes, here we go again. We made
love in her bed... Kirk's bed. I was very tense.
Just as I feared, Kirk came home. We had just finished, so
I had barely enough warning to get
my clothes on. Knowing my scent was upon her, Karen
disappeared to the shower. We were not caught in the act,
but there could not have been much doubt
in Kirk's mind. One look at sheets strewn everywhere
said it all. If there was any remaining doubt, it was
gone when Karen came out of the shower wrapped in a skimpy towel
that barely covered her ample breasts. Without the
slightest hint of apology, Karen went over and gave Kirk a
polite kiss.
My
eyes bulged. Is this really happening? Two words
crossed my mind. 'Oh shit!' How much trouble was I in?
Fortunately Kirk never batted an
eyelash. I was absolutely blown away by his reaction. I could not believe
how cool and accepting Kirk was about the situation. I had
just made love to his voluptuous wife in his own bed. This
was the kind of woman most men would lock in a dungeon before
sharing. Kirk's wife
was soaking wet with nothing but a towel on and here he was shaking my hand
like we were best friends. How did Kirk do
this? I studied his face for any hint of jealousy or
anger. Kirk acted
as if nothing had happened.
Unbelievable. If
the situation been reversed, I would not have been able to
handle this. I was very fearful of what might happen next
if I stuck around. Would Kirk suggest a three-way?
Would he offer to watch and take video? I could think of
several very awkward scenarios and I did not wish to participate
in any of them. I made a quick excuse followed by a rapid
departure.
