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Rick Archer's Note:
I was facing a
major crisis. Victoria was no longer dropping hints
about an Affair, she was actively pursuing one. I was dead set
against it, but I had badly failed my first major test on
Thursday night.
What would happen the next time she came for me?
It wouldn't take
long to find out. Three days after Moonlight Madness,
I was forced to face my next major test.
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Sunday afternoon, AUGUST 12, 1979
POOLSIDE REVELATION
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The date was
Sunday, August 12. Victoria's girlfriend Darya
had invited Victoria to visit her in the late
afternoon at her ritzy Country Club. Victoria
decided she needed an escort, so she nominated me. The
two women had
met in Victoria's dance class back in May. At
Darya's invitation, one Saturday in June
Victoria and I had given a Disco performance
at the
Sugar Creek Country Club. This
event had set the stage for Patricia's demise at
Spats two
weeks later.
Darya and her husband, a wealthy attorney, had skipped
dance classes in July due to travel commitments. Here in August, they
had returned for a new round of dance classes with
Victoria. Unbeknownst to her husband, Darya
was having an affair with a man she had met in
Victoria's May class. In an act of extreme
chutzpah, Darya's new boyfriend Roberto was
currently enrolled in the same August class as her
husband. Darya was quite the operator.
And how did I know this? Because Victoria
liked to talk about Darya.
Like Victoria, Darya was
quite the beauty.
When Victoria learned Darya was a former Miss Texas contestant,
that opened the door for further conversation.
Victoria had been a beauty contestant as
well. One
day in June they met for lunch. Discovering they
were both locked in unhappy marriages, they took
each other into confidence. Darya revealed she was having a torrid affair with
Robert, a high school football coach she had met in
Victoria's May class. Victoria gasped. She had
no idea. Amused by Victoria's befuddlement,
Darya said she had been attracted to the rugged,
muscle-bound Robert from the moment she met him back in May.
Darya
was proud of herself for picking up the football
coach right under her
husband's unsuspecting nose. Ha ha, what
wicked games we play! Darya thought it was hysterical
that her husband never had a
clue his wife had hooked up with a good-looking guy during dance class.
Perhaps this is
a good time to announce there were a lot of things
about Victoria I did not know. For example, I have no
idea if Victoria had ever been
unfaithful to Michael. If asked, I doubt seriously she
had ever cheated on her husband. I realize I
have painted a picture of Victoria as a racy vixen, but Victoria
had
struck me as virtuous when we met. In truth
Moonlight Madness was the first time Victoria had ever been
sexually aggressive towards me. Victoria's prior style had been flirtatious with hints
and innuendos but never an overt offer or kiss. Make them quiver, but don't deliver.
Or, to be more succinct, all yak and no sack.
So what changed? I think Darya
had something to do with Victoria's increasing boldness. One night during
July Car Talk Victoria
chose to share the details of Darya's
affair with me. When Victoria expressed how
shocked she was at the unusual pleasure Darya took in
deceiving her husband, I could tell she was sincere. Victoria did not say
whether she approved of Darya or not, but I could tell the
woman's aggressive style
had affected her. I think Victoria was surprised to
meet a woman more ruthless than herself. Ever since then,
my guess is Victoria's marital problems had rendered her
susceptible to some dangerous ideas. I would not be
surprised to discover Victoria had gotten her 'European
Romance' ideas from Darya. The close timing of her lunch with Darya and
the European Arrangement at
La Madeleine was hard to overlook.
Victoria
concluded her story about Darya by saying I reminded
her of the football coach. Oh really?
I knew Robert. I had met him once at Camelot.
Robert was an interesting, semi-respectable character
who was dedicated to his job. Sort of
like me.
However, Victoria was overlooking one big difference. I
had morals and Coach R did not. If Roberto Romeo wanted to
commit adultery with the glamorous
wife of the attorney, that was his business. Personally I did not like
Darya. She was too aggressive for my taste. Not only did Darya remind me of
Patricia and her man-hunting ways, I believe Darya's wicked
ways rubbed off on Victoria. I could not help but
wonder if Darya's continued influence is what had provoked
Victoria's Moonlight Madness.
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In order
to arrive at Darya's country club together, Victoria
had specified a midway place to meet. As I drove to the rendezvous point, my mind
focused on my narrow escape from Victoria's car three
nights ago. In this game of
high stakes willpower, I was determined to avoid
crossing the line. However, what good did it
do? We had come within the slimmest margin of
completion. When I pulled away, only
Victoria's panties were left to separate sin from
virtue. I was glad we stopped, but my
conscience refused to stop punishing me. Now I was scared.
If
this happened again, I felt helpless to resist her.
Exploring Victoria's incredible curves had felt too
damn good; the passion in our kiss had been
incredible. Furthermore, judging by her confident
greeting as I got into her car, Victoria apparently
had no regrets. I suspected Victoria knew she had me on the
ropes. In my weakened state, no doubt Victoria
would pounce again soon.
When we got
to the club, I could see the Über-rich were present
with me as the lone exception. Darya's husband was out on the golf course with his buddies.
I never saw him. Darya didn't mind
his absence one bit. She much
preferred to be with Victoria.
I was in a very bad mood. I did not want to
be here at Club Swankienda. I had been bullied into participation,
so I was sulking. I struggled to find
a term to describe my status. I wasn't Victoria's lover. I wasn't her kept man.
A better term would be her menial. This afternoon event was
the perfect example. I did not want to go, but Victoria
insisted. So as
usual Puppet Boy reluctantly gave in.
Darya
greeted me with a sniff. No doubt my social inferiority was apparent.
She probably noticed the leash of subjugation around
my neck as well. It was humiliating to
constantly be under Victoria's thumb. I felt like I had lost my backbone.
If Victoria somehow lured me across the Forbidden Line, I
would be stuck with her forever.
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Around 4 pm the
women decided to go outside and relax by the pool.
Leaving to don bathing suits, I said I would meet them by the pool. Since it was late in the day, the pool was deserted.
The nearest person was
thirty feet away when Victoria walked up. Victoria
made sure I was looking as she casually disrobed.
At the sight of her incredible figure, I trembled anew.
Considering the level of my
hostility, one would think my better judgment would
win this particular battle. Such was not the
case. I knew the woman had a great body, but
the sight of her in a swimsuit was even more unsettling. Her bathing
suit reinforced the memory of her ultra-thin waist
and perfect breasts. Mesmerized by her figure, I
became so aroused that I had to relocate lest Victoria
notice her embarrassing effect on me. Telling
Victoria I was taking a nap, I discretely moved to a lounge chair eight feet away
and tried to calm down. The women didn't
care that I had isolated myself. In fact, I think they preferred
it that way.
I could tell by their giggles how much they enjoyed each
other's company. Other than a waiter
who drifted by periodically to refill their
pink daiquiris, there was no one to bother them. As
for me, I wasn't drinking. Not in the mood.
Victoria's poolside striptease
had quite an effect on me. I was very upset by
my sudden arousal. It served as a poignant reminder
the degree to which this stunning woman had my number. Irritated by my weakness, I sat
there feeling sorry for myself under a giant umbrella. Staring
out at the deserted swimming pool, eventually my ardor cooled
and I felt a semblance of self-control return.
I shook my head in despair. Three nights
had passed since Victoria and I kissed in her car,
but the shame refused to leave. I had no
answer for this woman. I
could not believe I had finally given into temptation.
The touch of her body
aroused so much passion that I had come close to
violating my oath. I was appalled at how
quickly I had fallen apart. Once my desire kicked in,
my conscience went flying out the window.
I took a long, deep breath, then let out a sigh. If Victoria ever came at
me like that again, I doubted I would be able to resist.
I felt completely defenseless.
I recall
wishing there was some way I could regain my
self-control. At that
moment, a surprising thought crossed my mind. I
recalled how my father's affair had led to my
parents' divorce when I was 9. I had not
thought about his Affair in quite some time. It was
funny how that particular memory returned at
such a key time. It was almost like the
thought had been placed in my head. The
recollection helped me understand why I had so much
negative
energy about Affairs. A sick thought crossed
my mind. I
wondered if my father's secretary had a body to
match Victoria's. If so, maybe now I finally understood my father's ill-fated decision.
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It was a
bad marriage to be sure. My parents had been a total
mismatch. My mother came from a wealthy home.
She was a plain, unattractive
woman who did not take care of her figure.
In addition, Mom had a smart mouth she used to
needle my father. My
father was a handsome man who came from poverty. Seeing
Mom
as meal ticket to a college education, he offered to
marry her. She dropped out of college to pay
the bill while he got his degree. My father
began as a salesman for electrical
equipment. Later he designed electrical
systems for giant cranes. It did not take long for
management to realize Dad was a genius. As his career took off, Dad got cocky and cast the roving eye. His
sexy secretary answered the call. Once things got
hot and heavy, my father decided he wanted a divorce.
Age 9 at the
time, I was really struggling in school due to the
tension
at home. I was the worst behaved kid in my Fourth Grade
class. I constantly acted out and talked back to my
teacher. I made at best average grades because I rarely paid attention.
At least once a day I fought war battles on scratch paper.
One day it was tanks and jet fighters. The next day it
was flying saucers. Then came the dinosaurs. To the exasperation of my teacher, I
would sit at the back of the room making muffled sound
effects. I assumed no one could hear me, but I was
wrong. I was a giant nuisance.
Finally my
teacher laid down the law. Any more noise and she
would call my parents for a visit to the principal.
After her warning, I brought books on Greek
Mythology to class and spent my time in the back reading. My
teacher didn't care because at least it shut me up.
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Let's face it, I
was a seriously troubled kid. Seeing her only child struggle badly
in school broke my mother's heart. On the advice of
her psychiatrist, Mom was convinced my best chance was to
attend a private school that would challenge me.
Dad, a notorious
spendthrift, immediately objected. That forced Mom to play her trump card. "You want your
divorce, Jim? Pay up or I'll make things messy for
you with your mistress."
Basically my mother blackmailed my father
into paying tuition to my elite private school for three
years. I was doomed to pay a heavy price for the
privilege of attending my elite private school. Dad had been a
caring father up to that point,
but once the home-wrecking secretary came along, he pretty much
abandoned me. I saw him for lunch a couple times a
year and that was the extent of it. He never called me
and I was not
permitted to call him at home or work. My mother had a nervous breakdown
and left me to fend for myself much of the time.
Make no mistake
about it, my father's Affair ruined my life. I had
spent the past 20 years trying to overcome the damage caused by his
abandonment. It is a
father's duty to teach his son how to deal with criticism and
how to stand up to bullies. Oh, well, so much for
that. As
my saga has made clear, my inability to relate to
the wealthy students at St. John's caused
profound problems in later life. Lacking any
sort of parental guidance, the rich kids at the
school bested
me in one social situation after another. With a wacko
mother and non-existent father, I faced dilemmas at
school without guidance or encouragement. My problems
prevented me from developing the social
skills necessary to charm pretty girls, make friends, and
deal with authority. Unable to
cope, I developed feelings of inferiority and turned into a loner.
I speak frequently of my Epic Losing Streak.
This is how it started. Thanks, Dad.
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Imagine what it
was like to spend nine years being the underdog at St.
John's. Every day of my childhood was spent going into
battle with the most privileged kids in the city with one
hand tied behind my back. No wonder I lacked
confidence. Darya's haughtiness reminded
me of all those
rich kids who contributed to my sense of social inferiority. No wonder I was in such a bad mood
here at the country club. Those sad memories
were
sobering thoughts as I wrestled with my desire. Victoria had a small child. Did
she have the slightest idea what an Affair would do to her
daughter? I would not wish my childhood Fate on any kid
and certainly not on little Stephanie. I would detest myself
if I repeated my father's mistake. However, that was
exactly the direction I was headed.
Let me be clear about
something. Although Victoria was the aggressor, I was
far from pure. No matter how much I disliked this
woman, on Thursday night my lofty
morals had turned to mush when Victoria got too close.
As I sat alone
by the pool, my libido and my conscience were engaged in a
serious wrestling match. My heart wanted to do the right thing,
but my body disagreed. My desire was so
strong that I felt helpless to resist if Victoria got too close.
I knew we would be alone again later tonight. I could not bear the thought of letting Victoria win this
test of wills, but right now I felt like a fish on a hook
being reeled in.
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At that moment,
the oddest thing happened. My ears perked up when
Victoria and Darya's conversation drifted onto the topic of
sex. Victoria and Darya were having a grand
time. Laughing their heads off, no
doubt their steady supply of daiquiris contributed
to the merriment. The girls were getting
royally drunk. To be honest, Darya was so drunk I
think she forgot I was even there. Out of sight, out
of mind. Nor did she care. Since Victoria had
told Darya I knew about the affair, she had no reason to be
on guard.
Since the girls had no
idea how loud their voices
were, I had no trouble overhearing the risqué
chatter that followed. The moment Darya began talking about her affair with Robert, I became privy to a
highly indiscrete conversation.
Giggling and
highly amused,
Darya revealed that several women at this club were having
affairs. Apparently having an affair was the thing to do
among these bored and pampered women. Darya made it sound
like it was a status
symbol for women of leisure to take a lover. I was
shocked to hear Darya laugh so casually about cheating
on her husband. Darya's
words dripped with contempt any time she spoke of the
man. This was all just a game to her.
I had never
heard a more cynical description of the joys of fooling
around. Darya's
jaded comments about adultery upset me greatly.
Given my values, it was disgusting to hear that marriage
was such a joke to this spoiled, over-privileged winner of the
genetic lottery.
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Perhaps I was overly
idealistic about the institution of marriage, but I believed in one man and one woman uniting together
to create a family. Call me naive, but I believed in
commitment where spouses look out for one another and
face life's
challenges as teammates. I also believed marital
fidelity was the absolute foundation of trust.
Consequently it was tough to hear how
hilarious it was for Darya to fool her
husband. I had no idea what the man had done to deserve
this unfaithful wretch, but I felt sorry for him.
Meanwhile
Darya was relentless with the smart-ass remarks.
It was so sexy to have her horny football coach
available to do her bidding. All Darya
had to do was whistle and Coach Robert would run panting to her
bedside like a dog in heat. Darya guffawed loudly as she
told Victoria how
lucky she was to have a big stud to satisfy her.
Darya used sound effects to describe
her earth-shattering orgasms... "oh yes, oh yes,
faster, faster, don't
stop, oh my God I'm gonna come!"
Darya was
so biting with her catty descriptions that Victoria could
not stop laughing. "Oh, Victoria, I don't know what I'm
going to do. Marriage might be a fine institution
for some people, but I'm not ready for an institution." As Darya
bragged on and on about her football coach lover, I was reminded
of my suspicion that Victoria's recent boldness might
have something to do with
Darya's encouragement. I wondered if
Victoria's strong pursuit was a way to keep pace with her naughty girlfriend.
I was angry. Darya's racy
conversation had
touched a very raw
nerve. How could I forget how Vanessa's cheating six years ago had caused the
greatest heartache of my life? As Fate would have it,
only two short months ago I had been treated to
the spectacle of Patricia's revolving door of lovers at her
apartment. Now
I had Victoria's
Moonlight Madness to haunt me as well.
I half-suspected Darya had
put Victoria up to it. Did Victoria really want to turn out the same way as
Darya? Previously we had never
touched beyond dancing or a brief hand hold, so what else could explain Victoria's
unexpected lunge into my arms? Always the
competitive one, what better way to score points with
this rich bitch than a matching love affair
with the Playboy dance teacher? No doubt at their
next poolside chat,
Victoria could share stories of panting breathlessly in
the seat of her car. For that matter, why
wait till tonight? There was a convenient
cabana next to the pool for changing clothes. Who knows, one more drink
and she might just lure me over there.
Irritated, I sneaked a peek
at the two women. Sure enough, Victoria was
flush with excitement. It was written all over her face.
She was licking her lips and had that wild eyed look of arousal.
Noting how Darya's scandalous sex talk had turned her on,
I was beyond disgusted. I recalled
the heartache Vanessa had caused with her cheating ways.
It took me four years to get that woman out of my
system!
I recalled how Patricia punished me by pursuing other men
every time she didn't get her way. Now Darya was
giving my tormentor a pep talk on the joys of fooling
around. Can't anybody be
faithful?? After an afternoon
of listening to that crap, go ahead and ask me how much trust I had in women
at the moment.
Thanks to this obscene conversation, my resolve came
flooding back. Fed up with my
audition as Victoria's lover, I promised myself I would
do better. But could I keep my promise? I
had my doubts.
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Unable to get my
father's Affair out of my mind, I gave my poolside
revelations some serious thought. In my mind, Victoria
had pulled a bait and switch. She had tempted me with
the promise of a serious relationship, but what she really
wanted was to compete with Darya for the crown of Miss
Adultery. What was wrong with Victoria? This wasn't her. I believed that deep down, Victoria
was a decent, moral woman. I knew her poolside
laughter was caused by too much alcohol plus listening to
the wrong person. But was it too late to turn back?
There had been so much build-up of sexual tension, fearing
another betrayal by my desire, I was not sure there was any
way I could put a stop to this.
I am going to
say something that will offend some people... and I
apologize for that... but I am not sure how else to put
this. It is no secret that throughout the ages various
priests and church goers alike have known right from wrong,
but failed miserably nonetheless. I am not saying
everyone gives in, but over the centuries Temptation has
come out the winner way too many times in the age-old battle
of Temptation. Why is that? I know the answer.
Thanks to my miserable experience during Moonlight Madness,
I learned the hard way that passion triumphs willpower with
the greatest of ease no matter how much we swear we will
never let this happen.
Chapter after
chapter I have stated my determination to resist Victoria,
but the moment she threw herself at me in the car, the
ecstasy was so powerful I could not help myself.
They always say "use your head, think about it before
it's too late", but that is bullshit. Victoria
demonstrated my resistance was useless in the clutch due to
overwhelming passion. However, I will say one
thing. Victoria had caught me off guard. Would I
do better the next time? Surely there had to be
some way to strengthen my resolve.
That is when a
novel idea struck. What about prayer? At the
time, I could not think of ever saying a prayer before.
If ever there was a time to give it a shot, this was it.
Right there at the pool I put my hands together and prayed
to God to release me from temptation. I told God I did
not seek an Affair with Victoria and asked Him to protect me
from her immense power of persuasion. I did not just
pray for myself. I prayed Victoria would come to her
senses and reopen her heart to Michael before it was too
late. Her marriage needed to be saved. Otherwise her
daughter might become just as screwed up as me. I told
God I would not wish my childhood Fate on Stephanie for all
the gold in the world. If it be thy will, please release me from
Temptation.
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When I finished,
the most amazing thing happened. I didn't want
Victoria anymore. The temptation was gone. I had
been weak, but now the steel had returned to my conscience.
I thanked the lucky break that had allowed me to listen to
the women today by the pool. Following Darya's
conversation, I vowed to put a total halt to any further
thought of having an affair with Victoria. However,
that is when something strange happened.
The moment I
told myself I was safe from further worry, a warning entered my mind.
Something told me that no matter how hard I tried to avoid
this Affair, I would have it anyway (I swear on the Bible I
am not making this up). It felt like a Premonition.
I shuddered as I
thought of Oedipus, the ancient Greek who fell victim to
prophecy. Oedipus had visited an oracle. That is
where he learned of the terrible prophecy that he would
murder his father and marry his mother. Outraged,
Oedipus swore to the Gods
he refused to fulfill this tragic prediction. Only one
problem... the prophecy came true anyway.
But what about
me? Would my premonition come true as well?
Today I had made a solemn vow never to touch Victoria.
Could I keep my promise or was I just as powerless as
Oedipus to avoid my Fate?
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