Oh, shit. I think I might have just agreed to a date, of sorts, with Tom.
I�m sure that part of the reason for my quick acquiescence was that I�ve been thinking a lot about him lately. Dreaming about him. Ok, ok, fantasizing about him. It�s certainly not the first time.
We�ve been friends for a long time. Since college. It seems like eons. And, except for one inebriated night when we first met, we�ve never been sexually intimate. That�s not to say that there hasn�t been plenty of sexually charged banter, flirting of various sorts, and our soon-to-be-repeated field trip to the local swingers� clubs.
It was about four years ago. The topic of swingers� clubs crept into the conversation one night. We both discovered that we were both very curious, yet equally unwilling to sate our curiosity alone or with someone that we were dating. The solution seemed obvious. We�d go together. We trusted each other. We knew it was �safe� to go together. It was an excellent way to satisfy our curiosity within the safety zone of our friendship and trust.
So we did. One night we hit about three or four clubs. Some places were just like your corner bar � we had a few drinks, played a few games of pool, saw nothing worth staying around for, and we left. Other places were positively surreal. I�ll never forget the woman in the viewing room. She must have been in her late 40s or early 50s. When we walked in, she was bent over sucking off a man sitting on the arm of the couch. Most of the other men, about 5 or 6 in all, were standing around stroking themselves, obviously waiting their turn in line. One of the men, unwilling to wait his turn, approached her from behind. She didn�t even notice he was there until he entered her. She casually glanced back. �Hi,� he said as he glanced down to where he was pumping into her as if belatedly asking permission. She shrugged, �I just like to know who�s back there.� Absolutely surreal.
So, today, I�m online when Tom pops up on my screen. I send off a quick IM, just saying hello. Here�s what the resulting conversation looked like:
Me: Hey there, Tomas! What are you up to?
Tom: hi! surfin� for porn. and you?
Me: Ha! It�s good to know that some things never change. Me? A little work, a little nothing much.
Tom: as you said, some things never change.
Tom: When you coming to Phx so we can hit the clubs again?
Me: why? Fiona won�t go with you? [Editor�s Note: Fiona is his wife.]
Tom: Yes. But it�s not the same.
Tom: I was thinking last time when we got back to the car, I should have pulled you over and...
Tom: Woops.
Tom: Sorry.
Me: Sorry for what?
Tom: I didn�t know whether what I had been thinking would be well received.
Me: Ha! You probably should have. After what we�d just seen I�d have probably happily complied with anything that you would have suggested.
Tom: HAH!
Tom: So when Fi goes out of town next month you�ll go with me?
Me: Sure. Call me. It�s a date, um, or something.
Egads!
I don�t know whether he�ll really call. I don�t know whether I�ll really go if he does. It�s too much to contemplate tonight.
Listening To: Law & Order
Reading: Ancestors of Avalon
Feeling: stunned