*** I enjoy feedback, so please speak up and tell me what you think. I haven't submitted a story in a while and reallywant to know what readers think******
I have learned that sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut, but sometimes it pays to speak up. I don't usually listen to other people's conversations, but I find it entertaining when women talk candidly and open with each other. I was sitting in the corporate lunchroom, enjoying a light meal and a break from the usual drudgery of the office. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was taking place at the table next to mine. Three women, two I knew and one that I didn't, were discussing their relationships with men.
The women complained about the same problems that every woman does. It was hard to find a good man, and it was even more difficult to find a man that cared about a woman's needs. It came down to the same old complaining that I've heard a thousand times. I thought about switching to a different table, but an interesting comment caught my attention.
"Men have it easy. They get what they want and then leave." Said a short-haired brunette named Donna. "I don't think they ever feel guilty about what they do"
"I am so sick of having to be on guard around guys." Interjected a red head named Janice from the accounting department.
"But society will label you a slut if you act like a man, and act on your sexual impulses." Added the third lady who I had never met.
They continued for a few minutes more, and I could not help but join the conversation.
"I think you're wrong on most accounts. The problem isn't with men, it's with women." I said, leaning back in my chair and looking back at the trio.
Shocked silence greeted me as the women looked at one another with their mouths agape. They could not believe what I had just said. Had I dared to speak up for male-kind and lay some of the blame on women?
"I would expect a man to say something like that." Donna said, and her companions echoed her sentiment. "Men make the rules, and the rules favor them."
I turned my chair around to face the group, and realized that I was facing a hostile audience.
"Look, I won't deny that men have many advantages that women don't. The world is simply not a fair place. But a women has the greatest advantage when it comes to a relationship with a man." I began explaining.
"Here it comes, the same old lecture that comes down to women using sex to get what they want." Janice said, interrupting me.
I held up my hands to fend her off, and continued with what I was saying. "No, it doesn't. But, when sexual satisfaction and a healthy relationship are a woman's problem, then how that woman approaches sex becomes vital to getting what she wants."
I scooted my chair closer to the group as I began to speak in greater detail. I didn't need the entire room listening to my every word.
"Not every man is a great person, nor is every woman. If you date a man with the wrong qualities, then you won't get what you want. It requires a woman to put aside all the bullshit fed to her by both a chauvinistic male society, as well as a frustrated feminist agenda."
"That's easy to say, but not so easy to do." Donna said.
"Isn't it? It's simple to look back at all the men you have dated and find out what traits they have in common. Once you do that, you can avoid men who have those traits. If you find that you date men in their early twenties who are immature, then perhaps you shook look at men that are a bit older. If you date men that are so career obsessed that they ignore your needs, then look for a man who is comfortable with his career."
I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts and summed up everything as best as I could. "Every woman wants to date or marry that rich, dashing young prince, and every man wants the beautiful, sexy princess. The world is full of average people who are attractive, funny and desirable, and are not rich, young or drop-dead gorgeous. If you know what you want then you can get it. I'm not saying that you should settle, but I do think that you shouldn't overlook the nice guy right next to you because your obsessing with finding the ideal man that doesn't exist."
"So if I want a little oral attention in the afternoon, and I don't want to reciprocate, then I can get it?" Asked Donna with a sarcastic smirk on her face.
"Do you?"
I could tell she had been trying to shock me and I surprised her with my quick response.
"You were being sarcastic, but you made a good example. If you propositioned a guy in his early twenties and made that exact offer, he may turn you down. You get an orgasm, but what does he get? Now, make that same offer to someone a few years older, and you will probably get a different response. An older man can understand sex beyond what he is receiving. He may enjoy giving as much as taking, and would get a thrill out of the basic sexual contact"
"I'm not sure about that." Janice said as she dismissed my observation with a flick of her hand.
"So you have never been in a situation where the act of giving someone pleasure was sexually charging and fulfilling all by itself?"
