(
Note to readers:
As always, all characters in sexual situations are at least 18 years old. I don't think anything here would count as triggering, but you can check the tags for details of the sex. Enjoy!)
***
It was their fourth date. Elise had seldom gone out with a man this much. These days, she never agreed to sex through the third date, and this drove most guys away.
At the end of Date Three, Grant frowned when Elise said goodnight, as they left the movie theater. But when she added that she wanted to spend time with him again, he agreed to her request for her to set up another date.
Now they were seated at a table in a rooftop tavern, on a nice autumn night, meeting just for drinks. She presented herself now with more allure than she had before. Dress, hair, and makeup emphasized her positives. He saw this. She saw that he saw.
He, however, was about the same as he had been before. He wore a sport coat over a turtleneck, with those and the pants in mild earth tones. He remained clean-shaven, despite a vague jawline. Elise read this to mean that Grant was willing to show himself as who he was, even if he knew that his appearance wouldn't impress anyone.
Elise had gained this knowledge of him through their times together. She studied the men she dated closely. Elise's site profile stated, 'We begin as strangers. I'll need a lot of time to get to know you.' This bluntness probably led many men to swipe past her.
"Thanks for hanging on with me, Grant," she said after a sip of wine. "I'd like to keep things going with you. But it's only fair for me to tell you something that may make you drop me."
He blinked. After a moment he said, "Okay...go ahead."
I don't want to ruin everything, Grant,
she thought,
but you should know what you're dealing with.
She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "This is in two parts. The first part is, I'm bisexual. The second is, I only want to be with a woman if she's part of a married couple. I'd like to live with one man, but not be in threesomes with him. I'd want plain vanilla sex with my home partner, threesomes with couples elsewhere. Does that make any sense?"
Grant looked stunned.
In a reflex, Grant glanced around. He saw few other tables occupied. He wondered if Elise expected this relative privacy, and chose this location accordingly.
"I...don't think I get it," he said, also in a lowered voice. "I mean, if you're attracted to women as well as men, that's no problem. Uh, for me. But why wouldn't you, ahh, want to do that with, um, the man, that you're with?"
She sat up straighter, and tried to gesture meaning with her hands. She realized that maybe she hadn't rehearsed this speech enough. "See, the experience I've had, shows me what I like most. I like having a boyfriend, and doing things together with him--out in the world, and, um, in the bedroom. Being with a boyfriend makes me calm. 'Going steady' means just that to me, a steadiness in my life."
She smiled, but again lowered her voice. "But once that steadiness is there, I'll feel safer...well, to fly my freak flag. To hook up with a man and a woman, and have fun with both of them."
He was quick to say, "But the man isn't your boyfriend?"
Elise saw that he'd gone from confused to annoyed. She said, "I know that this is a big load for anyone to carry. Any man. I may not be worth it, to you. That's why I wanted us to have this talk now. If you want us to part ways, I understand."
He leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the clear night sky. Then he looked at her.
To her surprise, he grinned.
"Of all the excuses I've ever heard from women who dumped me," he said, "yours is the most creative."
Now she was the one who was stunned. Her mouth dropped open, but words were not available.
"Tell me, Elise," he said. "What's your next step if I accept this situation? Because I
can
accept it. I can be the boyfriend you leave alone when you unfurl your freak flag--as long as you don't do it
too
often." He chuckled, then said, "Your move."
She stared at him for a moment. It surprised her that she hadn't seen this depth of self-awareness in him--despite all of her 'studying.' But it pleased her that the depth existed, and showed up now. His dark humor didn't worry her, because he seemed to direct it at himself.
"My next move," she said, feeling a smile claim her mouth, "is to welcome you to the next stage in your boyfriend audition! I hope you were honest about your acceptance. But that wouldn't have to be tested for a long time. Tonight...I'm ready for us to find out how boyfriendly and girlfriendly we can be. If you're interested in that."
His smug look vanished. This pleased her even more.
He really thought I was dumping him!
she thought.
Back to your move, Grant!
He recovered. "Just because I let you escape me on the third date," he said, "you think I'm not interested?"
She laughed. "Just making sure." Then she took a breath. Then she said, "I'm inviting you to my place. You should know that I'll have someone checking up on my safety. I don't think you're dangerous, Grant, but a bad misunderstanding, when things get physical, could be enough to cause big problems."
He nodded. "I expect we'll talk, before things get physical."
She smiled, from both comfort and excitement. "It seems like you've gotten to know me."
"I've paid attention." He picked up his gin and tonic, and stared into the glass as he swirled it. Feeling a bit snarky, he said, "All I've been allowed to do is watch and listen."
Her voice took on an edge. "You'll be welcome to do more. If you lose that attitude."
He met her eyes. His attention-paying now recorded that she wasn't always sweet.
Is she now showing me more of her real self?
he wondered.
Does that mean she thinks this can work? With me?
"Sorry," he said.
She brought her phone from her purse. With a friendlier smile, she said, "Here's my address."
***
Their talk was brief. They found a good deal of overlap in the vanilla activity they were willing to try.
In the half-dimmed lighting in her bedroom, they disrobed separately, interspersed with kisses and hugs. Then there was manual and oral foreplay. During the latter, they murmured yes-yes-do-thats, and the 'thats' got them into quite a lather.
She arranged them for legs-up missionary. She fingered aside her moist labia, while he slowly pushed between them his condomed glans. Then she switched to rubbing her clitoris. "S-someday," said Elise, "I might give you th-this task. But now, just keepthatthing, of yours, g-going in there!"
Grant just nodded, wheezing. She was tight where he was thick, giving them both strong rushes. He pumped when he could, but had to stop when he got too close, and then resume slowly. He didn't tell her that the condom made it easier for him. Bareback, he might have blasted on entry.
