15

Chapter 11 -- New York II

Jessie sat beside Dave and thought about how to start with her comments about the Circle, and what she'd learned so far about the Circle. Dave sipped on a diet coke the restaurant had refilled for him for the fifth time.

Jessie said, "The open sex seems overstated. I can't believe it's that rampant. In one sense, it sounds too good to be true, and in another it's damn right shocking -- and I say this working in the sex industry. I've also done some downright lewd and salacious things in my life, too -- some to make money and some just for devilish fun."

"You kind of said that the Circle gets together to have sex after dinner. So, like some people watch TV after dinner, you have sex?"

Dave laughed, "I think I said it might LOOK that way to an outside observer. The TV show has had a lot of trouble figuring out how to show that part of our lives and yet get the right message across as to how we live.

"When you love someone, what do you want to do with them?" he asked.

Jessie grinned, "Spend time with them, and make love?"

Dave chuckled, "Yes, and assume you love TWO people, what do you do?"

"Spend time with each of them, maybe together, and make love?"

"Good, and now extend that to a large number of people -- say one hundred; what do you do?"

Jessie hesitated, but said, "Spend time with them ... and make love. I see a trend. So, in a week, how many people do you do that with?"

Dave said, "I would love to say everyone, but I can't. Realistically, over a week, I can spend that kind of quality time with a dozen or so women in the evenings, maybe a few more if I'm working at home during the day; so, I'd say up to twenty."

Jessie sat back, slightly shocked, "TWENTY! Holy shit, you are a sex god."

"I've been called that before. I do a few things to improve my role in the mating process."

"You mean like Viagra?"

"I use Cialis, yes. Beyond that there are vitamins and supplements that can help, plus diet and exercise."

Jessie stated, "You are trim and look fit. Do you exercise while you're on your trip?"

"I do. I ran about seven miles this morning and did some other exercises. You'll note that for lunch I had a burger with no bun, and passed up the fries for a salad. I also moderate my intake of wine or other alcoholic beverages, at least most of the time. All that helps, plus I learned about meditative Tantric sex. That also allows me to be deeply connected to my partners, to even blend with them in a spiritual way. The results can be over-the-top orgasmic for both of us."

Jessie shook her head slightly in disbelief. "You're too much. Back to the Circle. The idea of open marriages and open relationships is intriguing and I approve. I see so many of my friends get all stuck up on one guy, and then he or they discover somebody else they like. The results are often disastrous. Jealousy and even violence. That's one reason I've kind of avoided anything serious with a guy. I guess you could say I approve of consensual non-monogamy, as you called it.

"The equality of men and women in the Circle is envious, but it sure isn't the real world outside of your group. Most of the guys I meet have big egos and want to dominate a woman. When I try to dominate them back, we often part company about that time. I like that you emphasize each person's independence and don't treat them as possessions.

"I like that each relationship seems so flexible and fluid, and harmonious. For a while I was scared to meet new people because everybody that I met became a point of major drama in my life. I didn't need that. Despite my rough exterior, I would prefer a serene life with kindness, respect, and ... I guess love, as you said.

"Thus, after thinking about it, I really like your Circle."

Dave nodded, "The sex part scares some of the people that first meet us, but they quickly get through that. Both the men and women somehow envision having to make love to a hundred other people all at once, even though that's physically impossible. Once they realize that even though you love many people, you only need to express that love to them one or two at a time, then things soften for them."

"You said there are more females than males in the Circle?"

Dave said, "There are about a hundred-thirty females, and about a hundred males. One result is that almost all the women enjoy some degree of bisexual encounters with their Circle sisters, and-or they enjoy threesomes that usually comprise two females and one male. The other kind of threesomes happen, too, but not as often."

"And you handle this just fine even though it's a great struggle and requires extra effort?" Jessie laughed.

Dave smiled, "I do, actually. No one complains."

Jessie volunteered, "This place, Geneva, New York, is a nice destination ride for a day trip from my home in Rochester. I'm surprised there aren't more bikers around today, since it's so nice, even though it's a weekday. I usually run into somebody I know, but I'm glad I ran into you. Where are you headed after here?"

Dave said, "I was going to head up to Niagara Falls to see one of the wonders of the world, and then poke along the lake shore through the Adirondacks into Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, before heading south to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and then down the coast before I head west to Ohio."

"You don't mind being alone all that way?"

Dave chuckled, "So far, I've had more than my share of female companions along my route, plus my wife Alice and I guess I could say a wife-to-be Penny flew up and met me in Virginia. Penny rode partway with me before I dropped her off to catch a ride home in the plane Alice had brought up."

Jessie's brow furled. "What do you mean about the plane 'she brought up'?"

"Many of us in the Circle are pilots. When I took EneRG public for the investors to share in the fun, I made some money so I bought a small jet. Alice, Pam, and I fly it around the country for various reasons. Alice had to spend a few days on business in Wheeling, West Virginia, so after a nice time with Penny and me in Virginia, she flew up there in it. She did her business, and later, we connected with her again, and she flew home with Penny from Pittsburg."

"So, she might fly up and meet you again?"

"Or Pam and somebody. They're following me by way of one of the apps on my iPhone. I communicate with them every day, too, so they know what's going on and who I'm with. If they're worried about me being lonely, I guess they'll show up and I'll meet them at some airport. I'm guessing that the next visits won't be until I'm deep into New England."

"Where do you stay? I see a sleeping bag on your bike. Do you camp out?"

"I did last night, but I was right outside Watkins Glen, so I just did my meals in town and slept in the Six Nations Campground. Other nights, particularly if the weather looks questionable, I'll find a B&B or hotel. I spent a week at B&B in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania."

"Weather?"

"No ... I met a very fetching mother and her daughter that ran the inn where I stayed. I helped them do some heavy lifting kind of work around the place during my stay."

Jessie teased, "And your bed was never cold at night, I bet."

Dave just gave her a speculative glance.

A couple of motorcycles drove past the sidewalk restaurant. Jessie waved but the riders didn't see her. Jessie said, "That was Pat and Matt. They're also from Rochester. She's a nurse and he's a CPA. I guess they took the day off." She shook her head, "I know we're supposed to be having global warming, but two months ago this place got six-inches of snow one night -- not motorcycle friendly, at all!"

They talked about how you could never guess the professions of motorcycle riders today. The days when only tough male mechanics out for a fight had a bike were long past. Jessie commented that many of today's riders were female.

Jessie asked, "I kept you from your trip. I just realized the time."

Dave shook his head, "I'm not on a time scale. You are good company; I like you. I like this town, too. It's friendly."

"What'll you do overnight? You won't try to get to Niagara today, will you?"

"No. I'll go online and see about a B&B or motel."

"Would you like company on the ride to and from Niagara?"

Dave grinned, "Sure. Of course. You?"

"I can beg off working for a couple of days. The weather looks like it'll hold, too. Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Hell, no. That'd be wonderful. As I said, I'm social."

"Good. Ride back to my place and you can stay overnight. We can play it by ear after that."

Dave wondered just how much of an invitation that was, but he accepted, figuring that at worst it'd be an ill-kempt apartment with a lumpy sofa or his bedroll on the floor.

* * * * *

"OH, SWEET JESUS ... WHAT. THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU. DOING. TO. ME?"

Jessie fainted.

Dave arranged their nude bodies to be comfortable on her king-size bed. The room was frilly and feminine, and exceptionally neat and clean. The apartment was a town house in a development called Long Pond Shores, only a quarter-mile from Lake Ontario but on a very large pond that gave a beautiful view from most of Jessie's windows and her back porch where they'd started to make love. After their first round, even in sight of a walkway along the pond, they went indoors and upstairs to her bedroom.

Dave kissed Jessie awake and listened intently to her affirmations of love for him for all of time and existence. Dave didn't contradict her with her earlier words about avoiding relationships at all costs because they were messy in one way or another.

Dave flicked on the bedside light rather than rely on the light filtering into the room from the bathroom and the hallway. Jessie was gorgeous. Dave thought of the porn star Subil Arch, and even wondered whether Jessie had done movies with that as her stage name. She was busty and curvy in all the right places. She'd been lasered hairless except above the neck, and that meant Dave was able to please her quickly when they first started on her porch after dinner.

"You like looking at my body?" Jessie asked.

"I think I join most of Rochester in liking to look at your naked body."

"It's yours to enjoy -- anytime, anywhere, and any way you choose. I'm yours. I love you."

"Jessie, I love you, as well, but remember I have many other people I love in my life as well."

"Oh, I know. I have to share you. I'm good at sharing and now I'm really motivated. Maybe I'll follow you home like a puppy and you can keep me handy for whenever you need an outlet for love, sex, lust, or whatever pops into your head. Can I ask what you did to me a few minutes ago?"

"That was what was called The Experience, by my friends. It's an A-spot orgasm that is based on bringing you off by stroking that erogenous zone inside you. You're A-spot is similar to your G-spot but deeper in your vagina."

"Anytime you want to try that again, just do it."

"Oh, Mikey liked it?"

"Fuck yes. That was the most intense orgasm of my life. I've never passed out from sex."

"Oh? I've been making love to you."

"I feel it. God, I do love you. You got through to me, whatever you did and said. I surrender."

* * * * *

Dave splurged and got a suite at the Niagara Marriott. The place had a spectacular view looking down at Niagara Falls, and was within walking distance of many fun and interesting places.

The ride on back roads to Niagara from Rochester had taken a few hours, but then they'd stopped and poked along at a few antique shops and at some scenic overlooks on Lake Ontario. They'd each ridden their Harleys.

Jessie was impressed. "This room ... errr, suite ... is the nicest hotel room I've ever BEEN in, let alone stayed in. We're up so high, and the views of the river and falls are so fabulous."

Dave jested, "I told you that I camped out while on this trip. This is one of the better campsites I've had."

"Make love to me again," Jessie said in a tone that had a pleading tone to it.

"That can be arranged."

Jessie lay back in a chair right in front of the window after she threw her clothes in a pile on the floor next to his. Dave spent a half-hour eating her to one orgasm after another. Jessie just kept extolling his virtues as the best lover she'd ever known or even dreamed about. If someone had looked into the window, they would have seen some great sex, but being so high they felt sure no one could see their exhibitionist behavior. Later, he fucked her in the same position as she squirmed and pushed back at him with her body for deeper penetration. Jessie was sex on a stick.

After they finished and showered, they dressed as best they could in what their travel wardrobe allowed, and went to the restaurant for some wine and dinner. After dinner they walked along the sidewalk nearer to the falls and watched the light show. Dave bought Jessie a souvenir t-shirt and got one for himself, all that he could fit into his travel gear. They went back to the hotel and up to the room.

Dave did some checking and at ten o'clock, he switched to one of the local cable channels and the TV show The Circle came on. Jessie stretched out on the bed wearing only her bikini panties and started to watch.

The TV show was an episode from season three, and showed some of the planning for the large graduation party that had in part become a late-night orgy for those that stayed around after the live band stopped playing. Of course, in the planning stages a few of those possibilities were only alluded to.

Dave appeared at several points in the episode, initially when the graduating seniors form the university and high school approached him about the party, and then when they wanted to bounce ideas off of him, such as the mattress room, how to manage parking and STD checks, and things like that. There were also lots of ideas about how to decorate the patio and core interior for the party.

Dave hadn't realized it, but there was also a segment where some of the people who'd been in St. Croix were rehashing some of the erotic events of their long weekend mixing it up with Mark Worthington's clan. The episode also showed Dave meeting Odessa for the first time, and then later with Owen talking to her about her scholarship. Dave forgot that a camera crew had followed the Circle visitors to St. Croix, and they had indeed gotten some great footage.

When the episode ended, Jessie asked, "What happened with the graduation party?

Dave laughed, "It was a huge success. The Circle got a whole bunch of great pledges and there just happened to be a lot of sex that took place around the Circle." Dave had described the physical facility to Jessie, so she wasn't entirely lost by his comment. He was even able to show a few photos from earlier that evening of the crowd of students milling around mixing with the regular Circle members.

"And nobody got their nose out of joint?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"This has a lot to do with polyamory, doesn't it?"

Dave responded, "If you mean loving more than one person with honesty and integrity and respect, then yes. It's our version of consensual non-monogamy. If you believe that love is limited and finite, conditional and exclusive, then polyamory is not for you. It you believe love expands to fill all space and is limitless and unconditional, then it could be for you.

"Polyamory is also often associated with unconditional love. Conditional love would be based on vows to 'love, honor, and OBEY' or 'forsake ALL others' or 'accept me AND my family', but everyone knows those aren't guarantees of a successful relationship. About half of today's marriages end in divorce, and of those couples that stay together, the satisfaction rating is far from perfect for many.

"Usually, conditional love is also contingent on many rules the couple creates for each other; perhaps things like 'Never even look at another woman' or 'I'll love you if you allow my mother to live with us'. Unfortunately, the church and society have enshrined monogamy and limited love as the only valid structure. There is still much evidence in our laws that women were treated as possessions. Fortunately, a lot of people -- millions -- ignore those rules and open their hearts."

Jessie was quiet as she sat Indian-style on the bed, an inviting sight. "What about people that say things like 'if my partner really loved me, they'd have no desire for somebody else', or 'if I am a good enough lover my partner will be so satisfied that they won't need anybody else'?"

Dave said, "The first part of your question is related to the scarcity model of love -- if I love somebody else, you will be loved less. If that were true second, third, and fourth children would be severely penalizing the first born. In romantic love, that's also just not the case; I can attest to that first hand. My partners love and trust so we can allow our relationship to expand and be enriched by experiencing love with others.

"The second part of your question puts into question that any dissatisfaction in the relationship is caused by you not being a good enough lover or partner. That sucks! Realistically, you can't be all things to someone. If the relationship flounders you end up blaming yourself for being a failure at some crazy thing -- 'I couldn't make cup cakes like his mother did' or something equally flaky. If you can set jealousy aside, encourage your partner to complete their love and their needs with others. Don't invoke that scarcity model of love again."

Jessie said, "And you love over a hundred other women in your Circle?"

Dave nodded, "I do. Usually, it's a relaxed and gentle kind of love, but it is sexual in that the sex makes the love and relationship better, just the way love and a relationship make sex better and more pleasing."

"Do you do kinky things?"

Dave laughed, "Of course. We have fun making love. I told you we're exhibitionists, so we sometimes do funny things. For instance, at one Halloween party, one of the guys in the circle dressed as a giant penis wrapped in a condom heavily patched with duct tape. He went around trying to 'insert' himself in each woman for the first part of the night. He was hilarious and had all of us laughing."

Jessie even laughed at the vision.

Dave added, "One of the common elements among Circle members is their partner's happiness. We know we can't 'make' someone happy -- they have to do that for themselves, but we can help create an environment around somebody conducive to their happiness. We don't get our nose out of joint if somebody else is helping in that process. This is, in part, the concept of compersion and why some people say it's the opposite of jealousy. People do work through jealousy and learn to set it aside for more mature and loving emotions. I know over three-hundred people who've done exactly that between our group and a couple of others I've helped mentor."

Jessie was thoughtful as she lay on the bed and the late news came on TV. While the news was on, she wasn't really tuned into it.

Eventually, Jessie got a wicked grin on her face. She put her very shapely legs in the air and pushed her panties up past her knees, before peeling them off her body and shooting them by way of the elastic at Dave.

"Come and make love to me again. I have a request. I want you to pretend we're in your Circle and it's one of your group nights. Talk to me as though other people were around and ... well, tease and taunt me the way you would one of your other lovers."

Dave said, "Do you want to feel jealous or want me to feel that way? What are you doing?"

"I want to see what it feels like to be there. I'm thinking I might like to visit you down in Sarasota for a while -- maybe a long while if you think I'd be welcome."