This story (like all of mine) has a basis in reality from my past. I did post a profile on a dating site as outlined in the story and I did meet "Brenda" at her home for strip backgammon and a massage in front of her living room window. Brit is a figment of my imagination. Brenda and I did see each other for an extended period of time and may prove inspiration for future stories. If you want to skip the intro about how I met Brenda, fast forward to "skip to here".
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My wife and I had been separated for several months and I was trying to move on with my life. She was bitter and angry and we were not getting along. Everything seemed to be a source of contention, up to and including my visitation with the kids. Eventually, we settled on a schedule that left me free on the weekends.
I did not want to get back into the bar scene. I was 45 years old and still very interested in sex, but didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to meet someone who my interests and (let's be frank here) kinks through the usual dating scene.
As it turned out, there was a newer way of meeting prospective partners that alllowed you to meet over the phone from the comfort of your own home. Called L*** L*** (LL), it was a service that allowed users (clients) to leave "profiles" on the system in a variety of categories : just friends, casual encounters, long-term relationships, etc. and seemed perfect for my needs. At this early stage of the genre of phone dating, it was strictly for heterosexuals.
The basic premise was to record a profile (which was free), choose a category to place it in and an age range (part of the profile). Once it was submitted and approved of, it was just a matter of waiting for any interested parties to get back to you. The monetization for the system was the purchase of time (minutes) that were required to respond to another user's profile or to return any responses to yours. They allowed users to leave any number of profiles with a common ID account.
Of course, there were many more men using the system than women. Only the men were charged for their time - women could leave profiles, respond to any number of other profiles and "fish" as much as they wanted. Of course, men could do the same, but at a cost. LL sold minutes in various blocks of time (up to six hours!) and it was easy to lose track and use up your time and then have to buy more. It could be expensive if you weren't careful. For me though, much cheaper than the bar scene would have been.
I learned quickly that some of the women used the system to get free and often expensive meals. They had a much larger audience to chose from and some milked "newbies" (those that had not already heard her profile) for all that they were worth. Even the cheaper "coffee dates" often turned out to be a waste of my time because I was looking for partners that shared some of my "interests" without having to go through the time and effort of finding out otherwise. If I found a compatible partner, that was the time to date and court her.
I had to find a method of capturing the interest of those women with intriguing profiles with my responses to minimize the constant (and expensive) back and forth that was the usual course of events. We (the men using LL) wanted to establish a rapport early in our exchanges in order to get a personal phone number. Once you had a number, you could talk to your heart's content with her without the expense of using the system. This is what "we" (the men) wanted. The women knew this and (because of the addictive nature of unending "interest" in their profiles) they were often reluctant to give up the "fishing" by giving you their number.
I spent a lot of time and effort editing and fine-tuning a profile that was explicit and to the point. I was honest in describing myself because I could afford to be : tall, blonde (sort of) with a slim, muscular build and that I was "clean shaven" - in more ways than one. "Clean shaven" did elicit responses as I implied that I had minimal body hair. Intimate waxing for men had just become popular and often piqued women's' interest. I had a "Brazilian" and let prospective partners know when they responded to my profile.
The gist of the profile was that I loved the challenge of a good game, that strip backgammon with a good wine was a good way to get to know one another and a variety of interesting stakes could be played for, including massage.
I did receive some (a lot of) responses that were not positive, that found my outright talk of strip backgammon and massage on a first date blatant exploitation, but they weren't the partners I was looking for, so I didn't bother responding. But those that did get back and WERE intrigued by my blunt approach I got back to with flattery and encouragement.
I took women's profiles at face value because I counted on them doing the same. Few (none) of the women's profiles were as bold as mine and I was told that mine was unique. It wasn't crude or crass but complimentary and to the point. Let's meet (for a coffee first?), I will bring my backgammon board, my portable massage table in the back of my SUV and we'll play a few games, drink some wine and have a candid and open exchange. Get to know each other.
The takers were few and far between, but there was some intriguing phone sex with interested if timid respondents. But there were some memorable afternoons spent with interested and interesting women who did agree to allow me to come to their homes and play strip backgammon and get to know them.
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