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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SKIP TO HERE. __________________________________________________________________
Brenda owned her own home north of the city. She agreed to meet early on a Saturday afternoon just before Christmas for a coffee. We had already spent a few hours on the phone over several days acquainting ourselves with each other. We shared some intimate details and had titillated each other with daring and provocative teasing. We had to meet. She gave me the address of a coffee shop close to her home that was an easy and uncomplicated drive from my home.
Meeting first in a neutral location was a safe way for us to check each other out to determine that we were who we had said we were by our descriptions. If we were comfortable with each others' looks, then I would follow her home in my car. We could then spend the afternoon together playing backgammon. She had held off on promising to play a strip version despite our many conversations. She was being coy I guessed.
I was a cold day and it had snowed overnight. When I got to the coffee shop and parked, there were three vehicles in the lot. She was already sitting by the front door - the only customer there. As I exited my car and she was checking me out, she had decided that I was who I said I was and stood up. She finished her coffee and met me at the door. We exchanged pleasantries, hugged briefly and I gave her a peck on the cheek. I too was pleased that her self description was accurate and that she was well put together. We got into our vehicles and I followed her home - a short, five minute drive.
The house was on a wide corner lot at the top of a quiet cul-de-sac off of a main thoroughfare close to the highway. There were no sidewalks and traffic would be at a minimum as it terminated in a turn around court. Access to a large wooded area here did attract a lot of foot traffic as couples out for a stroll or walking their dogs used the area a lot. Pedestrian traffic was steady all day but busiest at night for the dog walkers.
The most prominent feature of her home was the large bay window of the living room to the right of the driveway and front door. As I pulled in behind her, I brought the wine and my backgammon board, following her to the door. She invited me in, but I told her I had to go back to the car to get the massage table. She appeared enthusiastic at that as I reminded her that it was cold outside and that leaving it in the car until later would not give it a chance to warm up.
She smiled at that and gave me her blessing and I returned with it shortly. As she held the door for me and I slipped in, I asked her where I could set it up. Directly over a heating vent in the floor would be best. she directed me to set it up in front of the living room window. It was a beautiful, five pane bay window set in a gentle arch, forming an alcove. The floor was carpeted and warm. There was a two foot high padded bench/storage area spanning the breadth of the alcove formed by the base of the windows, which reached to the vaulted ceiling. A fish bowl in effect. The only window coverings were sheer drapes.
As I unzipped the massage table from it's carrying case, Brenda excused herself to change into more appropriate attire. I took that to mean a change from the jeans and bulky sweater she had on now so it was bound to be an improvement. I had the table set up in a matter of minutes, and put a warm flannelette sheet on covering the vinyl surface. Placed over two floor vents pumping out warm air, it would be warmed up in no time.
As I busied myself in the adjacent kitchen opening the wine, there was a knock at the door. Brenda called down the stairs "could you get that for me?" I called back yes and opened the door. A vision to behold, her neighbor Brittany was standing there and looked a little startled at my greeting her, but she recovered quickly and introduced herself as "Brit".