"This is definitely crossing new territory," Marianne Walsh said, looking at her husband Luther Brands. They'd known each other for nearly a decade and been romantically involved for three years. During that time, Luther discovered his bisexuality and Marianne fell in love with the world of BDSM. Since then, the couple found themselves at something of a crossroads. Where do they go from here?
"We'll explore it together," Luther replied with a firm nod. Marianne nodded, and looked intently at him. The two of them lay in bed together, browsing. They were looking at Bisexual Universe, an online forum aimed at bisexual men and the women and others who love them. Since many in the LGBT community despise bisexual men and seek to deny them out of existence, bisexual men and their admirers are going their own way, hence the forum. Good news for Luther and Marianne.
Six feet three inches tall, bald-headed, muscular and dark-skinned, Luther Brands is a proud son of the Jamaican-Canadian diaspora. Upon meeting Marianne and Luther, many felt the two of them could not be more different. Five feet eleven inches tall, plump, red-haired and green-eyed Marianne is still somewhat of a newcomer to the City of Ottawa, Canada, by way of Galway, Ireland. The foxy Irishwoman still speaks with her Galway accent and is damn proud of it.
When Marianne and Luther met, one fine day at Algonquin College, they hit it right off. At the time, Luther was dating Stacey, a big-booty Nigerian chick with a penchant for wild sex, hard liquor and fast living. At the time, Marianne was staying with her aunt Gertrude in the Nepean area while studying at Algonquin College. The sheltered young Irishwoman began exploring her sexuality in those halcyon days, and discovered the world of BDSM along the way.
Fast forward a few years and Luther and Marianne live together in a nice two-bedroom apartment not far from the By Ward Market area. He works for CMHC and she works for Nav Canada. Just another middle-class couple living the dream. On the surface, the attractive, twenty-something interracial couple appears to have it all. Things are seldom what they seem in most cases, and this holds true for the private lives of Marianne and Luther...
When Luther revealed his bisexuality to Marianne ages ago, it was something of a surprise. Luther is a very masculine brother whose virility is legendary. Women are always checking out Luther while he and Marianne walk about town together. Luther does seem to enjoy the attention from the ladies, but the ladies aren't the only ones checking him out. Everyone wants a piece of this fine specimen of Jamaican masculinity...
"I abstained from everyone else, male or female, since we started dating," Luther reassured Marianne after that particular revelation. Marianne found herself at something of a crossroads. Nowadays, every woman seems to want a gay male friend, usually the most effeminate fellow around, to help them with shopping and gossip. Most of those same women find bisexual men repugnant and would never date one. Such is life, apparently.
Fortunately for Luther, Marianne isn't most women and she truly loves her husband. A lot of women think that bisexual men are programmed to cheat and cannot be satisfied with monogamy. The LGBT community certainly promotes that negative stereotype of bisexual men, whom they reject off-hand or see as sexually confused liars. Lucky for Luther, Marianne has a mind of her own. The happy couple decided to explore together...
"When we go over there, we do as I say," Marianne cautioned Luther, who smiled and kissed her. The forum had munches and meetings every other Saturday of the month. During their first meeting, Marianne and Luther were surprised. There were eleven guys, nine women, and the meeting leader was a tall, curvy and attractive black woman named Joanna. She heartily welcomed the newcomers.
"Welcome, you two are so cute," Joanna said, smiling at Luther and Marianne as they joined the meeting. Luther pointed out Joanna's Caribbean accent and Marianne nodded in agreement. Folks went around introducing themselves. The bisexual men at the meeting were a surprisingly diverse lot. Luther was pleased to see that the men looked, acted and sounded like normal, regular guys, unlike the effeminate stereotypes that he'd come to dread. People like me, Luther thought, relieved.
There was Scott, a burly trucker from Calgary who was raising his two daughters after a messy divorce. Apparently, his ex-wife is nuts. Trent, a slim black man from Winnipeg who lived with his First Nations girlfriend Sheila. Victor, an Asian businessman living with his partner Troy. Vivian and Dalton, recent retirees who moved to Ottawa from Edmonton. Rod and Kiana were a college-age interracial couple from Montreal. Truly a diverse lot.
"My husband Clayton and I started the local chapter of Bisexual Universe," Joanna said, and a tall, athletic white guy with a cowboy hat took the podium. Clayton smiled at Joanna and kissed her on the lips before turning to address the others. Marianne looked intently at Joanna and Clayton. A bisexual redneck married to a black woman, Marianne thought, smiling. In many ways, Clayton and Joanna were the inverse of Marianne and Luther...
"Most women reject bisexual men, and I've had gay men sabotage my relationships with women by outing me, I was alone for a long time, trusting no one, I was really lucky to meet Joanna," Clayton said, looking adoringly at his wife. Luther took Marianne's hand and gave it a squeeze. Marianne smiled at Luther and said nothing. She continued to look around.
Marianne's eyes met those of Kiana, the light-skinned, Afro-sporting, curvy young biracial woman from the City of Montreal whose boyfriend Rod, a tattooed blond-haired surfer type, was clicking on his cellphone. Marianne's heart skipped a beat as Kiana winked at her, and she smiled but said nothing. Luther did not seem to notice anything out of sorts with Marianne, and they continued to listen as people talked and shared their stories.
"A lot of bisexual women don't like bisexual men, guess I'm a unicorn, cause I find bisexual guys hot," Kiana said, smiling at Rod as she spoke. Marianne smiled as Rod and Kiana shared their stories. They met at the University of Montreal, fell in love and were real active in the local alternative rock community. They recently moved to Ottawa to work as government contractors and seemed to be enjoying life in the Capital of Canada.
"Mare, you think she's hot," Luther whispered into Marianne's ear as they listened to Kiana and Rod, and Marianne blushed. Marianne smiled at Luther and shrugged. While Marianne considers herself mostly straight, she's had a few encounters with women since she began dabbling in BDSM. Hell, a month ago, Marianne had a lot of fun with Sholonda, a tall and sexy, dreadlocked black woman from Detroit, Michigan, whom she met at the Rideau Center.
