Chapter 5: Emily and I Talk About the Future
Saturday morning everyone slept in, although I did hear the sounds of sex being perpetrated from Grace's bedroom as Emily and I lay there cooing words of love at each other.
I was amazed at the range of emotions I'd been through during the week. I thought I'd lost my one true love, my soul mate. Then we found each other again. Now I was really motivated to talk to her, to make sure that everything that had happened and that all I thought about was communicated to her. I wanted to find out what she thought about the world too.
Eventually everyone got up and we had a sexy brunch. What made it sexy is that (a) none of us showered and so we still carried the aroma of our previous night's activities, and (b) we were all pretty close to naked in our dress. I managed to dip a different finger in each pussy. I was thus able to smell alternate fingers and compare the aromas of Grace, Kim and Emily, albeit tainted by other fluids we guys had left behind in the same orifices. Based on my research we did a sniff test and determined that we all smelled wonderful and we wanted more of the same for the rest of the weekend.
Russ volunteered to help Grace do a couple of home projects. Kim wanted to read in the afternoon. Emily and I went off to a nearby mall to shop. Ultimately our shopping trip ended when we picked up a house gift for Grace. We found a large park on the way back to Grace's house and the two of us just went and walked and talked for a couple of hours.
As we started walking I asked Emily, "Are you at all jealous of my friendship with Grace or Kim?"
"Hummmmm," she thought for a moment. "No, I'm not. Probably because I know they have no designs on your long-term future. Besides we now know each other and I trust them. I don't think they'd do anything to hurt me ... or you, for that matter. Probably, it's the sex but I have romantic feelings about them myself."
"How about Pam?" I asked.
Emily responded, "Right now that's a different story. I think we're competing for you. She'd like to lock you up and keep you away from me. Right?"
"Yea, I think you're right. You should know that I don't see a long-term relationship there unless that situation changes. We had a 'friends with benefits' thing but I don't want to pursue that anymore; things have to move one way or the other. I think it has to do with feeling 'possessed'. Things changed over the past few weeks with her. I'll be curious to see what she's like after I haven't seen her for two weeks straight. Her e-mails are all business by the way."
Emily said, "I liked Pam from the little we talked. If she had an attitude like Grace or Kim I wouldn't feel threatened."
"You shouldn't feel threatened anyway," I said.
"Oh, I know. I just found you and I want to see how we play out together without feeling I have to fight for your attention or affection."
"I feel the same way about you," I volunteered. "You are my dream come true and in so many ways I just didn't expect -- like our group sex activities. You blow me away."
"Well, I can just blow you too, but the others in the park might be offended," she said. We both laughed.
I asked, "Do you think our having a long-term relationship is doomed? I mean the past couple of weeks were a very odd start to a courtship: you caught me with Kim -- and Grace, and you've had your thing with Russ. I mean we agree to continue those but do you think that'll eventually screw up our ever getting more serious -- like getting married?"
Emily threw herself into my arms, "Oh, I love you. No. No. No. Nothing is screwed up. And if that was a proposal the answer is 'YES'." She shouted the last word. We hugged and kissed standing in the middle of the walking path.
I said, "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that. We have so much to talk about and share, I can hardly wait. I have some tough questions that you need to think about. They'll help us understand each other and how we think."
We started to walk again. Emily squeezed me to her side; "Ask away."
I asked, "Do you get jealous?"
"Sure, sometimes. But it's not an emotion I court very often," Emily said. "Were you jealous when I told you about Russ and me?"
"No," I said. "I was actually happy for you, particularly the way you described it. You left room for there to be an 'us' and that was really all I wanted at that moment -- it's all I want now too."
"What about exclusivity?" she asked.
"Emily, I can't be all you'll ever need or want. I can't even come close. I have to admit the converse is true too -- I will need interaction with other people for all sorts of things. I don't expect exclusivity nor should you -- from anyone. The real world just doesn't work that way. As far as sex goes ... well, we could cut a deal but periodically, particularly for the next twenty or forty years of our lives, we'll run up against that arbitrary boundary. I won't hold you to it; just come home once in a while because I love you and need you." She kissed me.
I thought for a moment as we started walking around a pond again and added, "Right now I would have no problem being exclusive with you. It'd be awkward perhaps with Kim and Grace, but perhaps Russ could fill my slot. If that would make you happy -- or happier -- just say the word."
We walked in silence for a couple of hundred feet then she said, "No. Right now, with them, you don't have to change. I like them. I liked the sexual excitement we made for each other last night. Even if I wasn't here I would enjoy knowing that you were sharing in that; just bring some of it back to me." She shot me a sideways grin.
I stopped us walking and pulled her to me in a long kiss. I told her, "That tells me a lot about you. Oh, Emily I really love you. We are so in synch." We started walking again.
Emily squeezed my hand and asked, "How about commitment? How do you reconcile that with your philosophy?"
I answered, "Well, for one commitment means doing what you say you'll do. That's integrity too. When you commit to something I think you open up the door for unexpected and good things to happen." I thought a minute, "Commitment doesn't mean ownership or submission either. You can't really commit unless you're an independent person. I do commit myself to you and your happiness."
"Very good; I agree," Emily said. "I commit all that to you too. I wouldn't have thought of all that. So what about freedom and I mean in the context of a relationship? What are you free to do?"
"Oh, that's a deep one too," I said. "Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. You can't get something for nothing. If I act responsibly towards you I get increased freedom -- meaning, I guess, that I can be independent in some way without fearing consequences around those actions. If I am irresponsible, like not calling or caring about you or being egotistical, I get consequences and those make me feel less free. The idea is to avoid an ego-to-ego clash and to create a win-win."
"You are GREAT," Emily said and punched me in the arm. "How'd you think through all this stuff? It's wonderful and I agree with everything you've said."
I told her, "Wait until you meet my parents and you'll see the source for some of this 'stuff'. Not necessarily the same philosophy, but the nudge towards critical thinking about key areas of your life. My Dad has a saying that goes something like 'if you don't have a compass you'll never know whether you're traveling in the right direction.' He'd toss me some values -- like you're doing - and ask me to think through how I felt about it and then we'd talk about it. He wouldn't try to convert me to his way of thinking but he might comment on disorganized or sloppy thinking. It used to be a game while we were driving somewhere."
"Will you play it with me?" Emily asked.
"Sure." I thought for a moment then said, "What do you think about love?"
"Oh Geez," Emily said, "You sure don't start with something easy do you. Let me think." She was silent for a couple of moments then she started slowly but seemed to gain confidence as she went along; "I believe there are different kinds of love. Of course there's romantic love that makes your heart flutter ... and makes me want to be naked and all over you and have your proboscis inside me;" she leaned in and kissed me as we strolled around a lake.
She continued, "Oh, there's family love -- parents and siblings - and the kind of love you feel for a close friend -- not romantic but deep caring and commitment. There's the love you feel for mankind -- I think it's called agape."
"But what do you THINK about it? What's it mean? Use 'romantic love' and not the others," I urged her.