(Note-Minor changes were made to Part 1)
*
The next night Claire and Seth were curled up on the sofa in front of their fireplace
"Do you mind if I ask how things went yesterday?" Seth asked.
"Sure, but do you really want to know?"
"Of course I do."
"It was great actually, way better than I had imagined. You know how shy sex makes me, yet I seemed to open up, it was a new experience for me. I feel weird telling you this, but the sex was amazing, maybe the best I have had, at least in quite some time."
Although Claire was outgoing and a social butterfly, she was afraid of confrontation, and unless provoked, struggled causing a stir or always making her feelings known. The truth was, Seth was a great lover and very passionate. However, lately he had become lazy, was not in the mood quite as often as he used to be, and had lost some of his creativity. This new turn in their relationship had her feeling self-conscious again, especially given her history. Her high school boyfriend, who she dated off and on until she was 25, was nearly asexual and rarely gave her attention. A general shyness with men and relationships and a turbulent relationship with a woman left Claire with a serious lack of self-confidence when it came to sexual matters. Seth had changed that, he made her feel special, he desired her, and awoke her to the joys and possibilities of sex. She wanted to just tell him that he had dropped the ball lately, that he had lost his intensity, and that she hoped they could find that again. They had only been together for 3 years; does the sexual spark fade that quickly?
"That is great, I am glad you were able to break out of that rut and experience something new," Seth said. "Would you like to get together with him again?"
"Why, would you be ok with that?" Claire asked with some hesitance.
"Well I have been thinking, maybe we could open things up a bit, allow each other to explore. As of yesterday, you have had sex with two people, and the first, me, was not until you were 32. I know you have felt uneasy about your lack of experience, but are afraid to bring it up. Maybe you should explore that. I have to admit myself, things went so fast with us, we were engaged 9 months after meeting, married 6 months after that. When I decided to try online dating, I didn't think I would meet someone like you so fast."
Claire looked at Seth with a little concern and raised eyebrows. "What, you are saying that you met me too fast? That you wanted to continue to play the field?" Claire asked.
"I don't know, I am just saying that things went faster than I realized. Even for you, I was the only person there you even went on a date with. I love you so much, you are the only person I have had a relationship with that has understood me and always given me the support or space I need, I appreciate that. I have just had these thoughts in my head, maybe having sex outside our marriage is just sex, just pleasure, it doesn't have to have an impact."
Claire was becoming increasingly confused. "But it does have an impact. I didn't date anyone else off of the site because no one else interested me, only you did. This idea seems crazy and dangerous to me on many levels. Mark was a nice guy and attractive, who is to say something like that wouldn't get complicated?"
Claire continued, "I mean, do you have someone in mind? If you could explore with anyone, who would it be?"
"Do you really want to know?" Seth asked.
"Yes, I asked the question didn't I?"
"Well, honestly, I have been having very intense dreams about Lauren."
"Lauren?!"
Lauren was Seth's most recent ex-girlfriend, they has been together for almost 3 years and split up only a few months before Seth and Claire had met. Lauren was a beautiful Jewish girl, with dark hair just past her shoulders, olive skin, she was about 5'3, and weighed about 120 pounds with 32 C breasts. She was a massage therapist, very fit and toned was into yoga and holistic health. Lauren and Seth's relationship was a very explosive one. The sex was great, they had sex on average 5-8 times a week, as Lauren's appetite was intense; however, Lauren struggled with emotional issues such as neediness and the need for consistent affirmation. Seth was as sweet and patient a man as there was, but was also very introspective and needed his space. He did his best to tend to Lauren's needs, but eventually he wore out and when he did, Lauren's temper always let him know.
"Lauren?!" Claire repeated.
"Yes, like I said, it was a dream, but left me wondering. I know, this all seems crazy, it is not like I feel I made the wrong choice or anything, I know I didn't. We have always been non-conformist with everything else in life, so I thought maybe the freedom to explore might be intriguing for awhile."
"I don't know Seth, as much as I did enjoy the time I spent with Mark, I value stability too. Let me think it over."
"Of course, if this is too much for you I understand. Really I can't believe I even proposed it, so if you say no then I will let it go."
It was very late and they were tired and went to bed. The kissed each other goodnight, and within minutes Seth was asleep. Claire laid there for a moment, she thought that had this been even a year ago he would have been all over her, tired or not. She sighed and then fell asleep.