"Confidence Is An Aphrodisiac."
For the first 32 years of my life, I had pretty much disbelieved that statement. I know, women are supposed to be drawn to men with a high degree of self confidence. However, in my case, I have found that, with some guys, self confidence has sometimes mutated into arrogance; a trait that totally turns me off.
I hadn't really thought much about myself, that is, my confidence or lack of it. It just wasn't paramount in my mind. Growing up, I don't think I could ever be termed as either submissive or aggressive. I had always thought of myself as just "nice".
The same could be said of my sex life. While I was not submissive to the point of being a "pushover", I was certainly not out every night with a different guy. Although I suppose I could have been described as sexually active, I wasn't some mousy little college girl waiting in the dorm for a guy to take her out and screw her.
In my marriage to Gary, my behavior didn't change. Although, at times, I did initiate the sex I have to admit that most of the time I did follow his lead. If you read my first story, you probably remember that I had wished, at times, that Gary would be more aggressive and take what he wanted. However, there were other times that I wished for other things; for example, that he "go down" on me for longer periods, that we use positions where I could be more "in charge", and that both of us would be more verbal in our lovemaking.
Still, I truly loved Gary and didn't bring up my wishes either because I didn't want to "rock the boat", or, perhaps, deep down, I really didn't have the confidence. Was I terribly unhappy? Certainly not. I just had the feeling that things could have been a little bit better.
Then, one night, everything changed. And while it took me a few days to get my feelings sorted out, I eventually realized there was a "me" that I hadn't previously seen. Stay with me and let me try to explain.
If you read my first story, you know what that "one night" was. But stop; wait a minute. If you think that I'm going to tell you that just having my brains screwed out by my husband and another guy was THE cathartic turning point of my life, then you're mistaken; no, you're SADLY mistaken. And, if you think that I'm saying that all a woman has to do to feel good about herself is to go out and be pounded by two well endowed studs, then you're equally mistaken and need to take a reality check.
However, I can't deny it. Having two great (and I mean great!) guys absolutely all over me and being made love to until I physically ached was a huge...no...make that a gigantic ego boost for me.
So what was next? Had the experience released my "inner slut"? Was I going to start "whoring around", frequenting the Atlanta night scene? Well, in the words of my favorite professor at the UGA College of Education: "N.O.N.B.H.N" which means "Not Only No, But Hell No". It's really very simple; first, I'm incurably in love with my husband, second, I'm equally in love with my profession (I'm a school teacher), and, finally, anyone who would screw around these days with all the exotic diseases going around would have to be crazy. (The "housekeeping" that I referred to in my first story pertained to HIV testing.)
There was no doubt though. I did want to do some things differently. On the Monday following that memorable weekend, Gary had to attend a coaches clinic in downtown Atlanta. I puttered around our house, doing some cleaning but I spent the entire day thinking about what I wanted and how I might be able to bring it about. I was able to resolve absolutely nothing. That afternoon, my neighbor came over and gave Gary and me an invitation to join her and her husband at the Braves game. I readily accepted and we spent a very enjoyable evening at the ballgame. I have to admit, however, that I really couldn't get into the game; I was still thinking about what I wanted to do.
Thankfully, the game ended so late that, by the time we returned home, Gary was so bushed that he didn't even think about sex. I was grateful for that; I wasn't really in the "mood" and, I was still a bit sore from the activities of the weekend. I couldn't get to sleep however. I was still hopelessly preoccupied with my thoughts.
I couldn't help but think back to an educational seminar that I had attended, in Nashville, about a year after Gary and I had been married. After the seminar, three other teachers and I met for dinner at the hotel we were staying. After dinner, our conversation had turned to our husbands (all of us were married) and then to sex. I can't remember how, but the conversation turned to openness.
One of the teachers (about my age at the time, in her early twenties) mentioned, "You know, it's sort of funny but my husband really gets turned on when I mention other men that I was with before we got married. I've always thought that was really strange."
Immediately my ears picked up although I looked down at my wine glass. Gary was the same way. I had noticed during the early months of our marriage that he had been intensely interested when I casually mentioned that one of the actors in a porn video we were watching resembled a guy I had dated in college.
One of the other women retorted, "How do you figure that's so strange?"
The first woman replied, "Oh, I don't know. I just always wondered about it."
The other woman laughed. Brenda was an attractive woman, in her mid-forties. She had long, beautiful black hair with a bust line that most women (including me) would have died for and most men would salivate over (she wasn't shy about strutting it about too).
"You know, my husband and I have been married for nearly twenty years now and I told him about every single guy that I went to bed with. And, believe me, there were plenty. He still enjoys it when I talk about them."
The first woman appeared to be amazed. (I still feigned disinterest.) "And, he didn't mind you being with all those guys? He actually enjoys hearing about them?"
Brenda laughed again. "Good Lord, where have you been all your life? In the first place, women are natural exhibitionists and men are natural voyeurs; that's way we're wired. Why do think it's mostly men who buy the porno movies?" The first woman didn't answer.
Brenda continued on. "My husband's never told me so but when I'm telling him about my past lovers, I'm really acting like a porn actress and he's watching me. Now, what's so bad about that?" When the other woman didn't answer, Brenda continued on. "Look honey, you're an attractive woman. Would you rather be married to a guy who obviously knows you're attractive to other men, and can handle it, or to some miserable little controlling bastard who's so hung up that he actually wants you to be unattractive?"
Wow! That last question hit me squarely between the eyes! I folded my arms and sat back in my chair. It was easy for me to remember (back in my hometown in middle Georgia) some of those fine Baptist men who totally dominated their wives while, at the same time, wouldn't have hesitated to chase a skirt if they thought they wouldn't get caught. I still remembered some of those creeps; many of them who had become physically violent toward their wives if they even thought of them looking at another man. In my college days, I avoided those kinds of men like the plague. I still can't stand to be around the men in my own church, today, who give off those kinds of vibes.
After that enlightenment from Brenda, I understood a little more about Gary. From that point on, I didn't hesitate to tell him anything he asked about my previous lovers. (One of his favorites was the time one of my dates had spread-eagled me on the hood of his father's Trans Am!)
But now, I still had not come up with one single idea as to what I wanted to do. I shook my head. I'm in my thirties, half-way intelligent, and reasonably good looking. Why can't I articulate what I want to my husband?
I looked up at the clock; it was early evening and nearly time for Gary to be home. I knew we needed a few groceries so I went to the store. On the way there, I went past a strip mall which had a lingerie shop.
"What the heck," I thought to myself, "maybe a little shopping will be good therapy for what ails me." As I walked into the shop, my cell phone went off. It was Gary and he was going to be home a little early. Now, even my shopping had gotten screwed up.
I certainly didn't want to leave empty handed. I went back and looked at the more "risquΓ©" items. It didn't take me long to find something that I liked; a black thong with matching bra that was exactly my size. I had always heard that, when it came to lingerie, "you can't go wrong with black." Now it would be a good time to test that out.
I took my purchase back home, along with the groceries, and prepared supper for Gary and I. After eating we did the dishes (yes, my husband actually does help me!) and watched a little TV. I didn't miss the fact that Gary took pains to sit extra close to me while we watching the screen and that, for most of the time, he laid his hand on top of my leg.
Finally, it was time for bed. While Gary took his shower, I did a short cleanup of the kitchen. By the time I came into the bedroom, he was already in bed, lying on his back with his hands behind his head. I smiled at him as I went past.
I fairly leaped into the shower. I still didn't have an idea as to what I was going to do but I was determined that tonight was going to be just a bit different. As I ran the bar of soap over my body I took extra care to run the soap between the cheeks of my butt; I wanted to be extra clean for what I was contemplating.