Among all the sentences in the English language, there are few that are more chilling than "I need to tell you something." The words that follow that sentence are rarely anything the listener wants to hear. Confessions are confessions for a reason: a secret has been kept. That secret may be harmful or embarrassing β or both. For that reason, many secrets are better kept that way.
My heart sank when I heard those words come from my wife's lips as we lay in bed on that fateful night. I had just confessed my greatest sin to her, and her unexpected reaction was to confess one of her own. As soon as she spoke the words, my immediate assumption was that she had committed the same sin. She had been unfaithful to me. I couldn't stand the thought of it, and yet I felt I deserved it. Oddly, along with the twisted pain I felt in my gut came a sense of relief.
Rachel looked into my eyes, and I could see the pain and panic behind them. I shared those feelings with her. It felt as though our entire marriage β and the fate of our family β was hanging in the balance. The next few words from her mouth would surely carry dire consequences.
"What is it?" I asked. I couldn't bare the suspense any longer.
"You have to promise me," she said, "that you will just listen to what I have to say. I'm scared to death what you will think of me."
"Honey," I said, "I am in no position to judge you, given what I've just told you."
"Just promise me," she said. She was practically quivering.
"Fine, I promise."
She took a deep breath. "I...I like that you were with another woman. I think it's exciting. I liked thinking about it, and it got me excited...in a sexual way."
That...was not the reaction I was expecting. I had no idea what to say. I couldn't even wrap my head around it. Was this a joke?
"You think I'm a freak," she said.
"Uh, no, you're not a freak," I said unconvincingly. "I'm...just trying to process what you're saying."
"It's a fairly common fantasy," she continued, "wanting your spouse to have sex with others. It's just more common with men than women. I've been looking into it."
"You've...looked into it?"
"I needed to know just how abnormal I am. It turns out that I'm not as weird as I thought. There are websites, books, blogs, message boards, and entire groups dedicated to cuckolding."
"Cuckolding," I repeated.
"It's an old word that has been changed for modern times," she explained. "Technically, I would be called a cuckquean."
"This...this is all very..."
"Strange, I know. I'm strange. What can I say? I can't help what I feel."
"I know that. And you're not strange, so stop saying that. I just need to understand...why."
"I...can't explain it, really. It's just excites me unlike anything else. I put myself in the other woman's position and get so turned on thinking about how hot she is for you, how she wants to please you, and how you please her. I know how good you are, and it excites me to share you with another woman."
"How long have you had this fantasy?"
"It's fairly recent, I guess. Any time you would go away on a business trip, I would fantasize about some strange woman picking you up at the hotel bar and taking you back to her room to have her way with you. I would pleasure myself thinking about it."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"It's embarrassing!" she said. "I'm so embarrassed just to talk about this with you now."
"But you can tell me anything. You know that."
"I know. It's just that when you came home that night and told me that Jessica was out with you, I got so excited. I've seen the way you two look at each other. The thought of that pretty young girl being so hot for you was so arousing."
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you what happened earlier," I said.
"I knew you would, eventually. That's why I didn't say anything to you. I wanted you to come clean. That tells me I can trust you to do it again the next time it happens."
"The next time?" I said. "Honey, there isn't going to be a next time, I swear to you. I don't plan on ever seeing Jessica ever again."
"I don't mean with Jessica," she said. "I'm not entirely comfortable with you being with her, anyway. I'd rather you be with someone we don't know."
"What are you saying? You want me to have an affair?"
"Not an affair, exactly. Just sex."
I was speechless. I had been carrying such heavy guilt for so long, and it turned out that there was no reason for it. Not only was Rachel not upset about what happened with Jessica, but she wanted it to happen again. I had always coveted my marriage vows, and was a true believer in monogamy. I would have never considered having sex with another woman, and yet my wife was actively encouraging me to do so.