There is something about the ocean air that makes me able to sleep long and deeply. The excitement of the Friday night did nothing to prohibit my sleep that night, although I was nudged gently a few times in the middle of the night by my husband Jim who was probably trying to reassure me. He didnât have to bother. I was very comfortable with the strength of our relationship and very sure that my interaction with his friend, Sam, (one little blow job at Jimâs suggestion) would do nothing to harm us.
When I finally awoke around 8 am, I slipped out from under the covers quietly so as not to wake Jim. I could hear Sam moving around downstairs and I thought it would be good if I went right down and talked to him. I felt it important that I manage this situation as much as possible. As I hope you can tell from my writing, I am a very strong person. Perhaps because of the stigma of my name, Candi, I was always trying to overcome peopleâs first opinions of me as an airhead. I worked hard in school. I managed to get into a prestigious Eastern college where I first met Jim so I wasnât going to have trouble addressing the issue that I faced that Saturday morning.
I noticed a certain tension in the set of Samâs shoulders as I walked up behind him in the kitchen so I reached up and began to massage his neck. He slowly turned to me with a questioning expression but I just smiled and kissed him on the cheek. âLast night was fun, Sam. Donât you agree?â
âIt was awesome, Candi. Thank you so much,â he responded. âI woke up in the middle of the night and for a minute I wasnât sure whether I had just dreamed the whole thing. I wish there was some way to thank you - and to thank Jim.â
âI did your thanking for you when I got back into bed,â I laughed. âBut, Sam, there is one thing I want to ask. When we get back to Boston on Monday, what are you going to tell people about me? I know that it is natural for guys to tell each other stories about things like this, but I really donât want this to get out. Iâm not worried about my reputation â I donât care what people think. But I do love Jim and Iâm afraid that if a bunch of his friends hear about this, they might start to kid him and it could effect HIS view of me. Jim and I have a good thing going, a serious thing, and I donât want anything from the outside to ruin that. If weâre going to screw it up, I want it to be our doing - and if we donât screw it up, I want to marry him.â
It felt bizarre to say that out loud to another man. Jim and I had talked about marriage a little bit but just in general terms. Suddenly, I was confessing my feelings to someone else. Sam didnât look surprised but he waited a long time before replying.
âYou may not believe this, Candi, but I promise you that I will never tell this story to anyone. First of all, Iâve known Jim a long time and what you are saying about your relationship doesnât surprise me. I guess weâre all getting to that stage where the idea of settling down with one person doesnât seem so bad anymore. But thatâs not the only reason, and the second one is a little selfish. I figure if I keep your confidence by keeping my mouth shut, we might be able to do something like that again - maybe even this weekend.â
My initial reaction to this statement was surprise but before I could speak, my body began to betray me. Men wonât understand what Iâm talking about because I think they walk around with a constant sexual urge rippling on the surface of their bodies, but women are very different (as if you needed Candi to tell you that). When a sexual urge hits us, particularly when we are doing something or focusing on something completely non-sexual, it starts from somewhere deep inside of us and begins to emanate outwards. I suppose I should study the Hindu chakra theory to see if that would explain it but it starts low â close to our vaginas but deeper. Itâs like an unseen vestigial organ of womanhood and mating and the warm feeling then spreads upward and outward until it gets to skin level. That was what I felt from Samâs words and in my warmth I reached out and hugged him so that I could whisper in his ear. âMaybe,â I said because I wasnât sure myself.
Of course, the gods have a sense of humor so it was while we were locked in this hug that Jim entered the kitchen with a laugh. âDoes this mean that I have to pack my bags and hitchhike home?â he asked.
I reached out and pulled him toward me. âNo, Jim. Sam and I were just enjoying each otherâs company and sharing a few secrets. Youâre still number one in my heart.â
âThanks for your support last night, Jimâ Sam added. âIt means a lot to me.â
Jim didnât seem to know what to say to that so he just smiled at us both. âThe weather looks terrific. Everyone seems to feel good so letâs eat and then hit the beach. We can finish talking there.â
So that is exactly what we did. We packed a big cooler with waters and beers. We threw together some sandwiches and snacks and headed off to Third Beach in Newport with Samâs windsurfing board on the roof rack. It was a glorious June day and I couldnât have felt better about the last 24 hours of my life. I will never forget the feeling I had that day.
Of course we all know that sitting out on a hot beach can do for oneâs libido. It was just a fantastic day to watch all of the other people revel in the 85 degree temperature. Sam took off for most of the day down to the other end of the beach where the windsurfers were, so Jim and I had a lot of private time together. We didnât really talk about Sam or what happened the night before. One of the things I like about Jim is his ability to know when to avoid a topic. But even though we werenât talking about it, I knew it was hanging there between us and that at some point we needed to address it. I just figured that Jim would know the right time to bring it up. Around three oâclock we switched from waters to beers and it was while reaching for our second Budweiser that Jim chose to broach the subject.
âCandi, do you want to talk about last night?â It was the nature of our relationship that Jim knew to look directly into my eyes when he asked me something of importance. I looked directly back at him.
âSure,â I said, âbut Iâm not sure what exactly needs to be discussed.â
âI just want to tell you my feelings, Candi. You donât need to talk about it if you donât want to but I need to make sure that you understand my attitude. OK?â I just continued to lock eyes with Jim. He knew he could continue.
âI think you are the most fantastic woman that I have ever known. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. And what you did last night just makes that feeling stronger. I donât mean that you have to do that in the future or that we need others to make our sex life great, but we need to promise each other that we will always be willing to experiment like that if we get the urge. The thought of you being with Sam was a huge turn-on for me - it still is a huge turn-on for me, and it makes me love you all the more. We have to promise that even if we get old in terms of age, we will always try to remain young in terms of our sexual age. Does that make sense?â
At that moment, I wanted to jump on top of Jim and call for a preacher. The warmth of the sun and the warmth of my feelings were getting me feverish. I pressed myself into his arms and squeezed his body towards me. I buried my face against his chest and he enveloped me in his arms.
âIt makes perfect sense to me,â I replied. âLast night was good for all three of us. Sam got some relief and you and I learned a lot more about our relationship and our love for each other. I love you, Jim. I trust you and I want to marry you. I will honor you and obey you.â At those last words, I lifted my head so that I could once more stare into Jimâs eyes. âI will obey you and fulfill all of your wishes and fantasies â you just have to tell me what they are.â
So complete was my feeling of joy at that moment, that it made perfect sense to me when Jim used his pet name as he responded.
âJoy you are and Joy we shall have. We have plenty of time to figure out future excitements. But for this weekend, you should do whatever you want, Candi. I will obey you. Just let me know your wishes, let Sam know if you want him involved and we will have a terrific time.â