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The characters sexualized in the story are all 18 or older.
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I spent Sunday in a funk. I had breakfast, did laundry and caught up on some coursework. I knew we made the right decision, but I just felt bummed. I decided to call the monk for a gut check.
"Hey man, what's up?" He asked after we grated each other.
"Remember that scenario I told you about a few weeks ago?" I asked.
"Sure. How are things going?"
"It has run its course. I got what I needed. I think it was a win win win, but now I feel really empty."
"How much did you feel for each other?" He asked.
"It got really intense. I had to end things, it sounded like she was feeling the same. I didn't really want it to end but I felt I had to before it got to be too much," I shared.
"How many times did you get together?" He inquired.
"Only three, but we already were meeting three times a week after class to talk and stuff. I really hope that can continue. She has been a really good friend. It will suck so much more if that ends too," I was panicking.
"You really love her, don't you?" Jeff could tell what I was feeling.
"Dude, I don't know why I get like this. I just give myself over so fast."
"Ever since I've known you, it's been the same. You'll be ok. You always are. It takes time."
He was right. I'd been there before. I was familiar with the feeling.
"Thanks man. I appreciate it," I said
"No problem. Talk soon" he said as we hung up.
The rest of the day dragged on. I felt lost, mostly.
On Monday after class, Sandy and I walked out together as usual. I felt ok for the first time since I left the condo on Sunday morning. She asked if we could go to Helmut's which signaled to me she wanted a longer, more private conversation. She was quiet as she drove over there. I was trying to read her facial expression. She looked grim.
As we were seated, I asked, "Are you ok?" I was worried because of her silence.
"No, not really. I really need you just to listen to me for a while. Can you do that?" she asked.
I nodded and she began to tell me about her conversation with Brian. She had told him that we had decided to end our experiment. That I had recognized that my feelings for her were too much and that I needed to stop. Then she proceeded to tell him all the details of our night together and that he became angry. That he couldn't believe she acted like that with me and that she went so far. He said that he didn't know who she was anymore. She had told him that she wanted to be that way with him and he couldn't handle it and that I had loved her enough to give her what she needed. She said he got up and left the house and hadn't come back.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean for anything like this to happen."
"It's totally not your fault. It's mine and it's his. I'm scared that I really messed up my marriage though. All I can do now is wait and see what happens next. The hard part is that you're the only one I can talk to right now. I really need you to be my friend for a while until things settle down."
"I was so lost yesterday. I was afraid you wouldn't want or be able to continue our friendship. I'll always be happy to be your friend. I just didn't imagine this. I can't imagine how you felt yesterday."
"I was angry at him and angry at myself mostly. I was scared that I had really screwed up. And I was missing you. I wanted to call you so you could tell me you loved me. And I couldn't let myself do that so I suffered. Probably like you suffered."
"I do love you, still. It's like I'm mourning a loss. I think it's the loss of letting myself feel things that I probably had no right to feel, but I loved feeling them. I'm really glad that I can still be your friend. I was panicking yesterday when I wasn't sure that could happen."
"It makes me so happy to hear you say those things. I know it probably shouldn't, but I really need to be happy for just a moment."
We had some food and that helped. We hung out until Sandy had to leave to get home for Heather. I felt really sad and scared for her, but calm because I knew I wasn't losing my friend right away.
On Wednesday she looked much better. She told me that Brian had come home and apologized. He had just walked around all night talking to himself, slept in his truck and called in sick to work. He went to a bar when it opened at 11 and got stinking drunk and then he got some food and coffee, sobered up and came home.
He realized that he reacted badly and while he was still processing his own feelings, he acknowledged that I had done the right thing and he said that after he got over the feelings of betrayal and jealousy, he realized that he himself was as responsible as she was. He had agreed to the experiment and he had created the situation where her needs and desires were not met.
She had asked if it were ok if she and I remained friends and he had said that was fine. That he trusted me more that he trusted either her or himself at that moment and that I was the least responsible for their current situation. She said that Brian had suggested that they see a counselor to help them both work through this together. Finally she shared that she had told Brian about my offer to babysit so that they could have time together. He was shocked that I would offer and how that even came up. She had to confess to him that she had told me how she had been enjoying the date part of our times together and that she felt that she and Brian had neglected that part of their relationship. He was stunned that I had offered to help them like that.
"So it sounds like you guys are going to be ok then?" I said hopefully.
"I am hopeful. I've never made him angry or jealous like that before. It really surprised me. It will take a while to work through, I'm sure," She said.
"I'll be here if you need to talk. I don't know what else I can offer."
Things kind of went back to normal. Sandy and I hung out after class like friends. She told me little bits about how things were going with Brian and it sounded good. Then a couple weeks later Sandy hit me with a request to meet with their counselor. Suffice it to say that I was unprepared and pretty freaked out.
"What does he want? What should I say?" I asked, panicking.
"It's she, and I think she wants your perspective on me and our relationship. I've told her pretty much everything and I think she just wants to hear it from you. Just tell her the truth as much as you can. You don't have to if it's too freaky. I can't imagine this is comfortable for you."
"You know I'll do pretty much anything for you if it'll help," I offered.
"I do."
I met with the counselor the following Tuesday in the afternoon. I hadn't been to see a counselor since I was in junior high school. I was more than a little nervous. Her name was Dr. Davenport.
"Welcome, Rob. I'm a little surprised but really glad you came. Please call me Amy. I realize how much courage it requires for you to come and endure this today. It speaks to your character, which by the way both Brian and Sandy have spoken of very positively.
What I'm trying to do is to get from you a unique perspective that can shed some light on Brian and Sandy's rather unusual situation. What I'd like to do is to ask you questions and you answer as honestly as possible. You can always decline or tell me that a question makes you uncomfortable. Ok?" She explained.
"Sure. I'll do my best."
"Rob, why did you agree to meet with me today?"
"Because I hope it can help my friend strengthen her marriage. I feel I owe her that as I was a party to the mess that resulted from our experiment," I stated.
"How did you and Sandy become friends, I never really asked her about that."
"It started as a project partnership for a course that we both had. We found that we enjoyed talking to each other after class beyond just the project. I got to know her and some of her life story. I was struggling in my emotions about a missed opportunity with a girl I had been infatuated with who was killed in an auto accident. I sort of parked my infatuation on Sandy. Then I accidentally exposed my infatuation although Sandy already knew. I told her about Carol and how I had missed opportunities to get with her over and over because I lacked confidence and asked for her insight and advice. She was open and candid and shared some helpful insights."
"Did you have any notion that she had feelings for you at that time?" Amy asked.
"Not really, but I'm a dumb guy. I don't pick up the signals well. She did say she was flattered when I told her I was infatuated with her. I didn't really think about that at the time."
"When did you first become aware that she had feelings for you?" She inquired.
"Brian told me when I had dinner at their house. I still don't think I understood then either. But I was pretty shocked by what he told me, so my brain was struggling to keep up."
"What did he say?"
"He said that she had asked for permission to help me with my confidence problem and that now that he had met me he understood why she loved me," I said.
"Did you think when he said that she was attracted to you? That she wanted to have sex with you?"
"I kinda knew she was attracted to me, but it never really occurred to me that she might want to have sex with me. It was more that she was willing to do that to help me. I was thinking in the context of my own feelings for her. As a friend, that I wanted to be for her."
"What do you mean you wanted to be for her?"