Getting Beyond Stale

"I don't know. My message just said to check my choices before I left for work and that I would be told the dress immediately so I could take it to work with me. It just sounds like we are going to have to think things through a little better." She paused a moment, "Honey, I've gone along with the suggestion that we don't discuss things with each other and apparently you have also. But are you OK with this?"

Greg smiled at her, "Yes I think so. It is kind of exciting like a blind date or something. I mean I know who the potential candidates are but I won't know who until I actually show up for dinner. What about you?"

"I feel the same. I just wanted to hear you say that you were OK with it."

"At least for the first time, I am OK with it. If there are problems, I guess that we will find out soon enough."

"That's true. Let's go to bed."

"I'm with you." They went to bed and for the first time in a long time, they made love during the week. Usually, one or the other of them was too tired during the week. Friday date night and the weekend had become their private time with each other.

Julia woke wide awake at 5:00, an hour before she usually did. She almost ran to the computer and logged in. Surely enough, there was a new screen and she quickly read the instructions. There were three columns labeled 1, 2, and 3. Under each number, there were two date suggestions. The note said that her husband was not on the list and wouldn't be for at least the first two dates. After that, he would be included. So she quickly reviewed the six options.

Under 1, she found CW dancing with dress jeans or casual dress for dancing. The second choice was music at a jazz club, dress. She felt that that was probably Derek. Under 2, she found night golf, casual with golf clubs or dancing at a night club, evening wear. Under 3, she found an evening at an art gallery, evening dress or the Greek Festival, casual.

She quickly decided that her first choice was the Greek festival, her second was CW dancing, and her third choice was the jazz club. She sent it off and the immediate reply was for her to take casual wear, either jeans and a blouse or a dress. That didn't tell her which one she would be going to but it made it easy for her to pick something that would work for all three. She pulled a nice skirt and blouse with a vest from her closet and set it aside. Now the only issue was which shoes to wear. She decided to take two pair; one would be better for dancing and the other for walking. Then she took her shower and made coffee so it would be ready what Greg woke at 6:00.

All four of the girls logged in as soon as they got to work, but there was no update at that time. They worked with one eye on the screen until just before noon when they checked and there was a new message. Each girl eagerly opened the screen and found a message that read, "Sorry for the glitch. Guys being guys, the word 'casual' obviously didn't tell them to be more precise. To them that means 'no heels' but little else. I am happy to tell you that everyone gets to go on their first choice. Go to the next screen and you can print the details out. By tonight, all of these screens will be gone until tomorrow when the reports will be posted. Have fun tonight."

Julia was pleased. She would be going to the Greek Festival which sounded like fun. She went to the next page and hit the print button even before she read it. It was simple and said that she would meet her date at a club on the north side of town at 6:00 and that she should wear comfortable clothes for the Greek festival. Her message also noted that they could decide at the club if they wanted to eat at a restaurant or wait and eat at the Festival. The after date meeting place was at Tina's house. It also noted that they should remember to not discuss where or what they did on the date but to keep things general and vague.

At 5:00, she changed into her dress and waited until she got to her car to put on the shoes she brought. With a smile on her face, she got in her car and drove to the club where she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Derek. She had guessed wrong earlier, but she didn't mind. She really liked Derek and looked forward to the evening. The festival was nearby and they decided to eat there and taste a wide variety of things. There was music and craft items and food, lots of food. Julia and Derek tried everything including Greek dancing and almost every food offered. They laughed and held hands and had a good time.

At 11:30, she was back in her car and driving toward home with a smile on her face. The reason for her smile was that the good night kiss they shared before parting was very sensual and nice. She had felt tingles that she hadn't felt since before she got married. She knew that she would definitely look forward to going out with Derek again. Derek had to stop and pick up some items at the store on the way home. Julia realized that all of the guys probably had something to pick up so that no one arrived at the same time as their date.

She parked in her drive way at 11:45 and walked over towards Tina's house. Maggie and Tina were already there and Brenda was just then parking her car. Julia waited for her before going in. All four of the girls had big smiles on their faces and spoke glowingly but vaguely about their date. The first guy to arrive was Jim and he brought two bottles of wine. Derek arrived next followed by Greg. Derek brought some fruit and Greg brought a cake. Bob was the last to arrive explaining that he had to go to three stores to find the right kind of ice cream.

Everyone had a glass of wine and a piece of cake with either fruit or ice cream. By 1:00 everyone left to go home with their spouse. No one has slipped and said something they shouldn't have, but everyone indicated that the evening had been a success. Neither Julia nor Greg said anything to the other as to who they were with or what they did. All Julia could tell was that Greg wore jeans and his shirt had a light floral smell to it. She just smiled wondering if Derek had a lavender smell on his shirt when he got home to Maggie.

The next morning, Julia rose early and logged in to find the report and quickly answered the questions. Two of the questions asked to give both the person and the date a grade from between 1 and 10. She decided to give a 9 to both of them. Then she changed it to a 10 for the person. Under the comments she confirmed that the dress definition needed to be tightened up. Other than that, she didn't find anything to offer a negative comment about. When she had sent it, she idly wondered how both Greg and Derek would answer the questions.

For the next three weeks, things worked a little smoother. The girls had their choices by Wednesday evening and were able clarify any dress question by Thursday night. Julia had gone dancing with Jim the next week and then to a concert with her husband on the third week. Finally she had gone to a boat show with Bob. Each date had been successful and fun. But as she sat trying to answer the questions about her date with Bob the next Saturday morning, she stopped and took stock. She honestly had enjoyed the time with each guy and the night with her husband had been special. But the nights with Jim and Bob had felt a little forced. Jim's humor was great in the group but he sounded a little like a lounge lizard in private. Bob had spent a lot of time talking to people about the boats leaving her standing and looking alone. They were nice and all, but she felt that they both had been a little distracted. That took away a little bit of fun for her. She wondered if the others had felt the same. She finished her report on her date with Bob and submitted it. Immediately there was another message that told her to check back that afternoon for a follow up message. She logged out and went about her early morning tasks wondering what the follow up message would say. She and Greg did their weekend errands and chores and after lunch she went and logged into the computer again.

The message that greeted her was longer than she expected and she started to read eagerly.

"Based on all of the reports, I think that this has been a successful experiment so far. Everyone has enjoyed their dates and no one has reported a serious problem. I am glad to say that everyone enjoyed the date with their spouse and gave that date a 10. That is good news for everyone, I think. Looking over the data, there does appear to be a couple of things that stand out. Of the three non-spouse dates, one person stood out more than the other two which is interesting. However, the type of dates offered were fairly consistent across the board for the guys. So I also suspect that the type of date plays a stronger role than the person in the girl's evaluations. As a result, I will be applying a judgment factor in the next round to minimize the potential discomfort factor when date selection is finalized."

"In general, everyone has stayed within the ground rules but there have been a few suggestions to expand them slightly. No one has failed to report or respond in a timely manner. As a result, I am offering these suggestions for discussion. Please feel free to comment. Go to the next page."

Julia clicked to the next page and was surprised at the first suggestion. "Consider changing Date Night to Saturday Night. This would allow both parties to be more rested and have more time to prepare and dress for the date as opposed to going directly from work. Comments?"

Julia thought about it and decided that Saturday night might give her more time to prepare and that she might be more relaxed and enjoy the evening more. So she wrote that she wouldn't have a problem with the change.

The next comment was "Several guys asked that the ending time be expanded to 12:30 or 1:00. It seems that there are date options that don't end until midnight and they are therefore out of bounds under our current ground rules. Comments?"

Julia wrote that if the day was changed to Saturday, that would be good. However, if it remained on Friday, the 12:00 would be better.

The third comment proved to be the most difficult for her. "There have been three occasions where the guys have offered duplicate dates. In each case, we have resolved the issue. However, there remains the potential for more duplicate date opportunities. A. Would you consider a double date or at least the prospect of meeting another couple at a function if your spouse wasn't involved? B. The same question but if your spouse was involved."

Julia thought about it very hard and then replied, "Double date or meeting others without spouse OK; maybe later with spouse, not yet."

She hit submit and waited. She decided to prompt Greg to answer but she really wanted to be a fly on the wall when he answered the last question. She logged out and went to get Greg. Then she forced herself to find something else to do.

A similar activity took place in three other houses on the circle. Derek called on Maggie to read and reply after he had finished. He too wished that he could see what Maggie said about that last question; but he trusted her immensely and knew that their relationship was solid. He did wonder what Julia thought. Besides Maggie, he would definitely rate her as his number one choice of a date over Brenda and Tina. She was fun and enjoyed herself and she kissed very nicely, better than nicely. He was definitely looking forward to his date with her in this next round.

Maggie smiled as she answered her questions. As far as she was concerned, she would be happy to go on dates with Greg or Derek only. The other guys and girls seemed to be happy with each other so a month from now, she would suggest further changes. She already had her reply prepared to send when the last reply was posted.

The next month, Julia was ecstatic. She went out with Derek again the first week and they went dancing together. She enjoyed being held by him during the slow dances. Once again his good night kiss curled her toes and it lasted for almost ten minutes. She was thrilled the second week when she went out with her husband again. The third week she went out again with Bob and was again slightly disappointed. This realization almost made her want to stop the dates because if she couldn't go out with Derek or Greg, she would almost rather stay home.

The next Monday Julia got a call from Maggie wanting to know is she wanted to go to dinner with her that night. Julia agreed and shortly after she got home, she walked over and knocked on Maggie's door. Maggie met her with open arms and let her in. They had a glass of wine and chatted for a half an hour and then decided to go eat Chinese food. As they were leaving, Derek came home and Maggie asked him to join them. He agreed and they took two cars since Maggie said that she had something to do after dinner.

They went to a Chinese restaurant that was new to Julia but the menu looked wonderful and the atmosphere was excellent. A pianist was playing in the background and they mellowed out with a glass of wine while they ate and listened to the music. When dinner was through and removed, they each ordered a cup of coffee and sat quietly enjoying themselves. And then Maggie began to speak.

"I have noticed that you two have really been enjoying your dates together."

Julia looked up and asked, "What do you mean?"

Maggie replied, "Julia, I am the one who had been running the date night process. So I get all of the reports and do the analysis."

Julia looked shocked but Derek just smiled and put his hand over Julia's and squeezed it. Oddly, that seemed to reassure Julia that everything was OK.

"We used this program in college but then it was to find out who was going to be screwing who the next weekend. When we first talked about getting stale, I realized that this could be used to add some excitement for all of us. And guess what, it has. Unless I miss my guess, Jim and Brenda have been fucking for several weeks now. And I suspect that Tina and Bob are close."

"How do you know this?"

"Well, for the past three weeks, the three dates the Jim has suggested and the first, second and third choices of Brenda are identical. In short, they want to go out with each other exclusively. The only reason you went out with Bob the other night was because Tina made it clear that she didn't want to go out with Jim or Greg. That left either Bob or Derek. So I gave each of you one more chance to see if you were interested in anyone else. Needless to say, you have little desire to go out with Bob again and Derek had to take a laxative when he got home Saturday night. So from now on, you will only go out with Derek or Greg and I will be doing the same. "

Julia squeezed Derek's hand and looked into his smiling face.

"Did you know about this, Derek?"

"I guessed the truth since this was how Maggie and I met in college. I didn't know how it worked until later, but when it suddenly appeared now, I just went along with it. Understand, I love Maggie and don't want to ruin our relationship, but you also have become very special to me. I really like going out with you and I especially like the way you kiss."

Julia turned a dark red as she sputtered, trying to find something to say.

Maggie laughed, "Don't worry about it, Julia. It was obvious from your reports as well as Derek's. I guess that I should also tell you that Greg's reports indicate that he likes going out with me just as much as you like going out with Derek. And I will also tell you that when he kisses me, my toes curl."

Julia lowered her eyes and asked quietly, "So what are we going to do?"

"Look at me while I answer. The simple answer is that if we continue this fictional game, you will only be going out with either Derek or Greg. Frankly, since you have Greg all week long, I would prefer to have him one night a week and for you to have Derek that night also, if you want that too. If you don't, we can work out some other arrangement."

"No, no. I mean that sounds great, I mean wonderful." She blushed again.

"Julia, I know what you mean. It embarrasses me to admit how much Greg's kisses affect me too. Of course, you just admitted it while Derek is sitting there, holding your hand."

"I guess I am wondering what we are going to do now."

"That is why we are having this dinner and this discussion. We need to decide what we are going to do next. Derek, why don't you ask her?"

"Julia, there is a big thing going on down near Houston this weekend. It is a festival, concert, and all that going on. It starts Saturday and lasts until Sunday. Would you like to go with me?"

"Derek, I would love to go with you. Wait a minute that means that we would be together overnight. Are you asking......."

"Yes, I am."

"Oh." Julia turned to Maggie for help.

Maggie said, "Don't ask me; ask yourself."

"Yes, Derek, I would love to go with you. But.."

Maggie replied, "No buts Julia. You said yes, so you have a date for the weekend. Now it is my turn."

Julia asked, "What do you mean?"

Maggie smiled, "I am going to leave you two alone and I am going to your house and talk to Greg. I want to ask him if he will be my date for the weekend at the same event. I think he will say yes also and then all we have to do is decide if we are taking one car or two and if we are going to get one room or two. I'll let you two decide what you want to do. Now I'll leave you two alone. Take your time and if the porch light is off, Derek, I am not home yet."

Maggie smiled and kissed Julia's cheek and left the restaurant.

Julia looked at Derek and asked, "What did she mean by that?"

"She meant that if the porch light is off, we should go inside and wait. Unless I miss my guess, the porch light will be off and we won't see Maggie until morning."

"So what would you like to do now?"

"Well, we could go for a drive or stop somewhere for a drink and maybe a dance...."

"I asked you what you wanted to do, Derek."

"I would actually like to go on home. We could have a drink and a dance there and maybe practice our kissing."

"Then why are you wasting time? We need to get going in case Maggie comes home early."

"I agree except for one thing."

"What's that?"

"When Maggie goes to ask someone for a date, she never comes home before dawn, at least she didn't while she was in college."

Julia smiled and said, "So why are we stalling?"

"Well, I have one more question before we go."

"What is that?"

"How do you like your coffee in the morning?"