All Comments on 'Harmless Flirting - Dean's Dilemma'

I liked it. Jealousy games are stupid, and to read of a wife who just would not stop and could not understand how wrong she was is a refreshing change. Divorce over flirting? Damn right!

I may be just an old country boy but I liked it. It had joy, sadness, lies, betrayal, friendship and love. All tied together in a nicely written package. Yeah, I did enjoy the judge playing the part of a character in given testimony. Heck, it was your story, he could have been wearing pink underwear. Top marks. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry, just didn't like this one very much. You do write well, but I couldn't get my head around this story. The girl obviously needed mental help from the first part of the story.

Since he confessed to a cop about assaulting her because he was angry at her behavior, it wouldn’t be necessary for her to press charges. While there may be places he wouldn’t be arrested, there is nowhere in the US where he couldn’t be arrested for that. But I get that it was necessary for dramatic purposes, so whatever.

Enjoyable story, but I'd leave any notes in the comments. It's immersion breaking to see commentary from the author mid-story.

Lacking something, maybe true energy and suspense? Its obvious the first wife was too immature and alcohol dependent to be a responsible adult, much less a wife. But the MC married her and got what he married. He accepted her flirting and its increasing frequency and intensity to suddenly expect her to stop, or understand his new found objections. And its always lame when a woman acts so vulnerable and lackadaisical about some asshole's hitting on her. Women know how to deflect and reject attention they really don't want. This childish bitch was getting exactly the attention and energy she wanted by mind fucking other men. The divorce was just a matter of when.

Her epilogue added almost nothing to the main plot. She gets cheated on then becomes an alcoholic slut. Probably dies from an STD or getting beat up during a bad hookup.

Probably too long for the amount of real substance in the story. It was a decent effort, but fell short of what it could have been.

.... bullshit.

Thank you for sharing ur story, I enjoyed the husbands character development, but the first wifes character was not as well defined and I never understood why she was the way she was. And in my eyes yes she had problems...

Harmless - Dean’s Dilemma (Pt. 1)

To me the story would have been more enjoyable without the final incident involving Randy. I really disliked that ending. If the purpose of the writer was to show the lasting damage from Kacie's flirting, he could have better demonstrated his point with Dean's pain over a more ambiguous situation than Dean returning from the washroom to find his girlfriend hugging and kissing another man.

the violence against Rich. Dean was taking the high road, and he basiclly won the game. And even though it wasn't stated that Dean had something to do with beating up Rich, even if he didn't do it himself, we know that he was involved. Just like in the typical JPB story.

Loved the story and thanks for sharing it. I went to my fantasy place tand o thoroughly enjoy it.

90% of the story is excellent and you didn't need the disclaimers.

The 10% I didn't like:

1. Humans are fallible. Very rarely are they totally good or totally bad. Would like to have heard that Kacie eventually learned her lesson, maybe after a couple more failed marriages. She didn't need to become a drunk whore.

2. The violence against the neighbor was unnecessary. Kacie had laid the ground work and he had pursued. He's scum, but should just be left alone.

Other than that, good story!

I gave it 4*. It would have got the extra one for me if Kacie was able to redeem her life in some form. Just story enjoyment factoring for me. I have no complaints at all. This was good and thorough storytelling.

I need a friend like Alex. He was the realest definition of a friend.

5 stars, great story. Yeah, it wasn't perfectly written, but I had no problem in discerning what you were trying to say. Experience will make you an even better writer, so this was an easy 4 stars, upgraded to 5 as encouragement for you to keep writing. Thanks.

I agree with silent. I agree she screwed up but to have her life plummet was kind of a bummer. But it is your story and I still enjoyed it. Thanks for writing

Well written but I thought they might have reconciled after counselling. She seemed to have issues that could be resolved and she did love her husband. Just a very sad story about human frailties. No need to give her the life described. She was a fragile person who could have been saved unlike many bad wifes written about on LW. 4 stars for the writing.

Beating Rich what for? Kacie was the problem. The divorce ,never heard of a trial in a divorce case like this. The judge just had to listen to the counselor and grant the divorce. Also turning kacie up into a whore and drunk was sad. Making her find herself would have worked better.e

Harmless Fun.

The court scene was ludicrous, but he did warn us. Over all, not bad at all.

WTF? Can he pick’em or what? He’s a repeat offender as a dumbass.

My only caveat being that Kacie was impossibly, unrealistically dense about her behavior, especially her bare chested encounter with the neighbor. Liked the character of Joan the counselor. Id like to see more stories featuring her.

When a man's insecurities in he and his wife's relationship causes him to be a big asswipe and gets jealous over flirting. Instead he should have been proud to be with such a hot woman that all the other men lusted after. Hell, he even benefitted from her flirting with awesome sex. What a pathetic insecure loser.

I'm sure you're right. You and wifey come on out with me and my buddies. We will buy all the drinks.

No, I don't think so.... A guy is supposed to be you pal, golf, hang out, beers and come over for BBQ. He tries something with your wife, he gets his ass kicked. What ever her level of participation is what earns her reward.

It's a guy thing, bad enough doing something with another guy's wife, but just the attempt to do a friend's wife is busting "THE CODE" & that scumball gets should get his.

Now if you want to debate over the severity of the punishment vs. the infringement, well that's another discussion.

fritz51

Okay,, I gave it 5*s.

Very well written and interesting story. None of the characters were too strange or unbelievable. You had enough background to make them all connected to the reader.

Nice touch of realism with the court appointed therapist giving her first name to be used by one person of a couple being treated, I've seen it 👀. A reliable close friend. A sister yelling at her brother-in-law. It's all good and realistic. Then you have the more fantastical items, the court case, the attack, the wife failure in life..A bit more background on her would have helped the story. It's all good clean LW entertainment 😁.

One of the best stories so far this year.

fritz51 you earn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I am

AMerryman

then went into the ridiculous. The courtroom drama was laughable, but then got good again, then went into the ridiculous again. It was like it had been written by two different people.

This is probably one of the rare occasions where I feel a redeption (at some point) for the ex-wife would have been better than her falling apart. As someone who generally dislikes RAAC's, she wasn't portrayed as a typical 'cheating wife'. I'm sure some would argue that she didn't cheat.

The problem was that she had an addiction to attention, and it tied in to (and fed) a kink she had with her husband. Whether it was her addiction that prevented her from seeing her destructive behavior or not, I have to place some blame on the husband for the numerous times he gave in and 'rewarded' her bad behavior with the sex she desired. As a man, and husband, I wouldn't say that I would have done differently, though I'd like to think I would. Love (and seduction) makes us blind, and we often forgive (or overlook) things.

I don't have a problem with what happened to Rich. He pursued a married woman. Even if she initiated it (and what single man would turn down a hot woman trying to seduce him), it's still an asshole move, and whatever happens to him is deserved.

Ben deserved some punishment, though.

5*

and his disclaimer admitting that he's not one either notwithstanding, I know the difference between a divorce proceeding and a criminal trial. What was described was a criminal trial. As for as I could tell, there were no criminal charges filed. She probably could have filed for assault citing the physical manhandling she received when he threw her out of the but she did not.

I have no problem with taking some liberties with reality to further a story (Hollywood does it all the time) but c'mon.

Also, like a previous commenter I had no idea who was when he first appeared.

That all being said, it did keep my interest and for the most part I enjoyed it so 4*

Those who are overly flirtatious never seem to understand the harm they can do if their partner is not on board (if they even have a partner).

This marriage was doomed because of a lack of communication - not that Dean wasn't trying to, Kacie refused to listen.

5/5

I felt so bad for Casey. She didn’t deserve to be shunned like that. She could have changed to save her marriage.

"her actions caused all of the discourse in her life." Pretty sure you meant "discord", what was written doesn't actually mean anything. Proofreading is your friend.

Absolutely love this series and this story!! I've seen this type behavior repeated over and over again through the years. Married women totally disrespecting and humiliating their husbands by flirting shamelessly in public. Whether it's at a picnic, office party, pool party etc.etc. They just can't leave well enough alone. Hope you add some more stories to this series.

I don't know, I'm a sucker for these therapy sessions in these stories, probably everybody else hates them but I don't know, I guess I love the instant replay of the drama. I will say this has one of the most hilarious court room scenes with the fake hot tub and the model and the bikini. It would have made a killer episode of Boston Legal. Denny Crane!

Who cares about the authenticity of the courtroom scene or the description of the counseling sessions! Really enjoyed the story - And the author's side notes! Five stars.

Bitch got what she deserves... Karma!!!

It amazes me reading these stories, how many times women slap men, and it’s considered ok. And, I have never read any reactions from anyone else concerning this. If it is not ok for a parent to do this to a child, or a man to do it to a woman, why would it be ok, the other way around?

Good job. As a lawyer who practices a fair amount of family law, I will agree with your assessment of your knowledge of the court and the issues it would address. Nevertheless, it was fun to read, and I kinda wish it was the way you described it. Anyway, your writing was crisp, clear and well organized. You write well. My suggestion to getting the greatest emotional punch from these stories would be to delve deeper into the impact on those characters you have living them, in the sense of the anguish and internal issues and questions that their actions would engender.

I had missed this one when the idiot Kacie went too far and paid for it. I've know a few women who liked to tease, but never like Kacie. I've met drunken women who completely lost their minds when drinking too. Dean made the right move in divorcing her and settling with Rich. Another great story.

Good story worth 4/5

Good story but I'm surprised that you didn't write that Kacie continued with counselling she definitely has problems with self image that required her to flirt with men to get their adoration.

It was a good story and worth the time to read.

DG Hear

5 stars. Yes, I liked this story. Great job and please write more.

"Linda walked over to him and as he looked up at her, she slapped him in the face, hard, saying, "Don't you ever run out on me again. "

That hard slap right there by Linda denotes that she doesn't understood what Dean was feeling when Linda got all kissy and touchy feely with Randy. Certainly isn't a symbol of her love. The slap was uncalled for and definitely grounds to dump Linda's ass for good. If its wrong for MEN to use violence against WOMEN then its wrong for WOMEN to use violence against MEN.

I think the story should have ended after the divorce what followed was completely unnecessary to the story.

4 just because of that slap, that was unnecessary and doesn't bode well for their continued relationship. Wasn't even some spur of the moment thing, that was after she realized why he left. Think Dean should have listened to the judge's advice and picked a better partner.

To FlynnTaggart & others:

Regarding the slap - I beg to differ, it was not her misunderstanding that brought it, but Dean's.

She was hugely upset that he had not had faith enough in her love for him to come to her and ask, or even demand an explanation. He just slithered out. Hurt yes, understandable considering his past history, sort of, but Linda had never given him a reason to doubt her, at least not up to that point.

She wanted it driven home that she was his, period. No matter what might arise, he needed to have complete trust in her.

Good story. Good job with characters and building the backstory. But it could’ve been better.

The court scenes were presented like a criminal trial. Those scenes make a great argument for no-fault divorce. The judge orders counseling to hear more cases, would’ve started by reading the counselor’s report. Rich was honest, didn’t try defending Kacie, so an affidavit would have worked well.

I understand the point was to have Kacie understand how he she presented herself in the hot tub. It could have been done in a joint counseling session, using the same chair layout, and photos of her bending over wearing the same bikini from Rich’s perspective.

Geeze... re- "the slap"

I never said she broke his jaw.

I guess I should have said "lightly slapped" but I probably would STILL be taken to task for it.

To quote on of my favorite authors on Lit, "Lighten the fuck up."

Very good story and well written. Thank you. 5 stars.

Hated it. I don't think he should have divorced her. JMO

He was dumb but finally smart enough to realize you can't build a future with a slut wannabee.

Dean seems like a really annoying meathead. Kacie seems like a really annoying airhead. I didn’t like or care for either of them.

A swing and a miss!

""""On our fourth date we doubled with her sister Tammy and her husband, Jake. """"", Okay who is TERRY?

OK,

MAJOR problems with this story.

1. Way to long for the substance of the story.

2. No MAN, with an ounce of self respect, let alone common sense, would not have figured at, pretty fast, that Stacy played a sick game. She had little, if any, respect for the MC and used him for an emotional and financial security blanket. She is psychologically addicted to both alcohol an insatiable need for external validation of her sexuality AS WELL AS a truly perverse pleasure in sexually manipulating men in general and the husband in particular. Wrap this up in unprnetrable self delusion and she sums up to an emotional toxic waste dump. No sane man would marry this woman.

3.any husband would not allow, nor any loyal an loving decent wife, permit a bikini like hers at the hot tub NOR would a husband permit what happened, he would never allow Rich to be a part of any social relation. She would fight this with self-justification of innocence backed up her standard gas lighting.

I like a story that is reasonably plausible; one that allows willing suspense of disbelief. You denied us both options.

A critical proofreader would have caught this and guided you onto a road leading to a great story.

You get 2 stars for your effort however this is a story not worth the time read.

Mind you. This is not a criticism of you but of the story. Try to do better, I think you have it in you.

Add on though. His second live affair morphs into undying love in 2 months?

Really? After what they've both been through recently? Please, this was a patently absurd, well worn out and lazy trope.

Why did Dean put up with this for so long? Despite the sarcastic comments by Dean to Kacie and Rich, she went way beyond any line. Heck she held the guy's head to her breast as he kissed her tit. If she was really wasted and this was a first time thing AND she was remorseful then yeah probably forgive and get counseling and stop any flirting. But she was not overly drunk just enough to make poor decisions. This was not remotely the first time. She had broken her promise after the serious talk after Ben at the picnic months earlier. And she was not remorseful. The latter may have been the biggest thing that sealed the demise of their marriage. Unfortunately she turned Dean into a wimp who flipped out on Linda.

So when Linda burns dinner, or is bitchy on her period, or is upset that Dean works late, it’s okay for Dean to backhand her, right?!? Since we’ve already established that violence is an acceptable response in this marriage. People thinking like this author are why women can abuse men, but the man gets arrested!

ZK

That was weak sauce. In the Courts these days, No-fault rules the land. You don't NEED a reason to get divorced. You could say that the sky was blue and still get a no-fault divorce. So all that court room baloney was just that - baloney. With no kids, no real property and near equal salaries, everything gets split 50/50 and you're done. And with today's attitudes including "Me too" and "Wokeness" I guarantee you any where in this Country he's in deep shit for throwing her out of the house naked. The ending was ridiculous. When he sees red and leaves Linda without so much as a word, that would have raised SO many red flags in her head that I don't believe for a New York minute that she does anything but pack her things and goes to stay with friends while she finds her own place and moves on without the psycho. Bat-shit-crazy comes to mind. Having said all that, it was your fictional story, on a porn site, on the world wide web. You can have it go any damn way you want to go.

Mismatch……some guys COULD put up with a wife like KC………takes a certain type……an example would be the husband married to a bi-polar wife that is able to police her to being faithful …….a rarity .maybe 10 % or less of men…...she strangely didn’t appear to want actual sex from guys she teased……but it would take a rare husband to handle her……to each his own. R. H.

Really well constructed and written story... I have had 2 girlfriends that acted similar to KC. Not as blatant but close. First I hung in there awhile. The second 2nd time gone. I think the explanation was very accurate but not about the booze. Women like her as insecure and maybe a but Bi Polar. Also for Dean a losing battle. After the divorce she isn't sleeping around much validating the fact that she was an attention whore and a cock tease..

Note to ZK,,,he didn't hit her once. It;s misguided ideas like yours that tell the courts that the male is guilty before the evidence is presented. I will admit however that the somewhat dramatic presentation , which enhanced the divorce action, would not play in court (NO FAULT)

This author knows how to write⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

KC was a delusional bitch who broke all her promises, crossed the line and could not be trusted. But she damaged Dean and Linda should have considered dumping Dean after his crazy overreaction. Also this was a no fault state so why all the legal drama?

KC like so many other women addicted to attention from men given the right circumstances almost will always choose their selfish desire over what is right and cheat then rationalize it later.

Really good story. Glad it worked out for Dean. Kacie’s story was very tragic and sad. The author did a superb job of making the reader feel bad about her.

.

5 *****

This was great! I really got a kick out of you, outside of the story line, explaining yourself. There are way too many people who are critical just for the sake of trying to find fault. Loved your story and 'innocent flirting' doesn't belong in any serious relationship. I would have dumped her insecure ass long before Dean did.

Wasn't this in a no fault state. Why all the complex court demonstrations? No kids. Easy split. Some counseling, which failed (actually Grace was best part of the story as a rational, objective counselor), so nothing left but the decree.

I enjoyed this thoroughly. Good flow of events and all..

One suggestion. Get the Grammarly free version. I'm a grammar nazi and this corrects 98% of my goof-ups. Well done.

like this one good job

I am not a prude, or even particularly old-fashioned, BUT still consider that there is no such thing as "harmless flirting'. Flirting is sending signals to potential partners, usually as part of the youthful 'dating and mating' game. Some people (most often women, but not always) use it inappropriately as a social strategy to enhance other potentials such as status. But it's a relationship killer, since a marriage is supposed to be about a partner always 'having your back'.

Marriage is an aspiration built on the intensely personal intimacy which builds over time between a couple, and flirting is a form of projecting intimacy inappropriately. A spouse who doesn't understand that is delusional and an untrustworhty partner. And a partner who doesn't immediately confront the other over such behavior is delusional too. One of the things I have observed as a "Boomer" parent of two Millennial daughters is that younger Millennials and early adulthood Zoomers use alcohol way too much as a social lubricant. Why is debatable, but I think it's about the heightened stress of today's dysfunctional society and resulting (perhaps justified) anxieties. But it always leads to flirting and since alcohol suppresses judgement, bad things can ensue which can wreck a marriage. This author's fiction does a fine job of depicting this.

Painfully long and boring.

Too long and repetitive. I get that Linda was innocent in hugging and kissing Randy, but when she and Alex confronted Dean and she slapped him, I decided this was a BS story. No self-respecting man would have tolerated that slap. I would have sent her packing for reacting that way. No way they had a happy ending after that kind of physical strike.

I agree with Booboo. The slap was inappropriate and permanently damaged their relationship. She has set the stage for escalating violence between them. Anger does not justify abuse.