He Used To Be My Idol

As a young beginning professor at 31, I had married a 24 year old ex-sorority party girl, and had a two year old daughter. She was the socialite and I the retiring academic. So her sorority sisters' parties were always painful for me, but I attended out of respect for my beloved wife. She had one especially sleazy (to me) 'sister' who was a swinger type married to a flirty 'bad boy' type, and who was always suggestive to my wife. And, you guessed it, old stick-in-the-mud me didn't appreciate his attitude towards my wife, especially when drunk. After one too forward night, I told my wife our family was the center of my life, but that I would leave her and the kid in a heartbeat if she messed around on me, and I would not accept an 'open marriage'. Friends and colleagues, including males, yes, but lovers, No. Her response was 'message received' and we never looked back. Was I a controlling bastard? Her sleazy 'sister' thought so, but other female friends told me my wife defended me always, and I have always made sure to give her the respect she has earned as her due. Those sorority sisters and spouse became our close friends. Would I have forgiven her for a Kayla moment like this? Honestly don't know, but ultimately probably. This story resonates with me very well.

Nope. Wouldn't work for me. This is an incredibly well written analog to George Anderson's February Sucks, with Kayla as Linda, the husband as Jim, and Rogan as Lavallier. It's pretty straightforward actually. The wife wanted Rogan 'for one night out of her marriage', and non-consensually declared an open marriage despite her husband's state objections while the Candice-Dee character ran interference. And of course Rogan was counting coup, fobbing off his mistress as an unwanted 'swap' and got the husband's boss to offer him a bribe. If that isn't calculated as dominance-humiliation, I don't know what is. The stuff about ego was just to spice up the story and a a plot character's manipulation tactic.

Sad really, that a spouse would be willing to do that. The husband made his position clear, and was totally right to do what he did, excepting perhaps leaving her without funds. Well written story but a totally twisted plot. The only improvement I would have made on this plot was for the husband to leave the West Coast entirely, and disappear back East or even Toronto, since he could work from anywhere. Disappear, file for divorce through a remote attorney, and ghost the wife. Such a wife would deserve no better like the wife Linda's "mistake" in George Anderson's classic. The ending of this story was its weakest point given the reconciliation after all his earlier behavior. Love isn't that strong. I has to be nurtured and groomed, and it wasn't in him after the wife's exploit. If it was ego, it was self-respect for not excepting a non-concensually declared open marriage. Such a woman would do it again what-ever her declarations. A drunken one-night stand on the road or such can be construed as a mistake, but not what Linda-Kayla did.

steam 692 is right rogan had no morals and very low standar5ds . seducing married women and pimping his girlfriend out was all the proof anybody would need .

What a fucked up story. The personality shifts of people were unreal. This was a horrible story written by a writer that's a lot better than this.

I gave up on page 3. It was endless conversations about his wife going away and fucking someone else. It was the same conversation over and over and over ad nauseum.

I actual enjoyed some of the story sans the gaslighting by Candice, Rogan, the author, and even Kayla, regarding how Luke should just man up and mend fences with Rogan and be friends. That was nauseating and toxic.

But what really got me was the conversation in Luke's Bay Area apartment, when confronted by Kayla and Rogan. He NEVER calls out Rogan on his statement that he didn't know that Luke was leaving. He damn well knew. Candice told him on the phone in the restaurant in front of Luke. That was an utter lie. And if Luke had confronted that, knowing at least the side of the conversation he heard, it would have blown up ANY connection between Rogan and Kayla. There is no way that Luke keeps quiet, except to allow the author to pursue the incessant gaslighting agenda. Seriously? Talk about fiction. And Candice was never a friend of Luke's or even really Kayla. Why? For get the toxic gaslighting snd being an emissary of Rogan. She knew the truth also and NEVER told Kayla the truth about Rogan. Ergo she is not a friend of Kayla's and certainly not Luke. Thr content of that phone call to ask Rogan to call it off, never comes up the entire story after the fact. That is an ill constructed plot device. Meant for shock value but never trotted out again. Pissed me off. If it was so detrimental to the author's plot, then don't have the meeting with Candice take place. Simple and easy. Cannot believe that was missed. Suspect then that it was purposeful.

Luke was completely right to leave Kayla and should have divorced her immediately. Kayla, Rogan and Candice should have met a serious karmic payback as fitted the severity of a their transgressions Kayla's being worst(as she betrayed her vows to Liuke), Rogan's next (being a creepy predator going after married women with no morals, remorse or consideration of any consequences) and Candice's next (not caring that she enabled such reprehensible acts and no concern for the outcome) it not like either Rogan or Candice probably ever looked back to see the effects on the marriages they interfered in to know if they servived, were badly damaged and limped along crippled til they eventually died.

5-13-24. For the most part I agree with Anon posted 15 days before me. Rogan has no respect for anyone who doesn't have the same moral standards as he does. Or should I say immoral standards. Presumably Luke and Kayla said in their wedding vows they would forsake all others. So what that means is Kayla, Rogan, and Candice are all WHORES. They have no respect for marriage, or for other peoples definition of what a marriage is. All three of them should just burn in hell.

The story was written very skillfully, by an author who clearly has talent. But I’m not sure even the author realizes just how toxic these relationships were made. Kayla knows Luke *hates* Rogan, downright despises him, yet she continues to push forgiveness of Rogan onto him. If she truly loved him, if she truly respected him, she wouldn’t have done this, as it shows a complete disregard for clearly stated boundaries. She continues to exhibit surprise that he hasn’t “gotten over” his enmity towards Rogan, but if she knows the stubborn and principled personality he has (and she seems to) she should also know that those feelings will not fade quickly. She also has no right to criticize him for holding onto those feelings, and push him to alter them, when she’s the one who’s chosen to be with him with full understanding of what his personality is (I.e. she has no right to push him to change to better conform to her perspective). Candice was not Luke’s friend, by even a distant measure. Almost every interaction that they had, she was criticizing him in some way (calling him a fool, an idiot, a child, implying he was a lesser man for his views, etc.), and she also continued to push him to repair things with Rogan in a way that violated clearly stated boundaries, and which she had no right to. Like Kayla, she attempted to change him in order to force him to conform to her perspective (something a true friend would never do) and then she would criticize him whenever he refused to change in the way she wanted. Rogan, likewise, also regularly lobbed the exact same criticisms at Luke while refusing to respect his boundaries. Well beyond the act of cheating, which was bad enough, all three of these characters continued to treat Luke in a toxic manner in perpetuity, and he never had the courage to stand up and say “If you can’t respect my feelings and clearly stated wishes; if you continue to push me to do things you know I don’t want, and to berate me every time I don’t, then we can’t be friends.”. While Kayla might’ve done this the least, she still engaged in it. Had she genuinely loved Luke, she wouldn’t have. What’s more, she would’ve stood up to Candice (even if Luke didn’t), after seeing the person she loved be so frequently berated, and she’d have told her friend that insulting the person she loved like that was an unacceptable behavior. The act of cheating was bad, but at least it could be labeled a mistake. The toxic manipulation that followed was worse, and was so consistent that it could not have been labeled a mistake. It was so consistent that it almost felt like the author pushing their own perspective, through the characters, in order to “correct” what they felt were flaws in Luke’s perspective, and I honestly hope that wasn’t the case, because the story was otherwise quite skillfully written, and while a stubborn principled perspective may have its flaws, the behaviors of the other characters was objectively worse (thus eliminating any moral or rational grounds from which they could criticize).

Read the first page and skipped to the last. This is some bullshit. I would have beaten the brakes off of the boss and then done the same to Rogan. If my wife defended their actions I would have divorced her. Seems they forget wedding vows so easily.

A potentially great plot ruined by portraying Luke as a spineless loser. What an unbelievably insecure effeminate man Luke was.

Flipping and flopping and backtracking for the two girls he had every right to hate. Changing his mind, constantly going against his own beliefs and morals. Constantly questioning himself, his actions and motivations, when it was the other 3 that deliberately set out to force him to accept their standards and ethics.

She would not talk to him when she wanted to rush off and fuck someone else. Then she accuses him of not talking to her coz now she has buyers remorse and is sad and lonely. She tries to claim didn't know it would upset him. What utter bullshit.

All these lies and manipulations and he is still a feeble enough person to appease her by taking her back.

After that the 2 girls had him trussed up like a Christmas turkey with all the binds that they had around him, squeezing the life out of him.

I would love another chapter where Simple wishy washy Luke finds out his wife is still getting it off with Candice and Rogan. And then Rogan fleeces him for every dime he has and Luke ends up with nothing.

That's about what he deserves.

Good story and I think it was great that Luke left Kayla. Not doing business with Rogan was good also. I do not think Candice is a nice person for supporting Rogan in his seductions of married women. She cannot seem to understand that someone like Luke can be so angry because of Kayla's cheating.

I think the fact that Kayla and Luke got back together was good.

Super story, just a shame Rogan didn’t feel some pain

The comments Candace made about Luke getting over himself about Rogan . He should have thrown it out at Rogan in the apartment and Candace that she told him to bring Kayla back it wasn't going to work and Rogan chose to ignore it basically tricking her into weekend sex. Luke has made his position perfectly clear at the party and everyone including Kayla ignored him. All three of them tried to push swinging on him he didn't want for himself or his wife. Rogan and Candace are despicable people. There is no way he would have been able to be with Kayla while she is close with such unrespectful people.

Good writing. Poor story. No mention of their divorce. Lack of respect on every character except Luke. When Candace called him while he was on the plane and Candace asked him to turn around he didn’t. Luke had principles and respect for himself and lost it at the end. I would never take the wife back. Story should be rewritten.

“Oh, stop acting like a spoiled fucking brat. Yeah, I chased something I liked, but if you acted like a man rather than a sulking brat, you could have enjoyed what would have been the singular greatest sexual experience of your life. Instead, you chose to go home with your tail between your legs and have a cry."

The fact that the singular greatest sexual experience might have been with his wife seems to elude this crowd. They always think that being married is settling for second best and that having something on the side strengthens an average marriage. I pity that type of thinking. Couldn’t imaging a woman that fucks or makes love to me better than my wife. I guess it comes down to choosing well at the beginning and not treating relationships like a new version of an iPhone. Especially since we've only been married 10 years or less, as we're like bunnies in bed. I know when my wife and I were 10 years in, we were both 29, and had a lot of energy to keep the sheets burning. From the way the author described Rogan, he had to be mid to late 40's, and Candice was in her mid to late 30's giving them a lot of experience.

This story started out great, then drove off the cliff as it progressed on. What it really needs is for someone to re-write the story from the 3rd or 4th page on, as that's when it went off the rails.

This is the part I never understood when asked in Luke's SF apartment. Candice stated: "Yes, he's with me now (in the coffee shop as Luke heard her side of the call). Uh-huh, no I don't think so. Rogan, this is bad, honey. He's cleaned out the house, and he's leaving. I didn't sign up to destroy homes. Can't you just bring her back, call it a day and walk away?" There was silence as she listened. "Okay, have it your way, but I'm telling you. He isn't changing his mind." - She *told* him they'd ended the marriage and his response was, what? Something like "Don't worry about it, after I fuck her, I'll bring her back and we'll see if we can fix it." ...? She *knows* that isn't going to happen, knows he didn't care about it, and still stood up for him?"

This IS where the author makes Rogan not say anything to Kayla, either on the plane, or in the apartment, as Rogan knows he fucked up, and destroyed Kayla's marriage. It's his ego that doesn't want to admit it.

Also when did Kayla and Luke get divorced? The author never bothered to mention it. It must have been before Luke sold his first couple of games and was still broke.

Also while dancing with Candice and she mentions all the men holding court around Rogan, saying "he's the better man knowing they've ALL fucked her", what she doesn't realize is that she wasn't married when they fucked her, unlike Kayla was when Rogan fucked Kayla, or when Luke fucked Candice when they were both single.

A lot of what this story is perspective, married or not married DOES make a difference. Maybe Luke needs to offer Rogan 10K for a night with Candice. Now that would be a change in perspective, would Rogan do a wife swap with Luke and Kayla? Then Rogan would be the one getting cucked.

The ending sucked, in that thru out most of the story Luke had honor and principles, but at the end, he lost his principles, and accepted the handshake from Rogan as "being polite". The women must have beaten him down to accept his place. I wouldn't re-marry Kayla, no matter how much I loved her, as she'll break his heart again.

It is the real life. If you have money, you can buy anything or anyone. Your writing skills would give you an 5, but the story is a weak 3. There is regression instead of character development.