The Game of Trust

"You've left me in never, never land again. Explain."

"I'm not sure I can but ask yourself this question and see what you come up with. Can a person...okay, a man. Can a man love two women?"

I could feel my eyes grow huge. 'But...I mean... no. We're taught..."

She just stared at me with her grin firmly set. "Yes? You were about to say?"

"I was about to say I've never paddled your ass before but I'm seriously thinking about it right now."

"Can't; I've got errands to run and you've got more yard work to do. However, I can schedule my ass to be available to you after the party for your worshipping or sadistic pleasure." She kissed me and disappeared into the house.

I simply sat there stunned. What a question but even more stunning than the question was the flood of images which ran through my mind. My mother, my sister, my first girlfriend in high school, the English teacher I had a crush on, my first secretary, my current personal assistant, Grace, Mel, and even the voice on the phone who answered when I called the VP. I had never even met her but her voice gave me goose bumps. Can a man love two women? Hell yes, he can. They weren't all the same kind of love but that's because love is too simple a word to describe the myriad of emotions and feelings we all have. I remember that English teacher explaining in ancient Greece, they referred to what we called love with three different words. I'm not sure three is really enough but it beats the hell out of one. In our world, love immediately implies sex and not just physical sex but deeply passionate and meaningful sex. We even call it making love unless we revert to the vernacular and call it fucking.

Can I honestly say I love Grace? Yes, I can. Could I say this to Mel? It certainly sounds like I could. Could I say it to Dale? I seriously doubt this would enhance our friendship. Could I say it to directly to Grace? My gut would say it would immediately change our relationship in some way and I'm not sure this would be acceptable to me. Am I in love with doing yard work? Oh, hell no; I went inside got a beer and lay down on the sofa before turning on the television. I was asleep before Mel kissed my cheek and left to run her errands.

Somewhere in my confused but sleeping mind. I must have realized something because when I woke up, I understood something we had talked about and around last night. Sex is normal but merely a physical act. You can so it with or without emotional involvement. All that's required is enough attraction to get aroused. For a man, that comes fairly easily from visual contact only. A woman takes more than a simple glance to feel this level of arousal. However, when you add the feelings of love to the attraction, something greater than either sex or love happens. You're literally and figuratively bonded with your lover. That's definitely what I felt with Mel. I loved her without the sex. I relished the sex with her. But when we made love, we were beyond either of them through our bond. It can't get better than this. Or can it? Hmmm.

Round Three

I got up and realized it was almost five. I figured I better shower and dress for the party to give Mel all of the space and time she needed. While I was drying off, I heard the front door open followed by her voice loudly saying, "I'm home." Just hearing her voice sent a tingle throughout me. I slipped on the khaki pants I was going to wear and a tee shirt before I went down the stairs barefoot to greet her.

"Hello, my love. Did you have a good time?"

"I had a wonderful time. It looks like you didn't get much done in the yard though." Her grin got me again.

"Actually, I was thinking about all of things we talked about and decided a nap was more important."

"Oh good; you'll be rested for tonight. By the way, your girlfriend said hi."

"Which one?"

She put her hand on her hip and replied, "You have more than one, do you?"

"While I napped, I realized I love many women. I love them in different ways but I do love them."

"Oh good. I love it when the light bulb goes off in your head. Let me rephrase my last statement to you; the only girlfriend who has your wife's stamp of approval said hi. She also got you this." She handed me a soft bundle of material.

When I opened it, it turned out to be a very sexy long sleeve turtleneck sweater with the words printed on the front, "Music and Art are for the Soul, Ears, and Eyes." Instead of the words, there was an image of an ear and an eye along with the sole of a shoe. "She got this for me? I'll have to speak to her about this."

"You're damn right you're going to speak to her about it. I bought it but she picked it out for you. You have no balls if you don't give her a kiss for it. And I mean an arms around her with a kiss to tingle her toes kind of kiss."

"Oh sure. The kind which will give Dale the opportunity to whip my ass and kick my balls."

"He won't either. He won't be there."

"You sure are sure of yourself for a woman given to flighty dreams and who desperately needs me to keep you grounded and stable."

"And the problem is?" The grin washed over her face as she launched herself into my arms and gave me a kiss which made my toes tingle. "Like that, idiot."

"Okay; then you kiss her like that. You know how."

"Yes, I do. Did you leave me any hot water?"

"Would I use all the hot water when I knew you would need a forty-five-minute soaking bath to get ready for tonight? Go turn the bath on; then I'll turn on the dishwasher and the washing machine."

"You would." She kissed me again and ran upstairs while I looked my new shirt over. This would save me having to decide what shirt to wear tonight.

She came down an hour later when I realized something. "You went shopping with Grace?"

"Actually, we met at the store by accident. She was going stir crazy and just wanted to get out of the house."

"Oh; is Dale gone? He didn't say anything about going anywhere this weekend."

"He went to his mother's house to help her clean up her garden. He's staying over and coming back tomorrow afternoon."

"Ah, the dutiful son. Good man but I guess golf with him is out for tomorrow."

"That's a good because you're taking Grace and I to the art festival tomorrow; you lucky devil."

"Unless I miss my guess, it's you being the devil here."

The grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I like the top she got you. It fits, the color is good, and it looks soft and snuggly."

"Thank you for almost changing the subject. Yes, it's very comfortable. Do we need to stop and get anything on the way?"

"Nope. I stopped and got us a bottle of wine. All we need to do is stop and pick up Grace. She doesn't want to go alone. And we better go; I said I'd help with the set up this time."

I eyed Mel closely to see if she was teasing me or just being friendly to Grace. It appeared she was just being friendly to our friend.

I led her out to my car and found half the back seat was filled with bags. "What's this stuff?"

"That's what I ran errands to get. It's for the party. I wasn't at the planning meeting; so, they decided I could buy the crap for it. You know; if you aren't there to defend yourself, you get volunteered to death."

"You could have told them your husband said no."

"My husband wouldn't do that. He always supports me in everything I do."

"Your husband must be crazy. Why are you getting in the back seat? I like you up here so I can put my hand on your thigh and tease the crap out of you."

"There's not enough room back here for Grace. She can sit up front and you can fondle her thigh."

"Like that's going to happen."

"Like you have no balls if you don't fondle her thigh and kiss her like you mean it tonight."

"Just call me a eunuch."

"We both know that's bullshit."

Round 4

When I pulled up in front of Grace's house, I looked in the rearview mirror at Mel. "Are you going to get her?"

"Nope. That's your job tonight. I'm working; you're driving, escorting, and all that fun stuff."

"You're driving me crazy and escorting me to an early grave. I don't call that fun."

"Sure, you do; you just haven't realized it yet. Go get her, idiot."

I did my best husband grumble as I got out and knocked on Grace's door. She opened it almost immediately. Grace was looking her usual beautiful self in a sun dress but with a light wrap over her shoulders. "You look beautiful as usual."

She blushed and replied, "Thank you. You look pretty good yourself. I love that shirt."

"Rumor has it that someone special I know picked it out and someone I'm married to bought it. Is this true?"

In spite of her very warm and open personality she shows at work, in private, she embarrasses easily when the personal spotlight is shined on her. This was no exception as she turned very red. "Well...yes...sort...of...I.."

I took her in my arms and gave her a hug before I said, "It's all right; I really like it and it's very comfortable. Thank you. Did you get one for yourself too?"

"I did. I was saving it for tomorrow."

"Then I'll make sure to not mess this one up tonight and wear it again tomorrow too. We'll let the weirdo I'm married to be the odd ball out." At this, Grace beamed.

From the car, the voice I love shouted, "Hey, are the two of you going play goo-goo eyes and touchy feely all night? Some of need to get the party set up."

I looked at Grace and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "She's your friend."

She returned my kiss and replied, "She's your wife."

"Don't I know." I led her to the car and opened the door for her.

When I was settled in, Grace asked, "Why are you sitting in the back seat, Mel?"

"The goofball driver has a bad habit of fondling my thigh when he drives; I told him he could fondle your thigh tonight."

"Gabe, help me out here a little. Is it that time of month for her?"

"No. I think it's that special time each decade when the sun, moon and stars are all in alignment and certain women who will remain nameless go bonkers to test to see if their husband is functional." Among other things, I love to hear Grace giggle; Mel's backseat grumble, not so much. It lasted until I was parked in front of the community center.

"If the two of you are through flirting with each other up there, I need help getting all of this crap inside."

I could feel Grace blush so I replied, "I'm sorry, Grace; were you flirting with me? I was busy watching the road for a change."

"That's all right. I rather not be in wreck tonight." She patted my shoulder. Mel giggled this time.

We got out and I took two arm loads of grocery bags into the center followed by Grace and Mel who carried one bag each. This meant I had to go back to bring the rest of the stuff. When I got the final load delivered, I found Mel and Grace talking quietly in the corner but they were both smiling. I assumed everything was okay until Mel took her hand and led her to me.

"Here's a glass of wine for each of you to get you started. Take them outside so we can get things set up in here. Remember Gracie, I've given him his instructions. If he fails, there's a rumor there might be a paddling at our house later tonight. Have fun." She gave Grace a hug and then put her hand in mine. Of course, Grace was a rosy shade of pink. I snickered and led her outside to one of the picnic tables. It was out of the way but in the sunshine.

Once we were seating, Grace said, "She's being a little weird tonight. What's going on...or should I ask?"

"If I knew for sure, I'd tell you but I'm not sure. She seems to think you and I have the hots for each other and are destined to have an affair. Silly, I know but don't ask me why. It seems to be her goal." Grace turned very red. "Maybe that came out wrong. Let me say this, if I was going to have an affair and I made a list of the top ten people I would want to have an affair with, you would be number one on the list and number two is someone who lives in Hollywood who I've never met. Does that make it sound better?"

She nodded while leaning over to give me a kiss on the check. Then she whispered in my ear, "If I was going to have one, you would be number one on my list too."

I returned her kiss but mine landed right next to her lips. "Great minds work along similar lines, I guess." She nodded again. I changed the subject, "What's up with Dale? He didn't mention going out of town tonight when I talked to him Wednesday."

"His mom called on Thursday. She's one of those who plants her garden by the phases of the moon and if she doesn't get things in this week, she'll have to wait for two or three weeks to plant things. Anyway, he's gone up the past two Saturdays but came home for dinner. This week he decided to stay over to get it finished."

"Ah, I see."

"Well..."

"Okay; there's more. Tell me."

"Gabe, I shouldn't say anything. I mean I trust him and all but..."

"Holding it inside isn't going to make it go away or get better. Talk to me."

She mumbled around and then took my hand as she began. "We met in college. He was a senior and I was a junior. He had just broken up with a girl named Barbara who he'd dated since high school. They broke up because she met a guy over the Christmas break and was going to Chicago to go to graduate school. This was in January and he was broken hearted. Anyway, we started dating in March and quickly got very close. He decided to stay another year and do some graduate work. By the middle of the year, we were engaged and got married when I graduated in the spring. We talked a little about Barbara but he really didn't tell me much. A month ago, he said Barbara had moved back to his home town." Then she fell silent.

"And you're afraid he might have been in contact with her? And maybe more?" She nodded again. "Grace, I've known Dale for five years now and he's never even shown any interest in anyone else when I've been around. Are you sure?"

"Well...no; not exactly. Maybe." She took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't know anything for certain and it's probably one of my insecurities just acting up. But it's like he's been a little more distant for the last month. Nothing you can point a finger at but there's just a bit more than normal. He said he needed to go to help his mother and it should only take one or two days. This makes three or four. He didn't ask me to go; I could have gone any of the three weekends. He knew about tonight and knew I wouldn't go alone. Little things like that. Am I crazy?"

What I heard was the echo of Mel's words that a woman could always tell. "No; I don't think you're crazy; I'm not sure you're seeing the whole thing but this doesn't make you crazy. I don't have an answer for you but I'll see if I can find something out. For now, or at least for tonight, you're alone and Mel is working the party; therefore, you're my date and we'll try to have a good time tonight and a better one tomorrow. How's that for an answer?"

She rested her head on my shoulder and replied, "I can't think of a better way to handle the weekend. Thank you."

When she did this, an image came to mind I had forgotten about. In high school I had dated a girl named Holly who was built very similar to Grace. She was tall and graceful to my clumsy and awkward. I took her to dances for two years and slowly gained confidence in my dancing ability. But the image that came to mind was when we left a dance and I drove her home, she laid her head on my shoulder the same way. We had kissed and touched a little but to me, this had been a very real sign of trust and intimacy. I usually put my hand on her thigh while she lay there as I drove. When I came back to Grace resting her head on my shoulder, I found my hand was resting on her thigh too. Grace made no effort to move it or away from it. I felt calm again the way I had in high school.

I felt I needed to break the moment. "Looks like the usual suspects have arrived and the music has stated. Would you like to dance? Have we danced before? I can't remember."

Grace smiled and said, "Yes, I would love to dance with you. No, we haven't and I always wondered why. I think it's because we get talking too much about too many things. That and your damn wife keeps grabbing you to dance with her."

"I'll speak to her about her rudeness."

"Please do." The smile attached to this comment pierced my heart.

I stood to take her hand to help her up.

Already the inside floor was crowded; so, I took her in my arms and we opened the patio to dancing for the evening. We were soon joined by others trying to avoid flailing elbows and arms. We danced three dances like we had been doing it for years. Add to that was the simple fact her taller body fit mine like we were made for each other. Our moves and steps were in sync and we immediately anticipated each other's moves.

After three dances, I suggested we invade the buffet table and graze to our hearts content. She laughed and pulled me to the table. We each filled a plate with odds and ends of the finest food you could buy in bag at the grocery store and settled down at an indoor table. I helped her settle in before I went to regain our wine glasses and refill them. As we started nibbling, I looked up and saw Mel leading a younger man I didn't recognize around. She was picking things up and putting them in the trash bag he was dutifully holding. Another image came to mind as I remembered following Mel around with trash bag in my hand at a company picnic we went to four or five years ago. She had the same teasing look on her face and he had the dutiful look of a faithful follower. So far, tonight had been déjà vu all over again for me.

"Who's that guy following Mel around like a puppy dog? I don't recognize him."

Grace looked up and smiled, "I'm not positive but I think that's the new guy who just bought a house in the neighborhood. I haven't met him but Mel says he's very nice. She even said he reminds her of you when you first met. I think his name is Blake."

I grinned and replied, "I guess that means I'll have to pay more attention to him than you for the rest of the night."

"You do and I might be the one doing the paddling tonight."

"That might be fun. A three-way paddling. You do me while I do her and she can do you."

"Why would she want to paddle me?"

"I have no idea but I'm sure between the two of you, you can come up with a reason." She giggled.

"She said he just got transferred down here without much notice. He's been living in a long-term hotel. His wife is selling their house and will be staying with relatives until their things get here like next week or something. He's cute."

"You're supposed to be ogling me and saying I'm cute instead of some young kid who probably doesn't know how to shave yet."

"He's cute; you're sexy and manly. I like sexy and manly better."

"You say the sweetest things." I leaned over and kissed her lips lightly. She didn't recoil.

I had barely pulled back from the kiss when Mel was standing next to me with her puppy just behind her. "And these two are Gabe and Grace. They always come to the parties but usually hide away in corners making naughty comments about everyone here."

I shot back, "As a matter of fact, we were just talking about you, Mel. Having fun?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I always have fun, Gabe; tonight, is even better than usual." She winked at me. "I'll talk to you later." They moved on to the next table. Grace started giggling under her breath.

"What's so funny?"

"The two of you are a hoot. She just conveniently forgot to introduce you as her husband and his eyes were trying to see her breasts as she leaned over towards us. I'll bet you a dollar she knew exactly what she was doing."