Merchandise Monday, Part 2

Pictured below is another item we received recently, the Lelo Tor.  I’d previously never used a cock ring before, but they sounded intriguing and we decided to give the Tor a shot.  We’re quite happy we did, as the one-size-fits-just-about-all elastic ring and the adjustable speed settings make the Tor a fun toy to use during sex and masturbation.  I’m kind of sad that it took me this long to try a cock ring. 

As with Jill’s Jopen Vanity v.6, a full-length review will certainly be posted in the near future.

-Jack

Formspring Friday: Three’s Company

What do you like about threesomes?

(Submitted by Cougar in Training)

Jack’s Answer

The easy answer is, what’s not to like?  I know that that is a complete oversimplification, but if I had to sum up my feelings on threesomes in a single concise sentence, it would be that.  Make no mistake, a threesome may not be the zenith of human experience – I’m not saying that it’s not, just that it might not be – but I’m pretty sure that it’s the zenith of human sexual experience, or as close thereto as I’ve yet come.

I suppose if our relationship was less secure I might be less enthusiastic than I am, contrasting the extreme physical pleasure against the emotional lows including worries that bringing someone new into the bedroom will somehow change the dynamic between Jill and I for the worse.  But as of yet this has not been a concern of ours; quite the contrary, in fact.  We’ve seen not only our own relationship strengthened as a result, but also our friendship with our third.

So what do I like about threesomes?  As stated above, there’s the considerable physical pleasure – as well as the ego boost, I’ll admit – of being with two women who are, at least part of the time, focused on my sexual needs.  If one mouth on my cock is a turn-on, then two mouths must be a huge turn-on, right?  The sheer physical thrill is definitely the main appeal of a threesome.  For that matter let’s not discount how awesome it is to watch the two ladies interact.  Jill doesn’t eat pussy every day, so when she does it’s quite the spectacle.  And she’s so good at it that it’s hard to believe that she didn’t indulge at all her first time.

Another awesome thing about having a threesome is the variety.  I suppose that this is similar to what people in open relationships enjoy about being in them.  I love my wife.  I am attracted to her not only emotionally but physically as well.  I am certain that I will never feel for anyone else the kind of love and devotion that I feel for her.  And I sincerely doubt that I will ever enjoy sex with anyone as much as I do with her.  Simply put, there are many reasons why I married Jill and not someone else.  She is perfect for me.

But monogamy is difficult.  The thought of only seeing one woman naked for the rest of my life is daunting.  For that matter, the thought of only touching one woman for the rest of my life is something that I can’t easily face.  You have to appreciate what an asshole I feel like for saying that, because we’ve been conditioned by society to stop noticing other people to whom we’d otherwise be sexually attracted once we’re in a monogamous relationship.  I also note that it sounds like I don’t fully appreciate the degree of my wife’s beauty, and the breadth of her sexual open-mindedness.  But I do.

Fortunately, my wife is the sort of person who understands that my feelings aren’t a slight against her.  She knows that, when we’ve had another woman in our bed, it’s not about love.  We aren’t polyamorous; I doubt that we’d be able to handle such a situation even were it our goal.  No, we’re just after good sex.

Jill’s Answer

I fantasized about having sex with a woman long before I ever actually did it.  And I fantasized about threesomes as well, though not to the extent that Jack did.  In fact, I could be mistaken but I don’t know if I ever fantasized about having a threesome with a man and a woman before I met Jack.  And even when I did fantasize about it, I wasn’t always sure that it was something I wanted to actually try.  What if the other woman we brought to bed with us was somehow better than me?  What if she was in better shape, or sexier?  What if she had bigger tits, or a firmer ass?  What if she kissed better, sucked Jack’s cock better?  What if she made him cum faster?  What if he fell in love with her, and left me?  Looking back on these initial fears, some of them are really silly.  Obviously they are born from my own insecurity and my fears that our then-fledgling relationship wasn’t as strong as it actually was, and still is.

Now that I’ve had a few threesomes I can say that one of the most gratifying things, if not the most gratifying thing, is the opportunity to play with another woman.  I identify as heterosexual, and the first time we had a threesome I was interacting with the other woman primarily for Jack’s arousal.  But it didn’t take long to realize that I enjoyed it in and of itself.  I find women attractive, and I enjoy touching and kissing them.  I don’t know whether that makes me bisexual, but I’m not preoccupied with finding out.  Last weekend I played with our usual third without Jack present, and I found the experience erotic and exhilarating despite the overall lack of cock.

Another thing I enjoy about threesomes is compersion.  I love knowing that Jack is enjoying himself.  There was a time when I would have felt threatened by watching him interact sexually with another woman.  There was a time when I would have felt slighted knowing that another woman made him cum.  But Jack is my lover, my partner, and my best friend.  I want him to be happy, and I’m not so self-centered and delusional as to believe that I am the only one who can give him this happiness.  Threesomes are not about love, they are about sex.  Once I realized that there was no real threat to our marriage or to the loving relationship we’ve cultivated every day since we’ve been together, I was able to see that having threesomes would actually bring us closer together.  And they have!

It helps that our usual third is a close friend.  Jack has known her for more than twenty years.  She trusts us, and we trust her, so much so that we recently lifted our embargo on telling personal friends about this blog.  But so complete is our mutual trust that we probably could have told her years ago.  Any trepidation I had upon inviting her into our bedroom for the first time disappeared when she told me that she wanted our first threesome to be all about me and my pleasure, and not hers or even Jack’s necessarily.  It may not have been what Jack wanted to hear her say, exactly, but it proved to both of us that she was the right person.

That is not to say that threesomes are nothing but nonstop fun and pleasure.  As is the case with our blog, there are times when my Catholic upbringing rears its head.  I sometimes worry that our antics will be found out and we will be judged harshly.  I imagine that my family will ostracize me, assume that I have no self-esteem, and criticize my marriage or suggest that I divorce my husband who has obviously manipulated me into compromising my traditional values.  My lifelong friends will assume that I can’t take care of my man and look down their noses at me.  But I don’t dwell on these thoughts for long.  The things I love about threesomes vastly outweigh the things that stress me out.

If you want to ask us a sexy question, drop us a line on Formspring, or use the handy Formspring widget on the right-hand side of our blog.  To see who else participated this week, search #FormspringFriday on Twitter!  If you have a Formspring account and you aren’t already participating, feel free to join in the Formspring Friday fun!

Flash Fiction Friday: Sibling Rivalry

“You know Mom said no boys over!”

Cheryl bristled at her sister’s rebuke.  “Give me a break.  We’re just going to study together.”

“I’m gonna tell Mom.”

“You’d better not,” Cheryl said as she led her guest upstairs.  But she didn’t have to worry.  Mandy had a copy of the key to the liquor cabinet, and their mother didn’t know.

When they reached the top of the stairs Cheryl pulled Todd into her bedroom by his wrist.  They kissed, their hands fumbling with buttons, zippers and belts.  Her skirt hit the floor before she reached the bed, her sweater and bra following.  As Todd undressed Cheryl climbed atop the mattress and settled onto her hands and knees.  Her ass wiggled in his face, daring him to come take her.

In one quick, expert motion Todd slid her panties off and buried his face in her from behind.  When she could take no more his voracious mouth was replaced by his cock.  One hand found the small of her back, pinning her to the bed, while the other tangled itself in her strawberry blonde locks as he fucked her without mercy.

It wasn’t until they had finished that they noticed Mandy standing in the doorway.  “How long have you been watching?” Cheryl asked.

“Like, forever.”

“You’d better not say anything to Mom.”

The younger sister sauntered in, admiring the sight of pure carnality before her.

“I won’t,” Mandy said at last, “if you let me have a turn.” (247/249)

Behind the Scenes
This week’s Flash Fiction Friday challenge features, for the first time, an animated gif of the sort that Ram the Sunlover so loves.  Apologies if the picture doesn’t render correctly; as Ram points out, Blogger users are unable to upload gifs to their posts.  Unfortunately the coding Ram provided didn’t work for me, and at any rate, the gif works fine on my end.
I can admit to initially having little or no idea for a story based on this image; while it’s definitely an erotic bit of animation, it didn’t exactly grab me or immediately inspire me to write a story.  As I stared at the picture on Thursday afternoon – stared in the hopes of being inspired, not because I was masturbating or anything – I briefly considered bringing back Sylvia, Joelle, and Bill/Useless, the trio who have been the focus of three previous Flash Fiction Friday stories.  Ultimately I decided against this as I couldn’t imagine a set of circumstances wherein Bill is allowed to fuck one of the women without some sort of cruel, ironic twist.
When inspiration did strike, I found myself quickly typing out a quick synopsis, consisting of the following:

Guy is visiting girlfriend.  (No boys allowed while parents are out.)  Sister is also home.  Guy and girlfriend go upstairs to fuck.  Sister comes up and spies on them, watches through open doorway.  Sister says she has been standing there “forever” and threatens to rat out sister to parents if she doesn’t get a turn.

The requirements for this week’s story included the word “…forever…”, hence the deliberate inclusion of the word in the above summary.  Participants were also asked to stay within a word range of between 241 and 249.  As I’ve stated in the past, I find challenges that include a word range a bit more difficult than those that include just a maximum word limit.  I always worry that I’m going to write the perfect story, have it fall well short of the minimum, and have to add a bunch of unnecessary words or even paragraphs to make it fit.  But as is usually the case, this week I had no such trouble.  My first draft of this story was 247 words.  Upon polishing the story, removing unnecessary words and adding words that should have been included from the beginning, my final word count was, that’s right, 247.
Deleted Scenes
None, although originally reference to Cheryl and Mandy’s mother would have included reference to their father as well.  Dad was dropped because “You know Mom said no boys over!” is two whole words shorter than “You know Mom and Dad said no boys over!”
Soundtrack
My Sister by Juliana Hatfield.

The Naughty Hangout: Jack’s Favorite Place to Play

The three themes at The Naughty Hangout this week are “Playground”, “My Favorite Spot”, and “Toys”.  In the main image perhaps you can tell why Jack considers my body his playground.

For our interpretation of the other two themes, be sure to mouse over this image and see me touching my favorite spot with my newest toy!

See who else is being naughty this week!

Wicked Wednesday: Just the Two of Us

It’s almost midnight.  You sit beside me on the sofa, a glass of pinot noir in your hand.  Your light-colored locks frame your face like fine art, your full lips tantalizing me with each spoken word.  I see that you have unbuttoned the top two buttons on your blouse, revealing soft, delectable flesh underneath.  I’d like you to unbutton two more.

You sip your wine, and then our eyes meet again.  You are trying to draw me into you, I can feel it.  I don’t pull away.  Why would I?  I love sharing this time with you.  I enjoy being so close to you.  I love the sound of your voice, and every word that you have to say.  But right now, I can’t hear any of it.

All I can focus on is unbuttoning your blouse all the way.  Kissing your pale white throat and down to your breasts.  Feverishly unbuckling your belt and sliding down your jeans.  I imagine sliding my fingers into your panties, feeling the heat that radiates from your pussy, my fingertips moist as I delve into your arousal.

Your voice snaps me back to reality.  You ask if I can put your glass of wine on the end table beside my own.  When I do you lean close to me, your mouth glancing on mine, lips brushing me gently, teasingly before kissing me passionately, hungrily.  Your hands place mine on your breasts as I return the kiss.

I think Jack has fallen asleep putting the baby to bed, so this kiss is just for you.

-Jill

Picture prompt; no verbal prompt this week

TMI Tuesday: September 11, 2012 – The Big O

This week’s theme “Orgasms” and the questions are brought to you by Naughty Tashamber.

Jack’s Answers
1 – Do you remember your first orgasm? How old were you? Tell us about it.
I remember quite vividly my first orgasm, or at least the first orgasm that I achieved consciously (if not deliberately) and was able to identify as such.  I was twelve years old, and very aware of my budding sexuality.  I had started masturbating several months before, and knew it felt good, but wasn’t sure what an orgasm was.  I knew they existed, of course; I’d read the word in a number of places, but I had no idea what they felt like, and I didn’t realize that touching myself included an endgame.  I just thought I was supposed to do it until…well, until I got bored, I guess.  (It should be noted that it wasn’t something I did very often, owing to fear of being caught, and ostensibly my own Catholic guilt.)  The first time I masturbated to orgasm, I was staying with my aunt and uncle while my parents were out of town.  It was late at night and I was in their guest room.  I don’t know what I was wearing and if I got naked or merely whipped my cock out of my pajama bottoms.  I also have no idea whether I had any visual stimulation or just thought about naked girls, though I suspect the latter.  I used the typical up-and-down stroke that has served me so well in the twenty-four years since, and when I climaxed I remember being puzzled by the intensity of it all.  I enjoyed it, obviously, but it was over as quickly as it had begun, and I wondered exactly what had happened.  I didn’t realize that the sensation was in fact orgasm until sometime after the fact, and it felt so good that I figured that it was probably bad for me.  Incidentally, I believe that it was my first orgasm that made me realize that all the religious doctrine I’d experienced in my short life had to be wrong, or at least wrong for me.  Up until that point, church was merely annoying and an unwelcome break from my weekend.  But once I acknowledged the fact that the Catholic faith considered something as pleasurable – and harmless – as masturbation to be a sin, I knew I could never look back.
As anyone who’s read the Bible knows, bad things happen when you look back.
2 – What is your favorite way to orgasm? (Sex, g-spot/p-spot, oral, etc).
There’s no way I can narrow this down to a single favorite way.  I’m inclined to say oral sex, but while the sensation of Jill’s skilled mouth coaxing me to orgasm feels so good that words cannot describe it, the fact is that I don’t always get off from oral sex.  On the other hand, orgasms from vaginal sex are very exciting as well.  And I’ve never had an orgasm from masturbation that I found disappointing in the least.

3 – Are there any ways you want to experience an orgasm but haven’t yet? (oral, p-spot/g-spot, with or without a vibrator, squirt, etc).
Yes, I want to experience an orgasm with many of our sexy female followers and online friends.  Doesn’t matter how, exactly – I’m open to manually, orally, vaginally, or anally.  I just want to cum with you.

4 – Have you ever had an orgasm in your sleep?
I don’t believe I have.  I’ve never had a so-called wet dream, or experienced any of the familiar sensations of orgasm while sleeping.  I don’t know why this is, exactly; my mind is almost always on sex, and it is frequently to sex that my subconscious drifts when I am asleep.  While I dream of sex very often, and am frequently conscious of physical pleasure in said dreams, I generally wake to find myself rubbing against the bedsheets, and don’t usually do so all the way to ejaculation.
5 – What is the easiest/fastest way for you to have an orgasm?
I’m going to say masturbation, as even when Jill is not around I have two hands that are always up for the task, and hopefully I always will.  Of course, when Jill is not around, my daughter generally is, and although she is very capable to keeping herself entertained while her Daddy takes care of his physical needs, she prefers that I remain where I can see her.  Come late morning when I find myself in my bedroom with a fantasy and an erection, she usually notices that I’m missing before I can get off, and comes calling.

It is not unlike this.
6 – How many times a week do you try to reach orgasm?
Try?  Maybe fifty.  Succeed?  Far fewer.  As my daughter has gotten older she doesn’t nap much, so I am less likely to be afforded the privacy necessary to masturbate.  As I said in my answer to #5, when she is playing or reading quietly and I decide to sneak off to pleasure myself, she will invariably not only notice that I am missing, but often she will come look and find me.  Additionally, given a structural irregularity in our bedroom door and doorjamb, we have yet to find a commercially-available door lock that will fit and thus keep her out of our room.  Additionally she has no trouble opening the bedroom door despite the child safety doorknob cover we’ve placed on it.  On the other hand, Jill and I have been having sex four or five times a week on average, and in most cases I am always successful.  When I’m not it’s once again our kid’s fault; I am convinced that she has some sort of moral objection to her father’s orgasms.  But if I am ever forced to do without my orgasm because we’re interrupted, Jill always makes it up to me.
7 – Have you ever had an orgasm at the same time as your partner? Who normally cums first?
We sometimes have simultaneous orgasm during sex, though it’s never planned.  It isn’t something we require because we both enjoy and want to appreciate the other’s orgasm without having to focus on our own at the same time.  Typically when it happens we are aroused so intensely by the sight, sound, and feeling of the other’s pleasure that it triggers our own climax.  Generally speaking, however, Jill cums first.  I’ve always been pretty insistent that my partner gets off before I do.  It just seems like common courtesy, doesn’t it?
8 – Can you have multiples?
I have had multiple orgasms once, and it was the weirdest feeling ever.  Don’t get me wrong, it was totally hot and intense, and I’d love to do it again.  But I wasn’t expecting it, and wish I’d known it was coming so that I could have enjoyed the experience more than I did.  But I do not require multiples to enjoy sex; just knowing that Jill is capable of having multiple orgasms is sufficiently gratifying for me.  I, on the other hand, have a very short refractory period (when I have one at all) and can fuck for hours, time allowing.  

9 – How long does it normally take you to reach orgasm?
Depends on what’s happening.  If I’m masturbating it can take as little as a couple minutes, though I prefer to take more time.  If I’m having vaginal or anal sex it can take anywhere from a few minutes – I’d say ten on average – to forty minutes or more depending on the position we’re in.  Not to brag, but I’ve never been the sort to cum quickly.  And I imagine that some of my previous lovers have probably found that annoying.
10 – Have you ever faked one?
No.  This seems like a difficult thing for me to do, being male.  I can probably fake an orgasm if I had to for some reason.  But faking ejaculation would be much more difficult.

I guess it’s more convincing if she’s blindfolded.
 

Jill’s Answers

1 – Do you remember your first orgasm? How old were you? Tell us about it.
I don’t remember my first orgasm, but I do remember having a lot of orgasms at age sixteen.  This is probably because it was the first year that I had a room to myself.  Growing up in a large family with a lot of siblings, I had always shared a room up until that point.  But at age sixteen I masturbated on a regular basis.  I would usually lie in bed at night and read Penthouse Forum.  I had found my brother’s collection in his room, and he never seemed to miss the one issue I stole.  Or maybe he just didn’t want to tell our parents that he was missing an issue of Penthouse Forum.  I would get comfortable in bed, slip off my panties, and touch myself as I read with one hand.  The magazine was just the right size to hold with one hand while my other was free to slide in and out of my pussy or make wonderful little circles on my clit.

2 – What is your favorite way to orgasm? (Sex, g-spot/p-spot, oral, etc).
It depends on my mood.  My favorite way to have an orgasm is probably with Jack’s mouth on my clit.  If I want to cum quickly it’s Jack’s mouth and a vibrator on my clit.  If I want to feel as if I might explode into a million pieces, it’s Jack’s fist hitting my G-spot.  Guaranteed squirting orgasms!

3 – Are there any ways you want to experience an orgasm but haven’t yet? (oral, p-spot/g-spot, with or without a vibrator, squirt, etc).
I have had orgasms in all of the above ways.  I’m pretty fortunate to have an open-minded partner who loves experimenting with different ways of making me cum.  In fact, Jack was the first person to find my G-spot and make me squirt.

But he might not be the last!

4 – Have you ever had an orgasm in your sleep?
Yes!  I consider myself very lucky to have orgasms in my sleep pretty often.  My dreams are often sexy to the point that I feel physical pleasure.  I love waking up from an erotic dream to find myself soaking wet and my body convulsing with orgasm.  It is so incredibly hot.

5 – What is the easiest/fastest way for you to have an orgasm?
The easiest/fastest way is a tie between being fisted, and having both Jack’s mouth and a vibrator on my pussy.

6 – How many times a week do you try to reach orgasm?
I try to orgasm at least once a day, so usually between seven and ten times a week.  The orgasms can come from hurried masturbation in the shower or with a vibrator before bed, to long, hot, passionate lovemaking with Jack.  Obviously I frequently have more than one orgasm each time, so I usually have more than seven or ten orgasms per week.

 

No smart-assed comment.  I just wanted to show off a little.

7 – Have you ever had an orgasm at the same time as your partner? Who normally cums first?
Yes, Jack and I sometimes experience simultaneous orgasm.  Jack almost always makes sure I cum first, and sometimes it is at the expense of his own orgasm if the baby wakes up before we are done.  And even when we cum simultaneously, it’s usually my third or fourth orgasm.

8 – Can you have multiples?
Yes I can!  I have multiples frequently, usually when being fisted by Jack, or when using a vibrator.  I love the fact that Jack can read my body so perfectly that he usually knows when I want to have another orgasm, as opposed to when I am overstimulated or spent.

 

Unfortunately he never seems to know when we are overdrawn.

9 – How long does it normally take you to reach orgasm?
I don’t know that I have a “normal” timeframe between cold start and wet, orgasmic finish.  When I’m aroused and ready to go I usually take about ten minutes, though I can do it quicker if I am in a rush, such as when I’m masturbating in the shower before work.  I have been known to take up to forty-five minutes if I can’t seem to focus, if I am distracted, or more often if I am just trying to hold off in order to build the orgasm.
10 – Have you ever faked one?
Not with Jack.  There’s no reason to fake it with Jack, obviously, and at any rate it won’t work out well for me to condition him to put forth less effort than I need to get off.  On the other hand, other guys I’ve had sex with weren’t very good, and in those cases it was just more enjoyable to fake it and get myself off later.
How to play TMI Tuesday: Copy the above TMI Tuesday questions to your webspace (i.e., a blog). Answer the questions there, then leave a comment below, on this blog post, so we’ll all know where to read your responses. Please don’t forget to link to tmituesdayblog from your website!

On Cheating

As you may know, I find myself giving relationship advice to my friends and relatives (mostly friends) on a regular basis.  Though not a daily occurrence, it’s rare that a couple weeks goes by without someone asking me to hear out their romantic or sexual situation, and more often than not a solicitation for advice is included.

I suppose it should trouble me that my friends occasionally pose to me questions about infidelity.  Not because this is something that affects their romantic or sexual lives; I’m sure that my most of my friends, the unmarried ones especially, have had to deal with cheating at some point.  No, it should trouble me because my friends apparently look at me and assume that (a) I’m a cheater; or (b) I don’t inspire faithfulness in my partners, and it is for one of these reasons that they think I’m an authority on the topic.

For the record, I’m not a serial philanderer.  I have cheated on a partner exactly once, though I suspect that in my younger days I was cheated on much more often.  I believe that, generally-speaking, if one person makes a monogamous commitment to another, one should honor it.  I believe that we do ourselves a disservice by downplaying the importance of sex, especially before marriage, and while easier said than done, I believe that sexual compatibility should be assured before any commitment, monogamous or otherwise, is made.  At the very least, it should be given as much forethought as, for instance, spiritual compatibility.

However, my position on infidelity should not be interpreted as a judgment on those who cheat.  Unless the person engaging in extracurricular dalliances is my own partner, I have no say, and for that matter no stake, in who they fuck.  It doesn’t matter who the cheater is, be he or she my parent, my sibling, or my friend.  And while I may feel differently if, for example, I were to catch the significant other of a sibling or a friend cavorting romantically in public with someone who is not said sibling or said friend, I maintain the same position that it’s probably not my concern.
As with someone else’s abortion, adoption, addiction, marriage, or virtually anything else, I consider an affair to be the concern solely of the people involved.  Unless I am absolutely certain that infidelity is occurring I hesitate to say anything – even if doing so could expose a bad relationship and help someone avoid embarrassment – because I don’t know the story and I prefer not to make assumptions.  I believe that, were I to bring to light an apparent infidelity that turned out to be something else, the perceived victim would be grateful for my concern.  But at that point I’ve just outed myself as a busybody with nothing better to do than stick my nose into matters wherein it may be unwelcome.
A major reason why I tend to stay out of other people’s affairs, extramarital or otherwise, is because were the shoe on the other foot, I would want to be paid the same courtesy.  As I said, I do not cheat.  But I do have many friends who are women, and between “inappropriate conduct” on social networking websites, outings for drinks that do not include my wife, and unabashed flirting – which I try to limit when other people are around – I’m sure that to some it appears that I have no regard for my marriage and my wife’s feelings.  But those people are mistaken.
As I’ve stated elsewhere on this blog, there are those who believe I am a womanizer at best, and a cheater at worst.  I don’t believe that I am either, and neither does my wife, the only person other than myself whose opinion matters.  But the reigning opinion on the issue seems to be that men and women can’t be friends because at some point they will have sex.  And while I would like to have sex with most of the women I know, I find this consensus very insulting.  
I liken it to the fallacy that a woman’s attire causes her to be raped.  I have confidence in my ability to not rape a woman regardless of what she’s wearing.  Similarly, while Jill stays home with the baby I can sit in a bar and have a couple rounds with another woman and not fuck her.  (Notice that I didn’t say “not want to fuck her”.)  The notion that men and women cannot be trusted to be alone together is ridiculous.
The one thing that always comes up when discussing infidelity with friends who have experienced it, or friends whose relationships are so precarious that it looms overhead like the Sword of Damocles, is some variation of, “I don’t care if he wants to sleep around.  I just hope he’ll have the decency to break up with me first.”  That’s a very sound line of thinking.  Having a partner cheat is for most the sort of relationship-killer for which there is no remedy.  It is a tremendous blow to one’s self-esteem, and in this age of social networking wherein the cheated-on partner is sometimes the last to know, it can be a form of public humiliation.  On the other hand, while being dumped hurts it is the lesser of two evils.  A partner with designs on someone else who cuts you loose before engaging them romantically or sexually is infinitely preferable to a partner with designs on someone else who fucks that someone else when he’s supposed to be working late, and when caught, asks you for an open relationship.
But despite what my friends indignantly insist, it isn’t always that simple.  It isn’t always as easy as just breaking up with one’s partner and moving on to greener sexual pastures.  If it was, no one would cheat, despite the fact that there is plenty of research to suggest that human beings simply aren’t wired for monogamy.  And while extramarital affairs would slow down or cease altogether, the divorce rate would skyrocket even further than it has already, because when one partner decided he or she was done having sex with the other and wanted to move on to someone new, he or she would simply say so.
Husband:  This has been a lot of fun, and I enjoyed raising three kids with you.  But my secretary has indicated her sexual availability, so I would like a divorce.
Wife:  Sounds great!
I guess my point is that if society viewed sex differently, i.e. not necessarily tied intrinsically to love, relationships would be more secure and long-lasting, and the world would be more harmonious in general.  I’m not trying to say that in a perfect world everyone would view sex this way, but the people that don’t would understand that their view isn’t the only acceptable one.  Granted, on some level, much of society already does view sex in this fashion.  Cheating is so commonplace that some of the staunchest defenders of so-called family values have admitted to doing it. 
Is cheating ever justified?  I’ve been asked this question more than once, and while I can cite examples where an extramarrital affair may be viewed as a lesser offense – if not altogether justifiable – the fact is that most of the people who ask simply want me to say no.  But I can’t.  While I may not be in favor of infidelity as it relates to my own marriage, I cannot under any circumstances say that no instance of cheating can ever be justified.  I hereby give you the same example I usually cite in conversation, that of Carol and Henry.  
Disclaimer:  Carol and Henry don’t exist, and by that I mean that I don’t know them personally and have no first-hand knowledge of a case study like theirs.  They are simply the names of two imaginary individuals pulled out of my ass for the purpose of this example.  While I imagine that situations similar to theirs exist in the real world, Carol and Henry are in no way based on real individuals.
Carol is fifty-five years old.  Henry is fifty-eight.  They have been married for thirty years and have three children, one of whom still lives at home; and four grandchildren.  Until recently, Henry was the CEO of an insurance company; Carol is the vice-president of a non-profit organization.  She has a tight-knit circle of friends, some of whom she’s known as far back as high school.  She enjoys going to lunch with her friends every couple weeks or so, plays Bunco with them once a month, and on alternating Saturday nights or afternoons she and her best friend go to the movies.
Henry is terminally ill.  He has between six months and a year to live.  He no longer gets out of bed.  He sleeps frequently, rarely speaks, and with the exception of the occasional can of Ensure, he doesn’t eat or drink.  Carol has put her entire life on hold for her husband.  She has taken an extended leave of absence from her job, and no longer gets together with her friends.  Carol spends almost every waking moment by Henry’s side in order to preserve what little of his dignity remains, and so that once he’s gone she will be able to take solace in the fact that she spent as much time with her husband as possible, and did all she could to make his final months bearable.  
Of course, Carol is a wreck.  Thanks to Henry’s illness, her world has been thrown into upheaval.  When she manages to sleep she does so in the guest room so that her crying won’t keep her husband awake and make him feel guilty.  She also finds it difficult, though necessary, to maintain the façade of strength for not only her children but the friends, relatives, and well-wishers who come to visit her dying husband.  She plays hostess, making coffee and cookies, and smiling at their awkward attempts to be positive.  In reality she wishes she could tell them all to leave.
While Carol misses the emotional connection she used to share with Henry, she misses physical contact almost as much.  She’s been communicating with Ralph, a widowed male colleague, via email and though their discussions have been limited to caring for a dying spouse and preparing for life alone, she finds that she is drawn to him.  She may be projecting her husband’s former strength onto Ralph, or she may be confusing the admiration she feels for him with something deeper, but for the first time since before her husband’s illness, Carol is feeling sexual attraction.  Whether or not Ralph would ever act on this, she has no idea.  But as time passes and Carol feels more and more isolated, more and more exhausted, she hopes that he would.  
She finds herself trying to work up the nerve to ask Ralph to meet her for coffee one evening.  It’s just coffee, of course, and there’s no reason to feel as ashamed as she does.  But she acknowledges that it may lead to further meetings, and perhaps eventually to physical intimacy, and even an instance wherein she can put down the façade and be emotionally vulnerable for a change.  She acknowledges that allowing herself this indulgence would revitalize her, and enable her to be a better caregiver.
This course of action may seem heinous and inexcusable, the worst manner of betrayal imaginable.  But I don’t believe that a woman who has given up so much for the sake of her dying husband is inherently selfish.  And even if this was all rationalization on Carol’s part, I find myself ill-suited to judge her.  Though I hope never to find myself in her position, and though if I do I would hope to find the strength to carry myself through it, I can’t say for sure that I wouldn’t eventually find myself in need of a meaningless sexual release with another human being.  If you’ve been reading this blog for any appreciable length of time, you know that I can’t go very long without it.
You may be able to say with total certainty that if you were in Carol’s shoes such a thought wouldn’t occur to you.  Perhaps you’ve been through a tragic, world-shattering loss and stayed physically faithful until your partner was gone.  Maybe that makes you the better person.  But human beings respond to life’s travails in a variety of ways, and to begrudge another individual whatever they need to be functional for their spouse – especially if you are not that spouse – does everyone a disservice.
As I said, I’ve cited Carol and Henry’s hypothetical marriage more than once, usually when someone brings up the relative simplicity of dumping someone before embarking on a new sexual relationship.  And I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that as far as I know my example has never changed anyone’s opinion.  Of course, that wasn’t my aim.  I just like to demonstrate that there are a variety of perspectives through which to view infidelity.  Until you’ve considered the other person’s situation, you would do well not to judge.
-Jack

Merchandise Monday

This week we received a package containing, among other things, a Jopen Vanity v.6.  I had been looking for something to replace the rabbit I lost in July.  Designed for simultaneous penetration and clitoral stimulation, and boasting a variety of settings, it seems that I have found my new go-to toy!  Plus, as we learned when we tested it out on Saturday night, the Jopen Vanity is practically built for my G-spot.  Good thing it’s waterproof.

A longer, more in-depth review will follow, but for now be assured that I am very happy with my new toy!

-Jill