Mother of Magic

Fair Enough

"Vanessa told me that you and she had sex." Stephanie informed Le. They were sitting by a campfire between their trailers. There had been a late-season cold snap, and they were home after winning a game down in Denver.

Nothing in Stephanie's tone conveyed judgment. Nor her opinion of the event. It was a flat statement of fact. Other than the content, she could have said " I hear the sun is coming up in the morning."

Le's right eyebrow rose under his knit cap. "Oh?"

"Yes."

"And?" Le asked lightly, giving her uninflected delivery.

"And are you going to ask her for a repeat?" Stephanie went directly to the core issue. She remained sounding more curious than judgy.

"No." Le said simply.

It was Stephanie's turn to show mild surprise. "No? Why not? Vanessa is quite ... attractive. I would assume accomplished in matters of sex as well."

Le shrugged noncommittally. "Because Stephanie, Vanessa is married. My bedroom capabilities are not the issue. I don't think. Not at the end. Vanessa was doing me a favor is all. Helping me have a sexual experience. The first one in my life. Ever. It was nice ... really nice ... but Stephanie. You understand this, right? I can't just assume she'll want to continue. I can't assume anything about it. That would be ... rude. Someone does you a favor and you expect them to keep doing it? Vanessa has better, more experienced options than me too. She was being, as I said, nice."

Stephanie was not in any way shocked at that reply. "That is so you. You know what? Vanessa is thinking she might like another go with you. Apparently, you made a good impression."

"Oh?" Le did not expect that, trailed off, then added "What about her husband?"

That Vanessa had discussed their tryst with Stephanie did not really shock him. Vanessa has a very direct way about her. Le did not understand Vanessa at all well, but he knew that lack of understanding was true in a very general way. It was bigger than he did not understand a beautiful, famous sportscaster being interested in him. He did not understand women. Not when it came to topics like sex. That is a very new subject for him. Vanessa's enjoyment of sex had been a revelation in and of itself. She had a great deal of enthusiasm and had not been afraid to show it.

"I don't know. I know as an NFL player... running back I think? I know Vanessa's husband gets lots of opportunities with women at away games. That he takes them. Touchdown and scoring have dual meanings in his case. In other words, he is not faithful to her."

Le nodded and sipped at a long-neck beer. "Vanessa said that. No details other than being with me was not about revenge or anything like that. Just that he cheated on her and that gave her permission if she was inclined to help someone like me out. I don't get why he would do that to her."

Stephanie studied Le's face closely "Because you love her and don't get why another man would cheat on her?"

"No. I like Vanessa. She's nice. She doesn't deserve that. I mean. Look. If you have an open marriage up front that is one thing. It's agreed to and understood. There are a bunch of ways people work that kind of thing out. Marriage is about the promise. The commitment. If you get married thinking it's going to be one on one. Monogamous. If you make promises like that, then it should be the way you said it was going to be. It's about what you agree to with each other up front."

"What if they want to change the agreement? Decide that it not working that way and want to do it differently?"

Le waved that off with the neck of the bottle "So? As long as it's a mutual agreement, it's between them. If one wants to go off and the other doesn't, then maybe it's time to not be together anymore."

"In summary, agree to the rules upfront. Be open to rule changes, and know what that means for your relationship." Stephanie summarized.

"Up to a point. Yes."

"What is the point?"

"To the point where you are not affecting your kids if you have them. The rules have to change and bend a little if you have kids. You have to take care of them first. Look: Sex is really nice. I mean really super nice. I have been missing out on a lot. When kids enter the picture though, sex can't come first. Kids have to grow up feeling secure. I say that as a kid who lost his parents. It's important. Kids first, then parties. Or just don't have kids, but agree to that part up front first too." Le tapered off. Stopped. Sipped on the beer some more.

"I see." Stephanie waited, composed. "What about before the commitment? What about the time you are dating and getting to know someone? How does that commitment work?"

"How would I know? It seems to me you get to know someone. You talk. You have conversations about things. You go to bed if you both want to, to see if that part works for you or not. Then you keep talking. Maybe talking and making love on repeat for a while. Maybe you see others at the same time and maybe you don't. Depends I guess on what you are after. But: Hell, Stephanie. I don't know. I never had a serious relationship. Vanessa was very clear that hers and mine was not serious. It was a sex-only thing."

"For now. I think Vanessa would rethink that after a few more trips to the sack. You are a nice guy who respects her, and who she likes in bed. It would be hard not to want that to go on."

"I don't want to be a home wrecker."

Stephanie snorted. "Le, you don't have that kind of power. For one thing, Vanessa is a big girl and makes her choices about things like that on her own. For another, there are no kids. For a third, she is a nationally known and recognized sports broadcaster. She follows the team wherever we go. Her husband is NFL, and he travels when she doesn't. They barely have a home now. Even before she took you to bed, she saw you more than she sees her husband. Talks to you more. Vanessa is with the team, therefore you, from March through October. Her husband is moving around with his team. From August through January I think. Throw in NFL and Baseball offseason training and random assignments. Their love life is quickies most of the year. Has to be."

Le had not thought about Vanessa's life schedule before.. "Wow. That's... weird. I never thought about it that way."

"Here's the deal, Le. I brought this up for a reason. I want to take you to bed. My trailer. Tonight. I want us to consider if we work together or not sexually, the way we work out here; having decent conversations under the stars. No one on the team can know. Not if it's a one-time thing and not if we decide to carry on, and not if we even decide later it's working and we want to get married. I need you to agree upfront. Right now: Our secret. This cannot affect our friendship, and it absolutely cannot affect our team."

"OK." Le gave Stephanie a very simple one-time up and down of the shoulders. "I'm in. Can I ask what brought this on, Stephanie? As your friend? It seems sudden a little. I never had a hint you were interested. Not that I know how to tell things like that"

"I never wanted to mess up this. What we have right here. Vanessa chewed me out about not having sex with you. I realized she was not wrong. You were never going to ask. I am not willing to lose you to Vanessa or another woman who comes along and realizes what a great person you are. I complain all the time about how the men I date are not ... great. Nice looking or rich or whatever, but not interested in me for me. That has never been an issue for you and me. If I ever want more, then it has to be with someone like you."

Le nodded his understanding "I never want to mess us up either. Will you teach me what you like? In bed, I mean? I'm not experienced you know."

Stephanie felt the tingle of a man asking her what she liked sexually. She realized it was like what Vanessa said. No one had ever asked before. She felt the need to be honest about that. "I know some things I like but you know what? I'm not that experienced either. I've dated, but it rarely ends up in bed. Nothing like Vanessa for sure. Not a diss on her: She has been married for a while, and a hot Sportscaster for longer than that. She told me once she grew boobs at age 12, and her ass right after that. The boys started following her around like she was an hourglass-shaped catnip mouse and they were kittens who were high on her. Vanessa is not shy about getting what she wants either. Part of tonight will be a voyage of mutual exploration. We'll communicate. If I like something, I'll tell you. If I do not enjoy it? I tell you that too. Don't take it personally. Only learn from it. You do the same. Fair enough?"

"That sounds very fair. Le agreed.