“It was good seeing you again, Monica. You take care and tell Marci hello for me,” said Camille.
“Okay girl. You take care,” replied Monica.
“They are such a good couple. Have they gotten married yet?” Monica asked Ken as they walked to their car.
“No they haven’t gotten married. Why do you ask?” he questioned.
“I was just wondering. I saw the ring on her finger and since she is pregnant I thought maybe they eloped or something,” she said.
“Why do you say she’s pregnant? I didn’t hear her say anything,” he asked.
“A woman knows when another woman is pregnant. You can see the glow on her face. I don’t know for sure but I can almost guarantee that she is,” Monica smiled knowingly.
Ken shook his head, “You women and your feelings! Come on, let’s go get Marci.”
After their movie Camille wasn’t in the mood to go to the jazz club so they decided to pick up something to eat and return to her apartment.
As they drove to her place from the pizzeria she couldn’t help but think about the conversation they had earlier. She wanted so desperately to tell him about the baby but she was afraid of what he would say. She decided to wait.
“You’re very quiet. Is everything okay, baby?” he asked.
“Yes, everything is fine. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
“Are you sure? You seem to be in deep thought about something.”
“I have a lot to think about,” she said.
“Anything you want to talk about?” he pressed.
“No. Not really. I just need time to think,” Camille was too tired to dive into another discussion.
“Okay, but you know I’m here for you, right?” he asked.
“Of course, Jake—if you say so.”
He thought about pressing the issue but then decided not to. He wasn’t sure he was ready to hear what she had to say.
It was around 6:55 p.m. when they arrived back at her place. She quickly went into the bedroom to change into a pair of jogging pants and a more casual top.
While she was gone, Jake set the table and poured two glasses of wine from the bottle he found in the back of her refrigerator.
When she walked into the kitchen, her heart sank when she saw the poured wine. She did not want to drink anything because of the baby, but knew if she turned down wine a second time he would become suspicious.
“Come on baby, sit down. I took the liberty of opening up a bottle of wine I found in the refrigerator. I hope you weren’t saving it for a special occasion.”
“No I wasn’t saving it. Thanks for getting everything ready,” she said.
“Here, let’s make a toast. To love and happiness—may it always be ours,” he said.
“To love and happiness,” she toasted as her glass joined his.
“Okay baby, what’s really going on? You’ve been very quiet since our earlier conversation in the car. Talk to me, baby. Tell me what’s going on.”
“No Jake, I really don’t want to talk about it. Besides, earlier today you said you didn’t want to spend our day talking about marriage and engagement parties, remember? So let’s not talk about it. There’s nothing new to say anyway, so why bother?” she said, frustrated.
“I know what I said earlier. It’s difficult to enjoy our time together when you’re walking around like you lost your best friend or something. When we agreed to spend our time together today I thought you would be a little more excited than this. I didn’t expect you to act and look so sad and worried,” he said.
Camille was getting angry. “I’m not sad or worried. I’m concerned that I am wasting my life waiting for the man I love, my fiancé, to finally make up his mind about marrying me.”
“I’m sorry you feel as if you are wasting your life waiting on me. I don’t look at our time together as a waste but I’m glad to hear that’s how you see it,” he said, sounding disappointed.
“You know what I mean.”
“I only know what you said,” he replied petulantly.
“Come on, Jake. Let’s not do this. You know I love you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here after all these years of waiting for you to make us official,” she said.
“You’re right. Let’s not do this. I don’t want to fight with you. Come on. Let’s go and sit on the sofa so I can hold you. Do know that I love you, baby, and I really appreciate your patience.
“You’re the best thing that has happened to me and I need you in my life,” he said as he led her to the sofa.
As he held her in his arms he gently rubbed on her back. Tears started to slowly roll down her face. He didn’t know she was crying. She eventually fell asleep in his arms.
Jake started feeling guilty for not putting any plans in place for their engagement party. He was beginning to realize that he was still in jeopardy of losing her. He closed his eyes and took a nap while holding her.
Nearly two hours had passed when Camille woke up. She looked over at the clock and it was 8:55. She tried to get up without waking Jake. When she removed his arm from around her he immediately awoke.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going? What time is it?” he asked.
“It’s almost nine. I need to go to the bathroom,” she said.
“Thanks for the information,” he said jokingly.
“Well, you asked,” she said while laughing.
“What do you want to do for the rest of our evening together?” he asked.
“I think I’m going to call it a night. I’m really tired. You’re welcome to stay over if you want. Of course you knew that already.”
“Okay. How tired are you?” he asked with a sly grin on his face.
“I’m not that tired,” she said.
“That’s my girl. I’m going to take a shower and I’ll meet you in the bedroom,” he said.
“Why don’t we shower together? I’m dirty too,” she said flirtatiously.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“You’re so silly. Come on, let’s go and shower,” she took his hand and led him to the bathroom.
After their shower they went to bed and enjoyed each other the entire night. Camille decided to pretend at least for one night that he belonged to only her.
The next day Camille and Candace met at 12:30 p.m. for Sunday afternoon brunch at the Bongo Room. She promised herself that she was not going to talk about her problems with Jake.
“So what have you been up to?” asked Camille.
“Nothing, really—work has me busy,” Candace said.
“So who have you been dating this month? Are you seeing anyone new? Let me guess Timothy, James, Thomas, or some other apostle,” she said while laughing.
“Very funny, Camille. Actually, Timothy and I have been dating exclusively for some time now,” she said, a little frostily.
Camille tried not to sound envious, “Wow. When did that happen?”
“It happened a month ago,” she said.
“Let me see. The two of you have only been dating for about four months, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s about right. We started spending more time together and he asked if we could date monogamously and I said yes. Why, do you think it is too soon?” Candace asked.
“It seems a little too fast. What’s his hurry? I guess he finally put his hands on you,” she said jokingly.
“It is not what you think. We haven’t had sex together. We do hold hands and kiss but he told me that he didn’t want to have sex until he’s married. Of course I was surprised because I’ve never dated a man who said that to me,” Candace explained.
Camille teased, “Well, knowing you like I do, you’ll get him to change his mind.”
“What are you trying to say?” she replied with an attitude.
“Calm down, girl. All I’m saying is that you like sex,” Camille said, trying not to sound offensive.
“Just because I like sex doesn’t mean I’m incapable of being inv
olved with someone and not sleep with him. You make it sound like I sleep around with everyone I date,” Candace said defensively.
Camille thought it best to end that subject, “I’m sorry I said anything. Well, I’m happy for you.”
It was around 2:30 p.m. when they finished their brunch. Camille decided she would head home. She was still surprised that Candace and Timothy were dating exclusively now. She found herself getting upset and then envious.
I cannot believe this. Jake and I have been together for almost three years and we’re still not committed to each other. I think she should wait to commit to him.
I think I’m going to call her and tell her that it’s too soon. Besides, how is she going to help me plan my wedding if she is too busy with him? What if she gets married before I do? That can’t happen, Camille thought to herself.
She tried reaching Candace on her cellular phone but it went to voicemail. Where can she be that quickly? I just left her thirty minutes ago. I bet she’s with Timothy. Oh well, I’ll call her later and tell her that it is too soon for her to commit to him, she thought.
Candace looked over at her ringing cell phone and saw it was Camille. As she attempted to answer it, Jake pulled her away and led her into the bedroom. They had been sleeping together for almost two years.
Two months after Jake and Camille first started dating, they would often talk about different fantasies that they both had. Once he shared that he had always wanted to have a ménage à trois and asked if she had ever engaged in one.
She told him no. He said if she was willing to give it a try that he had someone in mind and wanted to know if he arranged it would she be willing to participate.
She told him that she wasn’t comfortable with it. Eventually he convinced her to at least watch him have sex with another woman and if she felt the desire to join in to do so, and if she did not that it was okay.
One evening after having dinner together they went to his female friend’s apartment. Candace and Jake had met at a swingers’ party a few weeks prior. They had sex at the party and exchanged numbers.
When he and Camille arrived at her place, Camille was very nervous. She was starting to change her mind about the entire evening.
Candace made her feel very comfortable. She offered her a glass of wine and sat and talked with her, trying to make her feel at ease. After about an hour and several glasses of wine, Camille started to feel very relaxed. She was surprised at how nice Candace was and how well they seemed to get along.
She was not as attractive as Camille, nor as shapely. But her personality and kindness made her appealing.
Once Jake noticed them getting along he decided to get things started. He began kissing Camille and caressing her passionately. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his touches. She then felt another pair of hands on her, which made her open her eyes. For a minute she forgot that Candace was even in the room. She started feeling a little strange and moved closer to Jake and began kissing him.
They could sense that Camille wasn’t ready so he went over to Candace and started undressing her. He kissed on her neck while touching her all over. Each time he kissed her he would look over at Camille to see if she was watching.
When he noticed her looking at them, he began having sex with Candace. Camille didn’t know what to do or how to behave. She started getting aroused but was still afraid to participate.
Jake beckoned for her to come over to where they were but she shook her head no. He respected her decision and did not force the issue.
He stopped with Candace and moved over to where Camille was sitting. He could tell she was getting aroused so he started kissing and caressing her again. She found herself giving in to him despite efforts not to.
Candace motioned as if she was going to join them but he signaled for her not to and he made love to Camille in ways that he did not to Candace. It was at that moment that Camille knew she was falling in love with him.
Oddly enough, after that evening Candace and Camille became good friends. The three of them never spoke of that night again.
It wasn’t until Jake and Candace met ten months later, at another swingers’ party, that they slept together again. Initially they were not going to have sex because of their relationships with Camille, but once the party started all of that changed. They had been regularly sleeping together since and Camille had no clue.
“Jake, we need to stop doing this. I’ve been feeling really guilty lately about what we’re doing. If Camille ever found out it would probably destroy her. Besides, my boyfriend and I have decided to date monogamously now and I don’t want to cheat on him,” said Candace as Jake dragged her into the bedroom.
“Oh, now you want to start feeling guilty? Don’t you think we’re beyond that point? You act like this is our first time having sex together. It’s been two years. So now that you have a man you want to end this? What kind of shit is that?” he said harshly.
“I’ve been feeling guilty for a long time. Why do you think I’ve been staying away from Camille, pretending as if I have been busy at work? And yes, having a man is making a difference.
“Timothy is really a nice guy and I don’t want to risk losing him for you. It’s not right to hurt him too. It’s bad enough that we’re hurting Camille,” she said.
“I don’t give a damn about Timothy. I can’t believe this shit. And now all of a sudden I’m not worth your time? You weren’t saying that a few minutes ago,” he said angrily.
“Come on, Jake. I can’t believe you’re honestly getting upset. You act like we’re in a relationship. All we did was have sex together. That’s it. I know you have plenty of other women you’re sleeping with so your getting upset is mind-boggling to me.
“I knew it was a big mistake having sex outside of the swingers’ parties. If only we had stayed at those instead of meeting at my apartment,” she said, shaking her head in disgust.
Jake pounded the wall in disbelief, “Candace, I’m just asking how you can end it like this?”
“Jake, let it go. It’s over. You need to be focusing on Camille and planning your engagement party,” she said.
“What does that have to do with us? My life with her is totally separate from what we have. Besides, I can handle Camille,” he said.
“You need to pay more attention to her and not be worried about if we’ll have sex again. I know I’m one to talk, but she’s still my friend and I worry about her.
“I admit it’s very awkward talking about her with you, of all people, but you know you’re not treating her right. She really loves you more than you know,” said Candace.
“I pay attention to her and I don’t need you telling me what I need to do with her. Again—my relationship with her is not your business. You’re supposed to be her girlfriend and you’re sleeping with me, so you shouldn’t talk. You’re not treating her right, either. She just doesn’t know it.
“So stop trying to be self-righteous with me because I know the real Candace. The freak who likes going to swingers’ parties and who’s not particular about who she sleeps with,” said Jake angrily.
“Wait a minute, Jake. You don’t need to be an ass about this. I am not Camille. I’m not going to let you treat me any which way. I know I haven’t been a good friend because I’m sleeping with you but at least I’m finally trying to put an end to my betrayal.”
Candace raised her voice, “When are you going to stop? You can’t even admit that you’re doing anything wrong. At least I’m willing to admit that.”
“Stop trying to act like you’re a good friend. You’re not ending it because of Camille; you’re ending it because you’ve found someone else. If he hadn’t come around you would still be trying to get with me. For a minute you sounded as if you really care about her,” he said sarcastically.
“Whatever, Jake. If it makes your ego feel better by saying that, then so be it. Regardless of what you think, it’s over. Now you need to leave,” she said as she escorted him to the door.
> Jake left Candace’s apartment upset. Although they were only sex partners, he had become accustomed to being with her, especially because they were physically capable.
Their sexual interests are very similar. No other woman had ever completely satisfied him sexually like Candace, including Camille.
He thought about heading to Camille’s but since he saw her earlier that day he opted to go home instead. When he arrived home around 6:00 p.m., he had hoped to find a message from one of his other women.
To his surprise, there were no messages on his answering machine. This was new for him. He was accustomed to having at least three or four messages on his voicemail from someone asking him to come over or hang out. He was even more surprised that Camille had not called.
He decided to shower and afterwards see if a football game was on television. The season had just started so he knew someone had to be playing. After his shower, he made himself something to eat and turned on the television. He thought about calling some of his fellows over to watch the game but really was not in the mood. He had missed the Chicago Bears game earlier and decided to watch the Seahawks play the Patriots.
After about an hour into the game, he started getting bored. He thought about calling Cindy but he had never had her over to his house before and he didn’t want her to know where he lived. He was not up to going out again so decided he would finish watching the game and then head to bed early.
When Camille could not get in touch with Candace earlier, she decided to take a nap. She was asleep for about four hours. When she finally awakened she looked over at the clock and was surprised with how late it had gotten.
She had started to get hungry and decided to fix a spinach salad, baked chicken, and some brown rice. She checked her answering machine to see if she had any calls. The only message she had received was from Paul calling to say he was looking forward to seeing her again.
She was not too surprised that Jake had not called her. He normally did not call her if they spent the evening together the night before. After she finished eating, she returned Paul’s call.
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