Strangest phone call of my life... (so far)
Shortly after 1am this morning, I was chilling with my friend, Allen, watching the current in a series of movie rentals all, coincidentely, having to do with reality: Final Destination, Brainstorm, and now Total Recall, based on the story by Philip K. Dick. My cell phone rings while Sharon Stone is kicking Arnold Schwarzenneger in the crotch. By the time I got to my coat pocket, I had decided not to take the call and the phone had stopped ringing. I pulled it out to check the caller id--the phone was on and a connection was established. I must have hit a button by mistake. The name of my new friend Ly blinks at me from the illuminated screen. I hear her voice as I raise the phone to my ear and step into the kitchen: Hello? Hello?
I hung out with Ly last night at her apartment. We ate some sushi and watched a movie with her housemate. Tonight she calls me on the phone and, within a minute of greeting her, the following words left her lips as I stood in my friend's kitchen: I have a proposal.... I would really like to have sex with you. Would you like to have sex with me?
Let me assure you that an event such as this is not a common occurance in my life. I've had my share of interesting sexual situations but never a simple, outright request for copulation. In the next instant my nervous system flipped quickly through astonishment, excitement, flattery, humor, awe. I surprised myself with how relaxed and calm I felt after hearing such provocative words. If I had imagined a fantasy scene like this in my head, I would have given myself the same cool and comfortable air that I felt at that moment. I know that life is a trip and truly novel events happen all the time; as fate would have it, this particular conversation happened at an incompatible time in my life--my SO of more than a year is returning this weekend from Florence, Italy. As I told Ly the night before, I am committed to her both emotionally and sexually. But, as I soon found out, Ly is a determined woman and, as quite obvious from what you already know about her, someone who is not afraid to speak her mind. That is where the respect came in. I am exactly the kind of person who could never do something quite as bold as telling a person I'm attracted to you physically and--to put it simply--care to get horizontal?
Though I repeated my commitments to her, Ly is indeed a determined woman and made it clear that she was quite capable of separating love from sex and that our union would have no strings attached, a probably one-time affair. She also told me how she was not sexually commited to her current mate and asked if my relationship was perhaps of a similar kind. I told her it was not and commented on how flattered I was (felt trite as I used that word) and impressed by how earnest she was. I told her that my dreams are the only place I allow myself inconstancy. She said it will only be one night...we'll be each other's dream and wake up from it in the morning... This woman was not only horny, she was unswervable. Which brings us to the last twist:
I'd take your shirt off, if you were standing here in front of me. I'd kiss those precious lips, the lobe of your ear and the bottom of your neck. I'd run my fingers down your chest, pull on your nipples... I almost had to pinch myself--the kitchen became a surreal landscape: running my thumb along the beveled edge of the dark marble countertop, socked foot sliding the tassled mat around the hardwood floor, machine gun fire erupting from the TV screen, phone-seducing Vietnamese girl whispering soft smut into my ear. I was still cool and interrupted her before she went further--told her exactly what I thought, that the situation was slightly too strange for me to be having this conversation. She asked me if she was making me uncomfortable, if I thought sharing fantasies was sinful. I told her I didn't feel at all uncomfortable about it and that I'm sure we'll talk about it in the near-future.
As we said our goodbyes she said the ball's in your court, as if she was still awaiting a decision on my part. I affirmed that I would have to decline her offer but she said she only meant that she'd wait for my phone call. I told her to feel free to call me anytime and she said she would. It remains to be seen what those future conversations will be like. Reality.