Ladies and gentlemen, she's back and
she has a new man, which of course means new muchene. Woohoo! Given how hectic
the comments section was on her last post (if you didn't read them,
you really should, buggers went above and beyond. Hell, songs were quoted...), I don't think I
need to waste your time with elaborate explainers or disclaimers. Read, enjoy, discuss at length...
We are in an open
relationship.
When I went to
pick Brian up from the stage, I was literally thunderstruck by his
looks. He is just too good looking. He took away my power of speech,
6ft tall and golden, dressed in casual shorts and a sports vest. I
hadn’t realized he was this handsome before. Let me back up a
little.
I met Brian at
sporting event; he came with his group of friends and I had come my
with group of friends, and afterwards we all had dinner and drinks
together, friended each other on Facebook and went our separate ways.
He didn’t particularly stand out then, but later we started talking
on Facebook inbox.
May I take a
detour here to illustrate how not to pick up a girl on Facebook? The
other day, I changed my profile picture to one where all the good
angles of my face are shown, you know the picture where you get the
photo filters and your expression just right. It got over 100 likes.
So I was not surprised when I received an inbox from one of the many
strangers who are my friends on Facebook.
I was abroad the
time so I sent him the link, knowing he would have to board a few
planes to arrive at my destination.
I lost interest at
this point (and I believe in honesty so I told him) but anyway, is
this how easily men get lunch invitations? All you have to do is say,
“You look good,” and the lady is just ready to cook you lunch.
Back to Brian.
Our conversation
on Facebook was of course mundane, but interesting. It just naturally
meandered to topics of mutual interest, neither of which was lunch or
Langata, and a date was set to watch football one Sunday evening at
my place as I have quite a sizeable 42 inch screen.
I honestly hadn’t
thought beyond a mutual friendship until that afternoon, I wasn’t
even sure I was picking the right person but he was the only one at
the stage! He got into the passenger side, said hallo and I mumbled
something back. I was going to stop by Uchumi for some beer and
snacks, he’d brought some whiskey with him. On the way there, I
almost caused an accident, I was completely distracted from my
driving. I hadn’t seen the red light at the roundabout and so
joined the traffic blindly, almost getting hit on the right by a car
that was exiting the roundabout. I had to tell myself, Ann, eyes on
the road, eyes on the road, calm down, breathe…but in spite of my
erratic driving we made it home in one piece.
Another friend
joined us and we drank beer and watched the game, then the friend
left and it was just the two of us. It was past midnight, way past
the last matatu operating hours, so like a good host I offered Brian
a place to sleep. I didn’t want to drive tipsy, I had been erratic
enough sober. I live in a one bedroomed place so I dragged the spare
mattress to the sitting room and readied it.. sheets and blankets and
pillows. I was going to take a shower before sleeping but Brian
wanted to take one too, so I let him go first because he’d probably
be quicker.
When he came out
of the bathroom I caught my breath, again, at the sight of him, towel
around his waist. I know some women say they can’t date a man who
is lighter skinned than them, but I don’t mind light(sic)-skinned
guys, in other words I don’t mind colour(sic) at all. Brian is
super fit and athletic, he was rubbing his hair in a nonchalant way
telling me, “The bathroom is all yours now...” When I came out of
the shower, he was still lounging on the mattress shirtless, he
smiled at me, our eyes locked, and suffice to say I never made it
back to my bedroom.
Later in the week,
the friend who had watched the game with the both of us asked me
about Brian and I… I told him, um, you know nothing much going on
there. He told me good, because I know Brian’s girlfriend. Just
check on Facebook, it’s there.
Blood was rushing
to my head and I was of course mostly in denial like, no way... I
have seen his Facebook page several times. When I went back however,
one particular girl stood out, they were together in a lot of photos
at a lot of events. There was no need to make assumptions, I
immediately opened Whatsapp and typed a quick, “Hey, how are you?”
When he replied, my next question was, “Is Karen your girlfriend?”
“We are in an
open relationship.
“We are
currently seeing other people as things are a little strained at the
moment. To be fair, I probably should have told you earlier, I’m
sorry. We can talk about it next time we meet.”
I thought this is
insane. Open relationships, like 3somes, are things we read about in
magazines and on internet blogs, but we don’t do them in real life.
Or do we? Before Brian I had never met anyone in an open
relationship. How do you like someone and you don’t mind them
getting it on with other people? He told me they don’t tell each
other, you don’t ask, you don’t tell.
I was about to
start asking more questions, like, so when did this happen? Why did
you decide to have an open relationship instead of just breaking up?
And he was like, do you really want to know? I thought about it and
responded, “No actually, I don’t.” I want to feel those arms
around me and touch that firm chest and feel the six pack and enjoy
the friendship that comes with no strings, if there is such.
It is very easy to
over think this. I think in this open relationship thing, I am the
“open” (no pun intended), and the girlfriend is the
“relationship”, and I can’t help but wonder how many of us
girls are in the “open” group? Now every time I see a Facebook
post where he is tagged with a girl I can’t help but wonder… Of
course I shouldn’t wonder, it doesn’t bother me that much but I
am new to this and I don’t know many of the rules of open
relationships. I just know I shouldn’t ask, and I shouldn’t tell.
This means that I too am free to meet up with whomever I feel like,
whenever. This can go on until everyone in the world is in an open
relationship with basically everyone else… I am totally confused.
A ping arrives on
my phone. It’s a Whatsapp from Brian.
“Hey, you free
tonight.”
Life isn’t about
overthinking things. It’s about taking chances at happiness. My
body remembers his touch.
“Sure.”
I drop him a PIN
of my exact location so he doesn’t have to call me for directions
every few minutes.
If you read this
blog, what’s your experience/opinion on open relationships? Any
advice for this novice?
