Chapter 19: A Steep Climb

It was obvious that I wasn’t very good at hiding just how great my birthday had been. Ira couldn’t stop chuckling when she drove our car home. I could only assume I was still somewhat cross-eyed.

Knowing that I had had more than a fair share of sexual entertainment during the day, Ira did not make any attempts to take me to the task. We were cuddling on the couch and after just zapping around aimlessly, we ended up watching a sports broadcast. We both looked at each other, astonished, when we saw a report that informed and showed us that Lydia Karass had won a marathon just two days ago – her first of the season.

I realised that this beautiful woman had come out of a very hard training camp, won a marathon a week later and two days later she had made a dream come true for me on my birthday. Yep, that was a seriously impressive lady.

“She must really like you,” Ira said. “I bet even she can’t shake the effects of a marathon in just two days.”

“Tell me about it,” I agreed. “Even if I hadn’t had a crush on her all my life I would be in full fanboy mode by now.”

She chuckled. “That wasn’t the last time for the two of you, was it?”

“She hinted at something like that,” I admitted. “But I’m not going to pursue any potential follow-up encounters. If that remains the only ever time, I’ll be perfectly happy about it. First and foremost she’s still the better half of a good friend.”

“I bet that good friend would appreciate some help once in a while. Mark is only twenty-five, but catering for the needs of four women can’t be easy,” Ira told me with a teasing grin. “You’ll notice that yourself in a few years.”

“Does it bother you?” I asked. “I’ve done it with five different girls just in the last six weeks.”

“Well, your tryst with Lucya will most likely also be your last,” Ira said. “In fact I’m almost positive that there’s something developing between her and the customer we flew to Spain today. Take it as a timely cautionary tale. With Sofia, Esther and myself you already have three girls who need you in their life. Don’t make that crowd too big or you will one day realize you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.”

“To be fair, Esther and Sofia alone nearly proved too much already. I definitely didn’t pay enough attention to Sofia. In a way I’m probably partly to blame for her faux-pas last week.”

“That’s what I mean,” Ira agreed. “You know I have no problem if you’re with Sofia or Esther. Heck, I’ve probably been in Sofia’s bed more often than you. But you must try to find a good balance soon.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’ve spoken quite a lot with Lydia,” Ira explained. “Their complex relationships are a constant balancing act and so will yours be. I’m sure you would rather cut off your own leg rather than neglecting me, but due to your own choices, I’m not the only woman in your life. You could hurt Esther pretty badly if you don’t take her feelings and needs into consideration too.”

“I guess I’ll have to ask Mark for some advice,” I said. “Other than what he can tell me there is no manual for that kind of relationship.”

“And there’s certainly no checklist you can work through,” Ira agreed with a smile. “You’ll have to find that balance yourself. Having an open relationship is a wonderful thing, but only for as long as it works. The more partners you have, the more chances to hurt someone, even if inadvertently. I think you found that out the hard way last week when Sofia didn’t think things through properly for just one moment.”

“Well, she was quite out of it,” I said with a chuckle.

“My point exactly,” Ira insisted. “So were you when I collected you at the airport. Now, I knew you would be, after all I helped to organize your birthday in the first place. I knew this day would have an impact on you. Imagine you would have spent the entire way home waxing lyrical just how great the sex had been, and how amazing she looks. I would have known all that myself, but getting it shoved in my face would have hurt me.”

“You know I would never do that,” I said. “A gentleman enjoys, but doesn’t talk. And to be fair, Sofia wasn’t exactly ‘waxing lyrical’. It was a single spontaneous statement and my own insecurity isn’t exactly her fault, is it.”

“No, but she should have taken it into account. For the record, you are in no way deficient at all. The fact that three women keep coming back for more should tell you that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what nature has given you. Sofia was just overwhelmed by the novelty factor. She emptied a bottle of beer in one go without vomiting, and wanted to brag about it.”

“I think you’ve lost me there,” I admitted with a chuckle.

“Young guys like to prove their mettle by trying to drink as much beer as possible as fast as they can, don’t they?”

“Well, I never did that,” I said. “It would have prevented me from flying, but yeah, I knew a few chaps from our class who even used funnels for a proper pressure refuelling. They called it ‘beer bong’ or something. It usually didn’t work out too well for them.”