Chapter 43: A Fan Wants to Join The Circle

Matt stood in the electrical aisle at the Walmart in Centerville comparing the attributes of dimmable versus non-dimmable LED light bulbs. He had a list of items to pick up, all in the nature of cleaning or maintenance on the house. The LED bulbs were slated for the canned ceiling lights in the cathedral ceiling part of the living room. He’d already rented a twenty-foot folding ladder to be able to reach the fixtures, several of which had dead bulbs and no way to easily reach them. Now, he only needed to decide on the type and brand.

The store wasn’t very busy given the time of evening on a Thursday, so it was a pleasure instead of the mobs of frenzied shoppers he often found there on Saturdays and Sundays.

He glanced up to see a cute blond walking in his direction with some determination in her step. The pretty girl seemed to be looking right at him. She wore flats, snug shorts that revealed shapely hips and probably her rear, and a pretty flecked blue top that hugged her body enough to show she was busty. Glancing at her face, Matt saw she was very attractive: mid-twenties, five-foot-four, and from the look on her face, clearly on a mission. Matt instantly gave her a ‘10’ rating.

As he finished his initial assessment, the pretty girl arrived where Matt was standing.

“Hi, I’m Stacy.”

Matt smiled, “Hello Stacy, nice to meet you. I’m Matt.”

“Oh, I know exactly who you are. I’m even in love with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve watched you over and over again on The Circle. I’ve hoped and dreamed about meeting you, so I could offer myself to you.”

Matt blushed some more, “Huh?” He made a resolution to say something more profound to the cute girl that ‘Huh.’

“I would like to make love with you ... to be one of your girlfriends.”

“Errr, Stacy, I’m flattered, but...”

“Oh, I know,” Stacy said in a resigned tone, “girls walk up to you all the time and give themselves to you. I...”

“NO!” Matt protested a little too loud. “No one has ever done this ... what you’re doing.” He looked horrified that someone so cute and so nice would be throwing themselves at him. In a way this was a dream come true, but in another way it felt really strange and surreal.

Matt started, “I’m sorry, but...” He was at a loss for words for a few seconds.

Stacy said in a tone loaded with exasperation obviously at herself for mishandling her conversation, “Please, let me begin again before you turn me away. I’ve watched every episode of your TV show, and I love your entire intentional family. I especially love you, because you exude the values and principles that I find I resonate with more than ever.

“I am twenty-six, have a masters degree in fine arts, I paint and do photography – so I have that in common with you, and I work in the city at the museum as a curator of contemporary art – including photography. I lucked into that job because one of my professors knew the head of the museum and put in a good word for me. I do not have a boyfriend, but I have had several. I live in Dillonville with my parents and older brother, about three miles from your home. I am an open book ... what else would you like to know about me?”

Matt stuttered and stammered, “Errr, how many men have you walked up to like this?”

Stacy stomped her foot in mock anger but smiled, “NO ONE. I’ve never felt like this about anybody or any group of people in my life.” Perhaps without knowing it, she put her hand on her heart.

There was a long silence. Matt finally said, “What do you really want, Stacy?”

“I want to be one of your girlfriends. I would like to live with you and your housemates. I promise I’ll fit in and be a really good citizen of The Circle.”

Matt paused, “Stacy, do you know how many other women have made exactly that same offer over the past few months since the TV show started?”

Stacy suddenly sounded very uncertain, “A lot?”

“Several thousand!” Matt exclaimed, knowing that he might be exaggerating somewhat. “So, I’m torn here. You are the first person to ever accost me personally, and I do like you. You are cute, and I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t attracted to you on many levels. BUT, I don’t know how to handle this. If I allowed you into The Circle, I’d have to allow almost all those others who have asked too. We’d have a Circle the size of a small city. I have a sense of fairness about this, and I don’t really know what to do.”

Stacy frowned. “Hmmm. I see what you mean, and I feel I know you, so I can understand the dilemma I pose.”

“Thank you.”

Stacy brightened, “Hey, you said I was cute and that I sort of turned you on, right?”

Matt carefully said with some degree of suspicion, “Right.”

“So, have you ever just talked to a girl you’d never met before in a conversation? You know, you kind of hit on someone you’d like to know better? Certainly you must have when you were in college if not many times since then.”

“Yeah,” Matt said slowly, starting to sense where the conversation was going.

“So, here I am in aisle fourteen looking at light bulbs – looking all cute and sexy, and you come along and feel all these wonderful vibrations from me or with me or whatever. So you decide to say something to me.” She picked up a light bulb from the shelf and started to look at the packaging.

Stacy made a little gesture with her hands as though it was Matt’s turn to talk. He was supposed to start this hypothetical situation.

Matt burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. He said with great humor in his tone, “Hey, you come here often for light bulbs?”

Stacy roared with laughter, a point that scored many points with Matt. She got control and said, “Why you smooth talker, I bet you’d ask me to have a cup of coffee with you, wouldn’t you?”

Matt smiled, “I would. Would you?”

“I’d be delighted, but do I know you?”

“I am known in some circles as a photographer, in others as a research biochemist, and in still others as one of the cast in a reality TV series.”

“Oh, I know about two of the three, and I’d love to have coffee with you. Thank you for inviting me.” She smiled broadly at the success of her ploy. Through her cleverness, she’d kept herself in the game.

Matt picked up a box of dimmable light bulbs, “Let me buy these and put them in my car. Come with me. I saw a Starbucks across the street. If you trust me, I’ll drive us over.”

Stacy put both hands on her heart and did a mock swoon, “I’d trust you to the ends of the earth.”

Matt rolled his eyes, and the two of them headed to the checkout registers.

Fifteen minutes later the two of them sat outside under a laurel tree, each with a coffee.

Matt teased, “Stacy, how do you see your life changing if you became a Circle member? Talk about yourself.”

She beamed, “I’d have an outlet for the love I feel bottled up inside me. I’d be loved, and be the amplifier of that love back to others. I’d have this wonderful constellation of friends and lovers – I love that term ‘constellation’ that Bob used. My whole social life would change so that I actually had one, and it would revolve around The Circle. I would live in the house, yet be close enough to my family to see them and not have them worry about me; I even worked out what I understand are the economics of my living in the house, and I can easily carry my weight.

“Eventually, I’d want a baby or two, and I feel like Lolly and the others. So long as someone I love impregnates me, I don’t need to know the specific parentage. I love children, by the way, so I could also be one of the universal moms for the existing kids. I think they’re all so cute.

“I love to read both popular fiction and stories about the great artists throughout history. I have a good self-image that I am certain living in The Circle will improve; how could it not when you’re loved by so many people?

“I’m spiritual but not religious. I love being in nature, so I have liked to take vacations to hike or roam about various mountains. I ski. I help out at the Girls’ Club in the city. I have one girl about twelve whom I’m mentoring; she has a tough home life, and I think talking to me about it helps her cope. I’m a self-starter. I think I’m creative and curious.”

Stacy paused, “Oh, God, I sound so conceited. I haven’t talked that much about myself since I was in junior high school.”

Matt nodded, “No, you did very well, and just what I asked you to do – well, almost.”

“Almost?”

“You have watched all our shows, and what’s the underlying theme that cuts across all of them.”

Stacy smiled, “Sex. Making love. Sharing yourself with each other in every way possible.”

Matt gestured, “And... ?”

“Oh, I see. I didn’t think I’d have to talk about that on a first date, but here goes. I am a loving and passionate person when I’m with people I care about. I’ve had a number of boyfriends, and been sexual with them. If anything, I’m maybe oversexed. I think about that aspect of things frequently – I mean many times in my waking hours, and I often dream about sexual situations.”

Matt bluntly asked, “If you haven’t had a boyfriend for a while, what do you do to satisfy yourself?”

Stacy looked puzzled, “You mean do I masturbate? You betcha. I have some great toys, and I understand my body. I also have a room at home that’s a bit isolated from the other bedrooms, so I’m pretty certain no one hears me or my toys when I’m using the electric ones. I’m not sure I’d care anyway. So, for over two years, that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Matt tried to toss her an unexpected question, “Are you bisexual?”

Stacy looked surprised. “I ... I don’t know. I know that a lot of girls tried stuff with their college roommates or sorority sisters or whatever, but I wasn’t one of them. I’ve never had the opportunity to try, but I’d be willing to.”

“Fair answer. Now, you may ask me lots of questions.”

Stacy looked pleased that Matt had turned the tables on himself. She posed with a smirk, “Do you masturbate?”

“Rarely. Usually only when some of us are playing and arousing each other with sexual kinks.”

“How often do you have sex?”

“A couple of times each day at a minimum, maybe more on weekends. Sometimes more...”

“A DAY!”

Matt just nodded.

“Do you sleep with all the women in The Circle?”

“Yes, but sleep is often not on the agenda. We are a very sexual group.”