6. Playing it Cool

Poly is not sure what’s happening with John. The party is close and John needs to pull his finger out and go get the STD tests done at the doctors. So he’s already agreed to get them done, but then he falls at the first hurdle because, oh that’s right, he doesn’t currently have a doctor.

“Do you want me to set up one with mine” Poly offers to him.

He agrees, the date at the clinic is set, and Poly and John are spending a lot of time with each other. They are also having a lot of sex, including where she let him cum in her twice. Which I only mention because it’s a contributing symptom of an emerging dilemma. The relationship between Poly and John is deepening, but there is a quiet unease starting to develop in Poly.

They are getting closer and hanging out more, however not on the evening before the doctor’s appointment. No Poly is at a birthday dinner for one of her best friends and he’s out at a film festival and ends up a bit worse for wear. On his suggestion, they had organised a gym date before the doctor’s appointment, but it falls into a hangover.

On top of that, he’s late meeting Poly to get to the clinic. They need to meet beforehand because he wouldn’t be able to find the clinic by himself. Well he could, but for some reason addresses and phone apps are a last resort when there’s a dependable Poly to take you instead. And it’s only when he arrives that he says “oh yeah. I’m a late person, you should probably know that. 20-30 minutes, you gotta expect that”.

Telling me about this over lunch and Poly is lifting up out of her seat, arms extended in the embodiment of incredulity, saying “And I’m like, what the fuck man!”

Poly, you see, is a project manager and is, in her words, “a bit anal” (now, now. Don’t go reading too much into that), and she goes on to explain “If I make plans, I stick to the plans!” But now there’s this big reveal that he’s a “late person.”

But she can’t get upset with John, because they are booked into the swingers party together and, it’s only a week out, and…

….whew …whew… whew (breath) …just play it Cool. Just play it cool.

This brings up a reminder from the past and being a “late person” person has the unmistakable stench of disorganisation. John is also in the process of starting up his own business, and it’s going ok, but even at this stage Poly can only see it through the lens of a PM and it reminds her of her previous long term partner Ed who had attempted to do something similar, only to have Poly carry him financially for years.

Poly does not want to go back there, she has fought hard to get where she is and one of the key indicators she is looking for in a guy is the ability to be basically self-sufficient. You know, kind of the opposite to being a “late person.”

Being late pissed her off because she had to re-arrange her day in order to get him to the doctor, and then he’s out doing his best impression of a stoner on spring break with too much hash.

But wait there’s more. After the doctor’s appointment John takes Poly to lunch to try to make up with her about bailing on their earlier plans and being late. They have a really nice lunch and afterwards they are back at her house just rolling around on the floor, which of course turns intimate. As Poly is lying next to John post-coital glow he says he wants to pop over to see his sister and does Poly want to come?

Boom !

Meeting the family… not sure about this already she thinks. “I have to pick up my daughter soon from her Dad”. He replies “That’s ok, you can bring her along”

BOOOM BOOOM !!!

On the outside Poly was …just play it cool, the party is next weekend, just play it cool. On the inside the churn of emotions is akin to being pushed out onto a stage in front of 20,000 people, whilst all your clothes are being simultaneously ripped off.

But the party is next weekend …whew, whew, breathe, just play it cool.

The sister is of course a gatekeeper for John, or so I suspect, and Poly had to pass the test. It also had the ring of John showing off to his sister saying “See! Not all my girlfriends are brain dead bimbos.”

The evening went well, the kids got along and Poly’s daughter was all over John. Poly chatted with Johns sister and husband and it felt very relaxed. Poly thought maybe she had panicked for nothing until John said “seeing me with kids is gonna make your ovaries bleed”

Again! What the fucking fuck!

Play it cool. Play it cool. The party is next weekend. Play it cool.

Poly is not looking to have any more kids, she’s got one, that’ll do for now. But all of this, the increase in sexual acts where he’s cuming in her, having to organise his doctors visit, the coordination of his day coupled with being late, the invite to meet his family in an attempt to initiate a gynecological heamatoma… all of this is a stark wakeup call that the high walls of intimacy have just suffered a severe bombardment, they have been breached and are being overrun.

At the time she wanted to say to him “hey, you know, after the party we’re gonna have to talk about this fucking ‘relationship’.”