I nodded. One of the reasons I hated to go to Wal-Mart was that I was often the thinnest woman in the store by a good fifty or one hundred pounds, and I was no lightweight at my height.

After a sip of my latte, I asked, "So, once you're in, how do you meet people in this Club? Do I have to wait for some guy to call me because my name got written on the back of some men's room door?"

Megan chuckled again, "It's well understood that anybody can ask anybody else for a date -- man or woman. So, don't be shy if you see somebody you want to date. As for meeting, we hold a social twice a month -- first and third Saturdays, with snacks, drinks, and conversation. We do special holiday parties too, like Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Halloween, and July fourth. We usually meet at various places around town; there's a website that keeps us up to date on events. The socials are well attended. Some people come and that's all they do. There's no pressure to do anything, to ask anybody for a date, to sneak off into the backroom for some nookie, or anything. It's just come and meet some nice people. We do name tags, and, oh yes, we do a membership directory with pictures and an occasional newsletter where we introduce new members to everyone."

I ventured, "I guess you can't be shy in this game, can you?"

"Not in this crowd. We're all self-empowered, confident, and self-assured. Oh sure, some people get disappointed when they get a turn down, or the right person doesn't ask them on a date, but for the most part, we all roll with it and move on to someone else. There's little drama. This isn't like high school."

"Are we expected to have sex on the first date?"

"That's up to you. Most of the others in the Club I've talked to realize that they're past the game playing stage of life, and that time is running out to have fun -- sexual fun. So, most people fuck on the first date, but you don't have to. It's not always expected."

"Megan, this sounds exciting. Could I dip my toe in slightly in some way?"

"Oh sure. I could take you as a guest to one of the socials so you could meet some of the members and get a feel for what we're all like."
I paced around my home all day thinking about the OPALS Club social that evening at one of the wine bars downtown. I'd pick out an outfit to wear, and then change my mind: too staid, too sexy, not memorable, too memorable, too short, too blue, too red, or too old. In the end, I wore some glossy black spike heels, grey pleated skirt that tended to show off my butt rather nicely, a silk blouse that was thin enough to display the lacy brassiere underneath, and a colorful scarf. I had a small decorator shoulder purse that had my wallet and cell phone in it.

I kept pacing thinking about everything Megan had told me about 'The Club.' I took the utmost care of my body preparations with a shower, moisturizer, delicate perfume, shaving and trimming critical areas, my hairdo, and makeup. I munched on a sandwich around dinnertime, however, I was nervous and not all that hungry. I would have had a glass of wine to calm down, except I knew I'd be drinking at the wine bar so I didn't want to use up my alcohol limit before I got there.

Megan picked me up at seven-thirty. She looked gorgeous, just as I expected. We chatted about what I might expect as we drove downtown. She promised to route some of the handsome and nice guys in my direction. I explained I really needed two glasses of wine to calm down.

Megan left me in a corner near the entry door of the wine bar where this week's social gathering was being held to go get us glasses of wine. I wrote my name on a 'Visitor' nametag. Over eighty people jammed into the place -- a nearly even mix of men and women. The din of happy conversation filled the long room. I couldn't help but notice the eclectic crowd. Everybody did look so friendly and inviting, and neat and attractive just as Megan predicted.

The voice from my side surprised me, "Hi. I see by your nametag you're a guest. I'm Bill Matthews. Nice to meet you Penny Ryder."

I looked up into the most handsome tanned face I'd ever seen outside the movies, with a pair of steel blue eyes that I knew were undressing me with every second that passed. This man had a smile with the whitest teeth, and luscious lips. He stood about six-two, and wore a pure white pullover shirt, beneath a dress jacket with a western cut, and tight jeans. From my angle beside him, I could tell he had a tight butt. He wore loafers without socks, a dress style I thought sexy in a man.

I was momentarily speechless, but I smiled coyly. Megan arrived just at that instant and thrust a glass of Chardonnay into my hand. She wrapped her free arm around Bill's neck and the pair engaged in a truly sexy kiss right in front of me. As she pulled away, Megan said, "I see you met Penny. She is such a sweetheart, and I want her to join us. I think she'd be such a beautiful addition, as you can tell. She's also smart, witty, and ... well, sexy." I blushed.

Bill looked at me -- probably at what he'd now rendered as my nude body that he was about to plunder -- and said to Megan with a manly smile, "I'd just introduced myself when you arrived."

Megan winked at me, "Well, I'll let you two get friendly. I want to talk to Greg and Collette. Be back in a few." She turned and flew away.

Quickly, Bill turned back to me. I could tell I had his total attention. He wasn't distracted by anything else in the room. I momentarily felt awed by him. I finally put my hand out and said, "Bill Matthews, it's a real pleasure to meet you. I take it, you and Megan know each other well."

Bill laughed. "You could say that. We've dated a few times. Our social goals are compatible, so we feel comfortable around each other and about dating each other."

I got a puzzled look, "Social goals are compatible?"

"Well, we both want to hook up with someone of the opposite sex without the messy entanglements of a burgeoning romantic relationship, so when we dated we clicked right away. I think we have each other on speed dial." He grinned in a knowing way.

"Oh. Are some people here for the romance?"

Bill now glanced around the room. He politely directed my gaze to a couple seated at a table in another corner. "See the couple there -- he's in the red sweater and she has a blue top."

I nodded.

"They're in love. They joined for love, and they've found it. They were both widows, lonely, horny, and we helped them find each other. I bet they'll be engaged within a few months and married by year's end. They'll still belong, though. In my opinion, it'd be ashamed to lose Edy as an eligible date. Jay is sought after too."

"You talk as though you know Edy well."

"Errr, well, we've dated a few times, even while she was getting serious about Jay."

"Were you always single or are you now?"

"Yes, I'm single now. I got divorced about twenty years ago. I'm still on good terms with my Ex, Carol." He looked around, and waved at a pretty brunette leaning against the bar with a handsome man beside her. "That's her over there -- the woman with the green scarf. We date and continue a loving relationship; we just couldn't stand to live together. The chemistry between us gets crazy when we're together longer than twenty-four hours, so we keep it short and sweet and loving without adding back in the luggage that broke us apart."

I asked, "And it doesn't bother you to see the woman that was the love of your life for a while go off and date someone else, apparently with some surety that they'll make love?"

"Oh, no. Not a bit. I've even made introductions of men I think she'd enjoy both as company and as sex partners. I know her tastes and kinks, so I can steer strong candidates she might like in her direction."

"No jealousy."

"Not a bit. I'm hoping she'll have a fabulous date or dates with the guy, and, pardon my language, but that they'll fuck the living daylights out of each other in a never ending cascade of climaxes and orgasms that light up the night sky that make them both very happy."

"Wow. You sure tell it like it is." I laughed at Bill's candid and lurid statement.

"Jealousy is a learned response dealing with possession, exclusion, competition, ego, and fear. You can unlearn it. Most jealousy is ego based, or operates under the illusion that I own you in some way -- you're my possession, as though Carol, by ex, would have to get my permission to date someone. If you can get control of your ego, you don't need to respond with anger or malice or sadness. The opposite is called compersion; it's when I empathize with Carol and her date when they're feeling happiness and joy, thus I feel it too, even when they're having a deep, loving, and sexual relationship."

"Were you always this way?" I guessed I sounded skeptical.

"No. I learned this philosophy and life style in this group when I joined about eight years ago." Bill gestured to the people around him in the wine bar. "We all subscribe to this, more or less. There's a lot more to it than what I just said. The truth is I struggle every now and then, but overall I've got it down now."

"Is it written down?"

"There are a few books that talk about it. Two I specifically recall are The Ethical Slut and Polyamory: The New Love Without Limits.

I postured, "But isn't polyamory and that kind of philosophy for kids in their twenties and thirties? Aren't we supposed to be beyond this?" Even as I said the words, I knew they were tapes I'd been programmed to repeat in this situation, and this was not really something I knew for a fact or even believed.

Bill responded, "To the contrary. I think the older you get, the more important it is to adopt a life style of compersion and open loving relationships. Think about it, by our age, over fifty-five, we've learned how to manage our egos and not let them sink us. We understand relationships and are much more tolerant about each other's weaknesses and foibles.