I am a thirtysomething, happily married woman except that I’ve never had satisfying, passionate sex with my husband. But I love him.
Here’s where it gets complicated. I survived cancer a few years back. I’m having symptoms again, but I haven’t told anyone. In a few months a business trip will give me the opportunity to hook up with a very skilled ex-lover–who I know, based on experience, will lose interest if I’m bald and chemo-scented. So do I come clean with my husband and oncologist and openly beg for a last hurrah? Or do I keep quiet about my symptoms for a few months, have a glorious but presumably final great fuck, and then slink home for a cancer treatment that may not have any affect?
For the record, I know my priorities are messed up and that cheating is wrong and that cancer doesn’t...
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...up and that cheating is wrong and that cancer doesn’t absolve me from ethical dilemmas.
Devil’s Bargain
Your letter, DB, illustrates why there will never be a “Make a Wish Foundation” for adults. Most grownups, when forced to stare death in the face, aren’t going to want to go to Disneyland or meet Oprah. No, most grownups with terminal illnesses are going to wanna do shit like fuck their exes one last time before they croak. If I were about to die, I would want to spend a day locked in the trunk of a small car with Andy Roddick–preferably a black car parked in the sun.
This isn’t about me and what I want, though; it’s about you, DB, and what you want. But before I give you my advice, there are a few questions I need you to answer:
Are you truly terminal? If delaying your treatment isn’t tantamount to suicide, it’s not irrational to prioritize one last night of mind-blowing sex over a hopeless course of cancer treatments.
Can you absolutely, positively pull this off without your husband finding out? Dying doesn’t give you the right to be an inconsiderate, cancerous cow, you know. While you can’t help leaving your husband a grieving widower, you shouldn’t do this if there’s any chance you’re going to leave a grieving widower and a humiliated cuckold.
Do you have to choose between sex and delaying the treatment? It seems to me that an ex who’s willing to bang you on a business trip might be willing to make a special trip and mercy fuck you right away.
If you can answer yes to all three questions–yes, you’re truly terminal; yes, your husband won’t find out; yes, the choice is between sex and chemo–then, Christ Almighty, go for it. Just don’t tell anyone I told you so, DB, okay?
I’m 32 year-old gay man into medical restraints and sneakers. My ultimate fantasy is being strapped to a gurney by a hot stud who uses medical tape to secure one of his sneakers to my face, covering my mouth and nose, so that I have to breathe through it. It’s hard to meet guys who are into this kind of elaborate medical/humiliation scene, but I live in city where you can buy anything (Toronto), so I advertised. A cocky college boy answered and for two years I’ve been paying him two hundred bucks a pop to run a few miles (so his shoes are sweaty) and then come over, strap me down (I bought a gurney), and tape one of his sneakers to my face. Six months ago I started dating a great guy and at first I didn’t tell him about this. When I did, he insisted it stop. He was willing to do it for me–he’s GGG–but he’s not cocky, and he’s got small feet. Am I a bad person for wanting to see the college boy again? My boyfriend says it’s cheating. I disagree. The college boy hardly even touches me once I’m strapped down. He just hangs out, drinks beer, and plays video games for a couple of hours. Then he frees my hands and grinds his sneaker into my face while I jerk off. I’ve never even seen him naked!
My boyfriend reads you religiously, and agreed to submit to your binding arbitration.
All Day I Dream About Sneakers
Before I hand down my verdict–and the suspense, I suspect, is killing no one–a word about your boyfriend’s anxieties. While you may not be having intercourse with this cocky college boy (CCB), ADIDAS, it’s understandable that your boyfriend would feel threatened. You’ve been seeing CCB a lot longer than you’ve been seeing him, for starters, and it’s only natural that your boyfriend wants to be the person with whom you realize your “ultimate fantasy.”
However…
It’s curious that your boyfriend would submit to my binding arbitration, ADIDAS. Anyone who reads my column religiously has to know that I would come down on the side of college boys, medical restraints, and sweaty sneakers. Don’t I every time? So your boyfriend is, on some level, cool with you seeing CCB again. But before you make a date, ADIDAS, give some thought to how you can involve your boyfriend in this elaborate humiliation scenario. Perhaps your boyfriend would like to be there, strapped down right beside you, with CCB’s other sneaker taped to his face? Or if it’s humiliation you’re after, what could be more humiliating than knowing your boyfriend is hanging out with CCB–drinking your beer, playing video games–while you’re strapped to a gurney? If you can find a way to include your boyfriend in your ultimate fantasy, he won’t feel so threatened by it.
Hey, Single, Dumped, Divorced Readers: Don’t be alone on Valentine’s Day! This is your personal invitation to The Stranger‘s Valentine’s Day Bash. Bring a momento of a failed relationship (a mix tape, a wedding invite, a gurney) and share your sad story with a sympethic crowd. Then I will personally destroy your momento live on stage, bad memories will be purged forever, and you will be ready to love again! The Bash is always a blast, and the room is, of course, full of single people with a sense of humor. The Stranger‘s Valentine’s Day Bash is at Chop Suey, Monday, February 14, doors at 8 pm, destruction begins at 9 pm. $2.
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