Squirrel came over to our apartment, and told us that Moose was wimping out again. She was pretty upset with him, but ready to game. We talked a little more about my gaming idea, since it looked like we were going to need a backburner one for day s like today.

Azura's only objection was that she didn't want to 'be in too many games at once'. I don't really understand that, I don't need to keep track of the games over time. I could go back to a game we played many years ago, and remember most of the details, as I got started. That's also part of the GM's job. I remember my character, he remembers the world, and we've got what we need.

Then we called Informer to see if she & her boyfriend were coming. Nope, illness. This time, for real. Suffice it to say that we were stunned, and told her to get some rest. About this time, Azura walked in and told us she wasn't going to play. I guess the too-many game thing got to her. Squirrel got up and left, angry. Not really at Azura, but more at the way things weren't working out.

I assured Azura that everything was fine. I told her I didn't think Squirrel was mad at her, just what was going on. I was a bit peeved at Azura, but that's just because I don't understand the 'only a few games' concept.

After a few minutes, I went out and looked for Squirrel. I found her near the entrance of our complex, waiting on our one remaining player. I talked to her for a bit, about her marriage problems, her one true love (not her husband), and about her life. Azura had told me most of this, but "I didn't know it yet", so I let her tell me again.

Azura and I think that if Squirrel was poly she wouldn't have this problem. That is, the whole problem is, if I choose Moose, I lose Tom, if I choose Tom, I lose Moose, and my marriage, and all that. Maybe you think poly is a copout, but I could see that Squirrel loved them both. Which is the whole point of polyamory, anyway.

Of course, I didn't mention it to Squirrel. There's a lot of things I don't say, partly because of my attraction to her, and partly because we've never talked about me being bi. Azura told her about us (with my consent), but Squirrel never talked to me about it.

Eventually our third player showed up. Yep, with no spouses & losing a couple, we were down to 3 people. Which ain't enough to game with.

We sat around chatting, just generally talking to each other when Squirrel looks up and says, "Let's go to the beach." I nodded and said, "OK, hand me the phone, I'll call my parents."

She looked at me, and said, "You're serious, you want to go." I nodded, and quickly Carrie, and Azura chimed in with yes-votes. Squirrel called her husband, and he even wanted to go. It was one of the first times he wanted to do something all week. So we were going.

It took us about an hour to get swimtrunks, towels, money, and so forth. As we were pulling out from Moose and Squirrel's apartment, Informer and her boyfriend showed up. She looked wasted, which I guess is to be expected, and we tried to talk them into caravaning down to the beach with us. Her boyfriend had to be at work at 5 the next morning, so they decided against.

And then we were off.

It was dark by the time we got to the beach. The 3/4 moon hung over the water, with wispy clouds occasionally obscuring it. We could see stars, which is something we don't see much in Charlotte. The water was actually warm, so it wasn't long before we were swimming.

I'm not sure how long we actually swam, but after what felt like an hour, we all got the urge to get out of the water, and just look out over the ocean. We just stood and looked, and didn't say anything. We gradually peeled off of that. Azura went shell collecting, Squirrel and Moose settled down on the blanket. Carrie wandered around, I lost track of him.

I was wandering around the groups, mingling, but without talking, until Azura walked over, and asked me to go collecting with her. I noticed there was no way to tell what color the shells were, only the texture. Everything was a sort of bluescale color, since our only source of light was the moon.

Azura pulled me close, and whispered, "I've got a question to ask you."

I whispered, "OK".

She leaned forward, whispering even softer into my ear, "Will you marry me?"

I leaned back a bit, and looked into her eyes. "Yes" I said. (well whispered loudly)

Soon we decided it was time to go, so around 10pm we piled back into the car, and drove home, in silence, most of us sleeping.

Generic Joe's A Typical Male