Sometime after eight, they arrived by taxi back at Gail’s flat, looking forward to enjoying hours of romantic intimacy. As they walked past the doorman, Gail heard someone yelling her name. She turned around and was shocked to see her ‘ex-fuck buddy’—Jeremy. He had a dozen roses in one hand and a bottle of merlot in the other “Gail, I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour. Where have you been?” After eyeing Lyle, he added, “Who’s this?”

Ohhhh shit! Did I fuck up! Gail remembered she had set up a Saturday night rendezvous with Jeremy, only Friday morning—yesterday morning, and now she was engaged to Lyle. In all the excitement, she had forgotten about Jeremy. This was embarrassing, not to mention a huge problem. Jeremy had been invited over for some hot sex and now she stood here with another man—her fiancé of eight hours.

“Jeremy, imagine you being here. I’d like you to meet Lyle. Lyle Overton, this is Jeremy Stern; Jeremy, Lyle Overton.” They shook hands, appraising each other. “Shall we adjourn to my apartment?”

Silence reigned in the elevator on the way up to Gail’s apartment. Lyle stared straight ahead, Jeremy stared at Lyle and Gail stared at the floor, trying to figure out how to extricate herself from the mess. Neither man had the slightest clue who the other was, though they both seemed wary.

Once in the apartment, Gail took charge. She took Jeremy’s offering of wine and flowers and put them on the dining room table. She turned to Jeremy.

“Jeremy, I need to talk to Lyle alone, would you please wait in my bedroom?”

Jeremy didn’t seem to want to leave them alone. “I think I’d rather stay here.”

“Fine, you stay here while Lyle and I go into the bedroom.” Jeremy apparently liked the idea of Gail and Lyle in the bedroom even less. “Alright, I’ll go in the bedroom and get ready.”

After Gail ushered the reluctant Jeremy into the bedroom and closed the door, she addressed Lyle. “Sweetheart, I hate the fact that you’re being drawn into this, but I’m afraid I’ve created a little mess and I can’t think of any way around it except explain it to you. You see, I’m going to need your help with a teensy weensy prevarication.”

“Who is Jeremy?”

Unable to think of a delicate way of putting it, Gail blurted out, “He is my law clerk and occasional casual sex partner. He’s been my only sex partner for the last nine months. We have sex approximately once every month.”

Gail sensed he was restraining his temper. “He came to have sex with you tonight?”

Chagrined, Gail had no choice, but to once again answer Lyle’s mortifying question. “I’m afraid so, at my invitation. I invited him yesterday morning five hours before running into you.”

She could see Lyle’s jaw tense as he stared at her tight lipped. “What do you plan to do?”