"Hey, you got a minute?"

Text conversations with Stu don't normally start out by him asking to talk to me - we just talk - so my curiosity was piqued.

"Yeah, 'course!"

"Nothing big, just wanted to say I'd mentioned your situation to Alex because I was curious about her take on it (hope that's okay!), and she said that you should absolutely message her about it at some point because she has a very different attitude to me but would have a good input on it."

Alexandra, his partner of some seven years or so, and the mother of his child, is honestly an absolute fox. She's very well put-together, with a slightly edgy style (including a couple of nose rings). Short, amazing curves, and an incredibly pretty face with gorgeous eyes and a smile to die for. I've got a lot of time for her both as an incredible person and as an attractive woman, so of course I'd love an excuse to talk to her one-on-one...

"Like, because I'm the poly god and she's poly with me but not in the same way, you might have more in common with her attitude towards open stuff, and she might be able to give better advice."

For as long as I've known him - some 16 years at this point - Stu has been in committed, but very open relationships. Like, very open. Just a normal dude with a big heart, but he slays like nobody else I know. Not only is it impressive, but I am of course more than a little jealous.

On the other hand, I have been with the same woman for almost as long as I've known him. Our sex life was good to begin with, but in recent years has fallen off a cliff, and after talking to him about our issues, his situation, and the possibility of it being an option for my relationship, he'd obviously been doing some thinking. That being said, as much as I love Alex, this would be an entirely new dynamic.

"That's very kind of her. I wouldn't want to put her out or anything..."

"She said "Tell him I'm a slut and I love it - go for it" haha"

"Well, when she puts it like that..."

And so I found myself with Alex's number, messaging her somewhat out of the blue about a slightly awkward subject - but she put me at ease immediately. Her situation is a little different to Stu's - he is a very sincere, free love kind of guy - whereas she explained that she is bisexual and mostly explores that side of herself with other partners, although she does also enjoy flirting and sexting other men. As if we were talking about the most normal thing in the world.

Like all the best conversationalists, she was engaged and inquiring, responding quickly, giving advice, and asking me questions when I responded. At sone point I mentioned that I was feeling more attractive than I ever have, and that I didn't want to essentially resign myself to a sexless existence. It wasn't meant to be bait, I swear, but she picked up on it.

"You cannot live your live not feeling happy, confident and fulfilled, you deserve to feel attractive. What do you think has been the catalyst in your self-confidence growing?"

Ah.

You see, dear reader, the reason I've been feeling myself is because I started posting pictures of my cock online. Original, I know, but it has had an effect. I'm not the biggest out there, but I'm more than enough to be considered "hung", and the inbox full of horny messages from all corners of the globe confirming that has been quite the ego booster.

Of course, I wasn't intending to tell Alex this - I figured it would be wildly inappropriate, considering she was just offering to help me work through a legitimate issue, so I attempted to fob her off with some bollocks about accepting a few things about myself and being more confident in my own skin - but clearly not very convincingly, because a short while later I got a message from Stu:

"Alex said you're being mysterious about some new-found confidence. What gives?"

No, definitely didn't play that as cool as I'd hoped. And Alex and I had literally just talked about how they are very open and share everything.

"I'm not trying to be mysterious or anything, just...it's sort of a funny/awkward thing that I didn't think she'd want to know."

"Oh my god, awkward and inappropriate are her bread and butter - she'd absolutely want to know hahaha"

Still, I probably shouldn--

"Is it about your dangus? You packing heat there my guy??"

Well...if asked, I'm not exactly gonna deny it, am I? Personal pride and all that. He proceeds to make light of the situation, joking about skinny dudes and their hogs, and many laughs are had.

"Knowing full well you have probably already told Alex anyway, you understand why I didn't want to just be like "oh, my confidence is linked to the size of my cock" right??"

"I haven't, but I will. I already know what her response is gonna be. She'll be all bright eyed and excited about it, and then say something along the lines of "good for Aldous, wonder if he knows how to use it?" haha"

You can't blame me for this catching my attention, right? This stunning, confident, sexually available woman is going to be excited about me having a big dick, and she's going to be wondering if I know how to use it? Interesting. Very interesting.

I don't know at what point he mentioned it to her, or if he has yet, but she hasn't let on - per se. While the next topic did come up naturally in conversation, not long after I confirmed to Stu that I am indeed packing, Alex asked:

"If you were to try an open relationship, do you have anyone in mind that you're already close to? Or would you maybe seek to meet someone in the future?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. I don't have that kind of vibe with anyone I know already, and in the current circumstances obviously wouldn't want to push it, so it's hard to know. I am also not a perceptive man, so I wouldn't pick up if anyone was interested anyway."

Playing dumb, a little, but I followed it with:

"Of course there's people I find attractive, or have thought about, but I wouldn't know how to broach the subject."

"I'd say either get some Dutch courage and put yourself out there by flirting with someone you know, trust and are attracted to, or use a casual dating site x"

We've largely left the general conversation there for now, but I can't help but wonder if there are going to be further developments. Watch this space, I guess...