Lessons in Love: I thought writing about my one-night stands would be easy...

I was wrong.

After reading the latest from my book proposal, my agent suggested another essay about a sexual mishap. “About you bumbling something up,” he said.

“Easy, no problem,” I thought. After all, that was basically my sexual M.O. for…well, more years than I care to admit.

I had the perfect essay in mind — in fact, it was already written years ago for a now defunct publication, all about how I’ve never had a one night stand before. (You know the one — I shared it in my first-ever From the Archives post, see below).

From the Archives: I never had a one-night stand...

I knew I had to do some rewriting, but I thought — as all writers so naively do — that it would be a cake walk. Just a few edits and trims, no biggie.

Well, it’s turning out to be the hardest essay I’ve written out of the bunch for this entire proposal. Considering the essay concerned two men who are basically honorable mentions in the catalogue of the men who I let into my bed (and maybe heart) I couldn’t figure out why.

Then I was reminded of my most recent summer fling.

“Fling” is probably not the right term. Not only because it was chaste and innocent (but, to paraphrase Britney, not that innocent), but because, while it didn’t last long (as the word ‘fling’ generally implies), its impact on my life was both small and momentous, and reminded me of the magical circuitry that always surrounds us. You know, like a predestined domino effect, a butterfly effect. That type of thing.

For example, if I hadn’t met this man, I don’t know if I would have ended a very long situationship with one of the great loves of my life.