[RealWithRy]

For us, it depended on the situation and how well we knew the other person.

One of our biggest rules from the beginning was that my husband was always in the room during play dates. That was never about control, it was about safety and making sure we were both comfortable. As the years went by and we became more established in the lifestyle, we loosened that rule a little, but only with men we had met multiple times and had built trust with.

In those cases, my husband would sometimes drop me off, make sure I got into the room safely, and then pick me up the next morning. We also had a standing agreement that I'd check in throughout the evening with a few texts, a couple of phone calls, and some photos so he knew I was okay. It wasn't about keeping tabs on me, it was simply our way of making sure I was safe.

If I had to put a number on it, I'd say around 70% of our encounters were still with my husband right there in the room.

There was one exception where I took a bus into the city with one of my guy friends to meet another guy we'd planned to see. Looking back, that probably wasn't one of our smartest decisions. Thankfully everything turned out fine, but it easily could have gone the other way. That experience reinforced for us that trust and communication are important, but they don't replace good judgment when it comes to personal safety.

I'll probably share that whole story in more detail when I update my thread, "Our Journey," because it's definitely one of those experiences that taught us a lot and helped shape the rules we have today.