Originally Posted by Rodney

I might call this paranoid... but I saw it happen once.

Him, about 20; sharp computer geek supporting himself well without a college degree; her, a truly hot 34 who'd always got by on her looks even though she had a brain. Her looks, and her willingness to get next to well-known or otherwise desirable people by going to bed with them. She was big in science fiction fandom for a while, and had basically f*cked every A-list sf author on the west coast (who was open to it, and yeah, that included Harlan Ellison.)

And she found herself getting a little older and worrying about it. They moved in together, things didn't work out all that well, and they were on the verge of splitting. But before they split she "forgot" to use her birth control, took a several-month trip, and came back five months pregnant. Surprise.

It wasn't about having the kid (she'd had some by a previous marriage), it was about holding onto the meal ticket. Which worked. Eighteen years later, they're still together -- you do the math -- but I don't know how happy they are. Haven't checked.

All that said, older women can be great. At that age, they know what they want and aren't afraid to be straight and true about it. You just need to check for the occasional one who's got a hidden agenda. Good or bad, they're not girls anymore. They're women -- experienced people who know a lot more tricks than you do.