"Apologies for the comment I made that came across as sexist," he said. "I should've clarified my statement to 'all my former relationships.' Though they were all with women, that isn't a point that matters."
"See? Look at that. We can totally do this. You screw up, you apologize. You clarify. I think that this could be rule number one in our marriage."
"Does it go both ways?" he asked with those damn puppy eyes of his. "You also apologize and clarify?"
"For sure." As if I'd need to.
"Everything will be under control," he said. "It's the perfect marriage, if you ask me."
"One thing, though," I added, holding up my one-more-thing fingertip.
"Hit me." He gave me the go-ahead gesture.
"I think we should be married, married," I said, raising both eyebrows in hopes he understood.
"Agreed," he said with a quick nod. "Married, married."
"What I mean is I enjoy sex," I added.
"I also enjoy sex," he confirmed.
"Maybe we need to be sure we're compatible that way?" I asked, because it'd really be a drag if we weren't bedroom compatible, but we were stuck with each other.
As if my brain had it all queued up and ready to roll, a memory of the feel of him moving inside me and my legs wrapped around his back played through my thoughts.
"We're compatible that way," he said with confidence, as though he'd had the same memory at the same time.
"Great, I want to have sex. I think we should have sex." I grabbed my water glass and took a gulp.
"I love sex. Sex is great," he agreed. "Love it."
I choked a bit on the water because I should clarify that I meant sex with each other.
Not that I didn't understand why open marriages worked for some couples. I just… I didn't like to share. Never had.
"But only with each other?" I confirmed. "I mean, I think we should keep it to us, don't you? I don't want to hear that you've been playing the field while you're away playing the game."
"Maya, I don't want variety. I've never wanted variety. I just… I hate the unspoken expectations that I'm supposed to guess at," he said. "I don't like to guess."
"Then no guessing here." None.
"Does it go both ways?" he asked the same question from moments before. "We both stay inside the marriage? I don't really love the idea of you being on tour and?—"
"For sure," I answered, the same way he had before.
"I have to live near Denver. For the team," he said. "Is that a problem for you?"
I shook my head. "I have a small apartment in Los Angeles, but I travel a lot when there's a tour, so it doesn't really matter where I'm based."
"We'll both be traveling a lot," he said.
"That's probably what will make it work even better," I said with a laugh. "The best part is that I think I could really like you, Sloan."
"I could really like you, too, Maya."
"And there's no risk of falling in love," I added.
"None." He nodded along. "We're not falling in love."
