Page 44 of The Plus One Pact

"I'm not trying to invalidate your experiences," I say. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not trying to say you're a bad lay, either. Or that you don't work hard at what you do. Only that there's an imbalance here," Sasha says.

I nod. "I should acknowledge that, but there are other imbalances between us. We don't talk about those."

"We could," she says.

"Okay," I say.

Sasha's composure breaks. Her expression softens. She moves off the couch and throws her arms around me. Then around Ivy. "Wow, you're good at this."

Ivy laughs. "No. That was you two. Most couples argue for three straight sessions before they see each other's point of view." She pauses, choosing her words carefully. "That's why I stopped seeing couples. I couldn't deal with the constant tension."

"That and the divorce," Sasha says, matter-of-factly. No one could accuse her of using kid gloves. "You probably didn't love counseling couples while your marriage was crumbling."

I shoot Sasha a don't look.

But Ivy shakes her head. "No. She's right." Ivy smooths her slacks. She studies her thumb for a long moment, then she looks to Sasha, connecting with her. "I had a lot of countertransference."

"You mean how people fall in love with their therapists?" Sasha asks.

Ivy nods. "Only on the therapist's end. " Her eyes go to her bare left hand. She takes a minute to find the words to explain. "So, uh, back to the question of how long we’ve been together… If we talk about my divorce, I don't want anyone to think we had overlap. I don't want people to whisper about me that way."

"Of course," I say.

"We could say three months," Ivy says. "But no faster."

"And you two don't know a lot about each other," Sasha says. "You're more plausible as a new couple. Though you should really be touching more."

Ivy's cheeks flush. "You're right. It will help sell the ruse." Ivy turns to me. "Should we start now?"

"Yes," Sasha says. "Right now. Sit like you're together. Not like you, what, had sex once?"

My memories go to our night together. The feeling of her body against mine. A great night, but only one. “One night,” I admit.

"Depends on what you count as sex," Ivy says.

"I really like her." Sasha smiles. "Don't break her heart for real, okay?"

How would I begin to do that? Women don't get attached to my personality. They don't fall in love with Romeo, the man. They don’t even know him.

But then I'm supposed to drop the pretense here.

Which means for the first time in a long time, someone might actually see me.

That's scarier than anything.

What would I do if this was our second date? Well, our second date after sex.

I move a little closer. Let my thigh melt into hers.

She sinks into the gesture, looking up at me with a shy smile. "Hey."

"Hey." I say back.

Ivy lays her palm on my thigh.

I place my hand on top of hers.