I’m worth waiting for. I’ll be the best lover you ever had.”

“I believe you. Um…how long do you think we’ll be putting off the uh…”

“The sex part?”

I nodded.

“We’re not going to put it off at all.”

“Okay.”

“I’m confusing you.”

“Not at all. Well, a little. But seriously Nicki, however you want to do this, I’m with you. I’m just so honored you chose me.”

“Thank you. What I mean is, we’re going to do something sexual every time we meet. It’s just that we’re not going to go all the way the first few visits. Will that work for you?”

“Yes.”

“One last thing: if we’re gonna do this, you’ll have to promise something.”

“Name it.”

“You can’t ever ask or tell me to do something sexual. In other words, I’ll have specific plans for each time we meet. Maybe one plan is we lie in bed naked, without touching. If that’s the plan, I have to be able to trust you completely.”

“I understand.”

“I’m serious, David. If that’s the plan you absolutely can’t touch me. Because if that’s the plan and you do, you’ll never see me again.”

I cocked my head, wondering two things: first: is this what happened over and over with her and Michael? And second: is she just plain crazy?

But it didn’t matter. By then I was in striking distance of epic pussy, and I’d have said yes to anything.

And so I did.

“Check,” she said. Then added, “I like what you said a while ago about logistics and ground rules. I have some ideas on that, if you’d like to hear them.”

“I’d love to.”

12.

“FIRST,” SHE SAID, “I want us to talk about Michael and Alison. I want us to tell and ask each other everything we’d like to say and know about them. And we have to be 100% honest. In other words, if I ask if you love Alison and you do, I’ll think no less of you, and it won’t affect our relationship in the least. Because what we do in this world is separate from what you do in that world. But if you lie in order to justify our relationship, or because you think it’s what I want to hear, I’ll know. And if that’s the case, you’re not the man I hoped for, and that will end it. So always tell the truth, because I’ll accept nothing less.”

“I’ll always be honest with you. You have my word.”

She paused. “So we’ll talk about Michael and Alison till there’s nothing left to say. But just today. After you leave the room today, whenever we’re together, we can never mention either of them, ever again. Agreed?”

I nodded.

“Second, when it’s over, it’s over.”

“Okay. Uh…can you expand on that a little?”

“If for any reason you change your mind about being with me—”

“That will never happen!”

“I hope not.