After we finish dinner and chat at the table for a bit, I ask if you want to come upstairs.
If you don't, then I kiss you on the cheek and see you out.
If you do, then you follow me upstairs.
You pause for a moment and look at the steps, which seem to be covered in satin.
I tell you not to worry about it, that it looks slippery but isn’t.
You decide to trust me on that, and take the first step. It’s totally fine, just like I said it would be. Not slippery at all. It does feel a bit odd under foot, like it's too soft somehow and you might feel like you shouldn’t be walking on it. But it’s okay. You recall you have my permission—invitation even—to follow me upstairs.
After it turns, you reach the top and see me in the doorway.
I say if you want to come in, we can watch something or read to each other or whatever. Maybe listen to music.
If you’re not comfortable, you can either say goodnight and leave, or you can stay in the guest room across the hall.
If you want to come inside, then you do.
I fall sideways into bed, playfully, and pat the mattress for you to be next to me.
If you want to listen to something, we listen to Nico sing “These Days.”
You tell me how the song makes you feel; or you keep it to yourself and smile.
Either way, I lean in to kiss you. If you want to, then we make out a little, slowly and with some pauses to whisper to each other.
If you don’t, then I smile, and wait for the song to end, then say I’ll go get us some coffee and/or tea.
After that, I get in bed again, and turn on the television.
We watch a noir thriller show about a writer who moves to a small town and becomes obsessed with solving the murder of a local young woman.
Parts of it are really good, I think. Other parts are kind of soapy or cheesy.
There are some over-the-top 90s erotic drama elements in it, too.
I tell you that I always liked those, that they are fun and mysterious and kind of ridiculous but also, you know, sexy.
If you disagree or you say nothing, I stay on my side of the bed.
If you agree, then I move a bit closer to you. Then, during one of the sex scenes, I lean in slowly and kiss your neck. If you like it, I kiss you, and move on top of you.
If you don’t, stop reading now, and I will see you tomorrow.