"Why do you look so glum?"
"I don't," I say.
"You don't look excited," she says.
"I am." I think. I want to see Imogen again. Badly. But there's something a little cold about the text.
She's laying down the law, yeah.
And it's a law I should like.
A beautiful woman wants sex without strings because she wants me.
That's the ideal arrangement.
"Can I see?" Luna asks.
I show her the phone.
"Oh, I get it. You like her."
"I wouldn't sleep with her if I didn't like her."
"No, youlikeher."
Shit, I do.
"Aw, I've never seen you like anyone. This is cute. Can I take a picture?"
I flip her off.
"Do you need some pointers? First relationships are hard."
"I've had relationships."
"Who?"
I name a few exes.
"Those weren't relationships, Tricky. Can you name a single thing about any of them?"
"Yeah. Orange was Andrea's favorite color."
"A meaningful thing?"
"Orange isn't a popular color." And what does that matter? Sure, my romantic relationships have been a little surface level. I was surface level. That was what I wanted. It was all I could do. Besides—"Imogen isn't looking for a relationship."
"She made an offer. You can counter."
"She was clear," I say.
"Even so."
Maybe. Or maybe this is perfect. "She wants no-strings attached sex. Why would I turn that down?"
She smilesdo you really expect me to buy that?"Is that all it is?"
"What do you mean?"