“What?” he asks.
“I can think of nothing worse.”
“I’m a very good fuck. They leave satisfied.”
Gross.
I widen my eyes as I return to my book.
“What does that mean?” he asks.
“This is why I could never go out with a player like you. We come from completely different planets.”
“I’m not a player. Players hurt people. The women I see know exactly where they stand. It’s a mutual arrangement.”
I raise my eyebrow. “And I bet every single one of them is thinking she’s going to be the woman who finally tames you.”
“Calm down, nobody is taming anybody.” He rolls his eyes.
I smile. “Until they do.”
“So?”
“So what?” I ask.
“Don’t you want to know what else is out there?”
“I do.” I pause as I try to articulate myself properly. “It’s not that I don’t want to.”
“Then why?”
“To me, giving my body to someone is sacred. I just can’t imagine doing it with someone I didn’t know and trust.”
“What you’re saying is that you’re waiting for marriage?”
“That’s not it. I just . . . I haven’t met anyone that raises any interest in me.” I shrug as I think about it. “Maybe I am boring?”
He flops onto his back. “Maybe you’ve only slept with a dud, and you’re not addicted to orgasms yet.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe this trip is your sabbatical, and you are going to turn into the ultimate fuck-bunny hobag.”
I giggle. “Maybe.”
“Why did you break up?” he asks.
I think for a moment. “I don’t know.”
He scratches his head as he waits for my answer.
“Who was your last girlfriend?” I ask to change the subject.
He gives a subtle shake of his head.
“You don’t want to talk about it?”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend.”
I screw up my face. “What . . . never. Why?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Never really been my thing, I guess. It’s not something that I ever felt I needed.”
“That’s weird. How old are you?”
“Well, I am in the fossil room.”
I giggle. “This is true.” I think for a moment. “Maybe you need to see a therapist,” I reply.
“Ask my mother; she’ll tell you just how much.”
We both laugh, and it feels good to talk to him like this. A silent acknowledgment runs between us. There’s nothing romantic there, so no point ruining what it actually is.
He smiles up at the ceiling as if finding something amusing.
“What?”
“I think Bodie has a thing for you.”
I screw up my face. “No, really?”
“I think so.”
“Kimberly asked me if you were available.”