Page 33 of Maybe You

Sutton takes me in with amused expression on his face. “Do you have ants in your pants?”

I blink at him. “I’m sorry?”

He lifts his chin toward me, eyes shining with mirth. “You’re fidgeting like crazy.”

“Just…” My voice dies down. “Don’t mind me,” I mumble.

For a little while we drink in silence.

“So what’s with the anti-relationship stance?” I blurt. Anything to get my mind away from sex, and this is the first thing that jumped to mind.

He sends me an amused look over the rim of his bottle.

“The what?”

I wave my hand in the air. “That whole feelings-are-bad, relationships-are-doom thing you’ve got going on. What’s that about?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

“No. Guess I’m just wondering if there is.”

“Not really,” he says.

I shrug. “Okay.”

A smirk plays on his lips. “Not going to try and convince me of the joys of being happily coupled up?”

“Why would I?”

“Why ask?”

“Curiosity.”

“Fair,” he says. “Why are you single?”

“Why not? Lots of people are.”

“True. Do you want to be?”

That’s a difficult question, seeing that up until very recently I haven’t even considered not being single as a legitimate option.

“I’m not against relationships,” I say.

“Me neither. As long as I don’t have to be in one. If that’s your kink, more power to you, just leave me out of it.”

“Unless you join a cult, I don’t think anyone will make you.”

“I’d be a terrible cultist. I don’t do well with rules.”

“No!” I say with a mock gasp. “You? Say it isn’t so. You’re such a law-abiding citizen.”

“It was a minuscule break-in. You should really get over it already. It’s not good to dwell on the past for too long.”

“Minuscule break-in. Now there’s a pair of words you don’t hear together too often.”

“It’s a more modest version of a gigantic break-in,” he says, and I can’t really argue with him there.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

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