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Eli:It’s a small thing. And we can work on making the room feel like OURS when I get home.
Bailey:I like that idea. Back to your ego—you don’t have a giant one hidden somewhere. Not even a small one. You have healthy confidence.
Eli:Gee, thanks?
Bailey:What?
Eli:Healthy confidence sounds just like what every woman is looking for in a guy. Goes hand-in-hand with being a nice guy.
Bailey:You’d be surprised. Healthy confidence is incredibly sexy.
Eli:Thanks. It’s nice to know you find me incredibly sexy, Leelee.
Bailey:I was wrong about you not having an ego, hockey player. Also, thanks for using punctuation in your texts for me.
Eli:Anything for you. But honestly, this is hard. I’ve used more periods in texts this week than ever in my life.
Bailey:It’s like a bouquet of periods!
Bailey:Okay, that sounded really bad. Ew. EW! EW! EW! Sorry. SO sorry. Let’s roll that back.
Eli:How about a bouquet of commas?
Bailey:I accept.
Eli:New idea: every point I score equals a point with you.
Bailey:Come again?
Bailey:And if this turns into some kind of misogynistic thing that has to do with scoring, I’m going to block your number.
Eli: Not that kind of scoring! Also, please don’t block my number. I won’t make it through the rest of this trip without seeing your face in our nightly chats. Thanks for staying up for me, by the way.
Bailey:I like seeing you too. Even if having you in Pacific Standard Time sucks. You’re totally worth the lack of beauty sleep, husband.
Eli:And you don’t need sleep to be beautiful, wife.
Bailey: Aw, flattery will get you everywhere. Now, tell me more about this non-misogynistic point-scoring thing.
Eli:Now it sounds stupid.
Bailey:Tell me anyway.
Eli:I was thinking maybe as I accumulate goals, I could earn Bailey Points.
Bailey:Oooh! I like this. It’s kind of like my own kind of currency?
Eli:If that’s how you want to think of it.
Bailey:And what do Bailey Bucks—fully leaning into the currency thing—get you?
Eli:I don’t know. Maybe this idea got away from me.
Bailey:Liar. You know what you want. You just can’t say it.
Eli:I sometimes have trouble with that.
Bailey:Me too.
