Page 125 of Say My Name

His hand settles briefly at my waist when he reaches past me. He does not turn the touch into anything else.

The restrained touch feels more intimate than the times he has bent me over this counter.

We take our water into the living room. Dominic sits at one end of the couch, and I fold my legs beneath me at the other.

“What are we watching?” he asks.

“You came to my condo. You surrendered your voting rights when you crossed the threshold.”

“I should’ve had counsel review the invitation.”

“It was three words.”

“Your contracts have started with less.”

I throw a pillow at him. He catches it one-handed and puts it behind his head as if I meant to improve his comfort.

Twenty minutes into the show, my feet end up beneath his thigh. His hand rests loosely around my ankle, his thumb moving over the same spot every so often without conscious thought.

He came because I asked him to. I asked because I wanted him here.

There is no date, window, or excuse between us. We are here because we chose an ordinary Tuesday together, and the ease of it scares me more than sex ever has. It feels like ours. I try to concentrate on the television, but that word won’t leave me alone.

Dominic’s thumb moves over my ankle once more before going still. He has not watched the screen for several minutes. I can feel his attention on me, patient and heavy.

“Elena.”

“What?”

He reaches for the remote and mutes the television.

“That was getting interesting.”

“You have no idea what’s happening.”

“Neither do you.”

“I haven’t watched a second of it.”

“At least you’re honest.”

His smile fades. He keeps his hand around my ankle, warm and loose enough that I could pull away without resistance.

I don’t.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You’re going to regardless.”

“No. I’m not.”

The quiet certainty in his voice makes me look at him. The sound from the television seems to flatten, becoming meaningless background noise.

Dominic waits. He never assumes that being invited into my body grants him access to everything else.

“Ask.”

“If we trust each other enough to raise a child together, why do you insist the rest of this can’t be more?”