Page 93 of Say My Name

“Agreed.”

“Either of us can stop at any point, including after we’ve started.”

“Always.”

“No false reasons. If I’m ovulating, I’ll tell you. If I want sex, I’ll tell you that too.”

He almost smiles. “I’d like that in writing.”

“Don’t push it.”

“I’m not the one who invented a medical test.”

I wince. “I deserved that.”

“A little.” His voice turns serious. “Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.”

“And no outside partners. That rule stays.”

“Yes.”

“No sex at work?” he asks.

The question carries just enough doubt to make me look at the desk between us.

“Absolutely no sex at work.”

“You hesitated.”

“I was deciding how concerned I should be that you needed to ask.”

“Very.”

I ignore the heat in his voice. “Sleepovers?”

He doesn’t offer one. “Do you want a rule?”

I think about how easy it was to lie beside him after the urgency passed. “We’ll decide when it happens.”

“And what do we expect from each other outside sex?”

That question is harder. We already expect more than the contract requires. He checks on my test results. I know when his meetings run late. He came to my birthday drinks because I wanted him there, and he stayed in my bed because neither of us wanted the night to end at an orgasm.

The only answer I have is, “We’ll decide that as it happens too.”

Dominic nods once and doesn’t ask whether “as it happens” means I already expect it to happen. I’m grateful and annoyed in equal measure.

I click the cancellation link.

The clinic asks for a reason. I select change in treatment plan, confirm I understand that rescheduling might create a delay, and submit the form.

The page refreshes.

Appointment canceled.

I take my hand from the mouse. “Done.”