I never did get a chance to talk about all the intricacies and rules and regulations of my open relationship with Nazim. She did feed me a half-dozen bottles of beer, but the three of us ended up passing the night around a dining room table, talking and looking at old photo albums. I couldn't help myself: For the next few days, I fantasized that Nazim wouldn't be home when I stopped by and that his wife had organized the whole thing because she was turned on by my open relationship story, and wanted me to seduce her. And then a few days later, Nazim's wife asked if I was interested in coming to their house at some point for drinks. I decided to backpedal.Īfter that evening, it was discernibly clear that none of us were eager to bring up the subject again. This wasn't going the way I expected it to. 'We're not going to be doing anything like that.' And then she shot me another look, as if to say, 'Thanks a lot, jerk.' But Nazim was still smiling, and looking dreamily into space. 'No, no, no,' said his wife, shaking her head back and forth, and looking at her husband with pursed lips. It was as if he'd never before considered this concept of non-monogamy - as if it simply hadn't ever crossed his mind. He was like a small child in a toy store. And then he fixed his eyes on me, and he said this: 'That sounds perfect! You can sleep with anyone?' The look on his face was priceless. But you're just like every other guy.'Įventually, I finished the story.

But his wife had a look on her face that I've probably seen a hundred times before, from a hundred different women. So I took a deep breath, and started telling my story. For instance, deeply religious people with little or no sense of humor. Especially people whose buttons are so easy to push. And while I certainly couldn't relate to her lifestyle then, and still can't, I knew exactly what she meant, because that's so often how I feel: I love screwing with people. I read a magazine interview with Drew Barrymore once, and she talked about how screwing with people had become something of a hobby for her, because life was just so boring.

Opening up taormino