It's not much later, in Isabella's room, that she asks:
"So... is Alex really a dom?"
"No. No, he isn't. I mean, I decided not to say it then, but when you told me I had been really obvious when I crushed on you what I thought was that he was being almost as obvious then."
"I mean, okay, he seemed to find the whole prospect of dating terribly repellent, but I wonder if that's not just because he's nondynamic and there's not a model for how relationships would work like that? So, kind of a shame, that he gets shut out of it."
"Oh. Well, then I suppose it doesn't matter all that much." She shakes her head a bit.
"Yup. ...Do nondynamic relationships work? The closest I can really come to imagining it as a coherent thing would basically be a couple of switches switching really fast and I know that's definitely not the thing."
Pause. "Well, there's... I mean, the answer to that question is yes, and that thing you described is not the thing," she says carefully.
"I'm not sure why I assumed you'd know but it sounds like maybe you do."
"Yeah, I mean, it's just. A bit weird. And I didn't want to scare you away by bringing it up too soon, nor to make it look like it was really all that big or important an aspect of it."
"What is it you want to do? I'm not, like, insecure in my domliness or anything, I just have literally no idea what nondynamic sexuals actually practically do."
"Well, there's just... no domination or submission? No ropes and stuff, it's... symmetrical? Like, both people suggest things and ordering anyone isn't involved in it. It's pretty much the same thing without implements and with both participants being active in decisionmaking and such."
"Well, my instinctive response is sort of 'but I would have no idea what to tell you to do', but I suppose considering that's not necessarily an impediment."
"I'll mull it over." Pet pet. "What's the appeal? In comparison to regular sex, not in comparison to staring at a wall, that much I can figure out."
"Well, it's... kind of exciting? Sorta subversive, like, I'm with a gorgeous dom who could be ordering me around but she's... not? Because she wants to not? It's hard to explain."