"You could say that, yes."

"Any subjects in particular where the two of you flagrantly coincide, or am I not allowed to hear about the affairs of a lady?"

"Well, I'll put it this way: getting carried away with her wouldn't be nearly so much of a danger if she didn't like the way I get when I start getting carried away."

"Ah. So the trouble is not just you, it is the both of you together."

"Yes. We've managed to avoid disaster so far, but only just."

"When you say disaster, what do you mean?"

"Well. The embarrassing part is the part where I nearly fucked her on a table in the library like I was nineteen again and still thought of self-control as a moral flaw. The dangerous part is that - I wasn't thinking."

"One thing to decide to fuck on a table in the library, quite another to end up doing it accidentally," she says, trying not to laugh. "Has this sort of thing occurred before?"

He shakes his head.

"And do you know how much experience she has with subjects such as these?"

"Less than me, anyway."

"... Perhaps make the effort to introduce her to new subjects slowly, if you believe you have the ability to do so safely. Sooner, rather than later, if the both of you nearly scandalized an innocent table."

"That's... more or less what I meant to do, I think, although I hadn't quite... clarified it like that."

"Nor spoken of it with her?" wonders Tysathra, wryly.

"Well, not yet."

She nods, apparently satisfied with this.

"I suppose all of my advise of being careful and listening to her if she'd like to stop has already occurred to you." Or it damn well should have.

"Yes."

"Then I won't waste time saying it, and instead will take the opportunity to gloat." She clears her throat. "I believe you said that you'd be very surprised if I managed to guess what embarrassed you so, and I have yet to see even a flicker of surprise on your face. I'm quite disappointed."

"Yes, after I spent ten minutes practically leading you there by the hand. Very impressive," he says dryly.

"Forgive me for not immediately deciding that your embarrassment was sexual in nature, and instead of trying to get to my answer by the most efficient method possible, focusing on distracting you while you were upset," she sniffs. "If you'd rather I treat you like a puzzle to amuse me instead of a person, you have but to ask."

He laughs and shakes his head.

"Good."

Smile.

"Now. There is a question I desperately must know the answer to, and I ask that you treat it with the utmost gravity and attention." She gives him a very austere, serious look. This is Very Serious, Serik. So serious.

"May I help design guest bedrooms?"

He grins.

"Yes, absolutely."