It is nice to be wanted.

“Shouldn't you be upset?” I asked before he could get too far. Ms. Romero still worked to distract me but now I was curious. Curiosity is an excellent way to focus my attention. Dr. Castillo's brightly beaming face returned to view. “Upset? Why should that be so, my friend?”

“Because your barely clad wife is sucking my neck?” Admittedly, it is nice to have someone targeting
my neck and not have to be worried about impeding vamprism.

“Patrick, I am sorry. You are such a clever man that I did not anticipate such an American viewpoint of the situation. Please forgive me if that sounds insulting in any way as I do not mean it to be such. It is such that our attitudes towards the act of intercourse are not so restrictive. It is an expression of affection, a joy to be shared.”

While I grasped the concepts he was expressing, they were just friendly people, it wasn't enough to change my opinion, not in the blinking of an eye anyway. There was just something weird about the idea of being that free with your affections. Dr. Castillo may have detected a sign of confusion yet on my face for he continued. “If it would help you put your mind at ease, I shall state this very directly: You have my permission to enjoy any and all of the charms possessed by my beloved Rosalind.”

During all this Ms. Romero became aware that I was paying little to no attention to her. She paused her efforts in order to wait for the discussion to cease, leaning on my chest in a manner indicating her boredom. At hearing her name, she perked up. “Did you hear that my dear? Any or all of my charms. Please go for all of them.”

She leaned in to kiss me but I politely resisted, made easier by the fact that my left arm had become free when she shifted her weight out of boredom. “Thank you but really, I shouldn't.”

Now it was Ms. Romero's turn to be confused. Wide-eyed, she observed me before resuming a more sultry expression. “I know you are not going to try and tell me that you are not attracted to me. I already have evidence to prove that you do.” In order to explain her point-of-view, she brushed her hand over a rather personal area and smiled.

“Oh no argument there, no, not at all trying to say that,” I burbled while I blushed. “If you are not the most beautiful woman it's ever been my privilege to see, and I believe you are, then at the very least you're in the top five. You have to be the the most beautiful woman to ever be so keen on me and thank you for that.”

“And yet?” she prompted. “I sense there is more for you to say.”

“I can leave the house if my presence makes you uncomfortable,” offered Dr. Castillo. “Alternatively, if you are so interested, I can leave and return in time to catch you in mid-congress. We have known some people interested in that type of entertainment.”

“No, it's not that but the consideration is appreciated,” I noted, striving to remain nice. “It's just that I have a girlfriend.”

Ms. Romero removed herself from my person as if I'd delivered an electric shock. “Oh my dear Patrick, I am so sorry. You should have mentioned this previously.”

“Yes, I am surprised you did not mentioned her previously, or bring her with you to the party,” Dr. Castillo observed.

“I wanted to bring her along,” I noted truthfully, even if I was fudging some of the details regarding my relationship with Sarah Jean at the moment, “but she travels a lot for work and was gone that weekend.”

Despite still being nearly naked, Ms. Romero was back to being sweet and friendly, as opposed to 'friendly'. “What a pity. I would have enjoyed meeting her. What does she do for a living?”

Dr. Castillo grinned. “More importantly, is she pretty?”

Playfully Ms. Romero swatted at his arm. “Do not be silly. Any girlfriend of Patrick will of course be pretty.”

As I sat up, I removed my mobcom unit from my pocket. I have a few pictures of Sarah Jean there, some of which do not feature silly faces or attempts to dodge the camera. I showed a few of these pictures to them. This seemed to seal the deal as I had proved that I at least knew a woman. The picture Harry took of us arm-in-arm didn't hurt either. “Patrick my friend, nicely done,” Dr. Castillo declared. “Is she a natural redhead?”

In retrospect, I'm more aware of what he was asking but at the time I didn't really think about it too much. “As far as I know, yeah.” He gave me a nudge and a “You dog you”, coloring my innocent response with more meaning than I intended.

“She looks quite lovely,” Ms. Romero stated, trying to act calmly in counterpoint to her husband's more 'locker room' mentality. “We should arrange for a dinner meeting. Do you have her schedule?” I shook my head no. I doubt Sarah Jean knows her schedule. She's an adventurer; they don't have regular hours. “We will arrange something,” she insisted.

“That sounds like fun.” I stood up, preparing to make my exit while I could. “We have each other's email addresses. We'll figure something out.”

“If your lady friend is out of town, are you sure she would not mind...”

I cut Dr. Castillo off with a friendly smile. “She's understanding but not that understanding.”

Dr. Castillo laughed as we shook hands. “More for me then!” Ms. Romero insisted I kiss her on the cheek and responded in kind without mischief. I thanked them again for the money as well as the offers of a physical nature. As if a switch had been flipped, Ms. Romero went back into sultry mode. “If you two were to break up, you know where I can be found.”

It is nice to be wanted.