At leastsomeonewas glad I came back.
“Happy to be back.”
When I got upstairs, I found Phantom immediately. He was sitting in the corner on a wide bench. There was an open black duffle bag beside him, and my imagination ran wild at the thought of what might be waiting for me inside.
He glanced up at me and the second those brown eyes met mine, my heart flipped.
I lifted my palms in apology. “I know. I’m late. Mea culpa. There was a pants pooping situation. Not me. My pants are fine. My nephew.”
A small smile twitched at the edge of his mouth. “It’s okay. It’s good for you to have a life outside of here.”
“Tell that to all my ex-boyfriends.”
At the wordboyfriend, something shifted in his eyes. “What we do here,” he explained, “it’s not romance. It’s catharsis. This is a hobby. It’s no different from going to the gym. Starting a book club. Therapy.”
“Does your therapist start every session with bondage?”
“Always.” His humor was bone dry, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or if he actually brought rope to therapy. Somehow, neither would surprise me. He patted the spot on the bench in front of him. “Sit.”
I matched his stance, straddling the bench to face him. He bent over to reach into his bag. As he rummaged around, I caught a small glimpse of the contents. A bunch of rope neatly coiled. A paddle. My heart picked up speed when he removed a thin, long wooden box. He set it between us. The lid slid back, revealing a game set underneath. Two rows of pockets, side-by-side, each pocket filled with small stones. The two ends—his side and mine—had their own, larger pocket.
I looked at the game and frowned.
“I thought we were playing today.”
“We are playing. Mancala. Best game in the world. Do you know how to play?”
“It’s been a minute. But I think I remember. Pick up rocks, put them down.”
I was trying not to sound disappointed, but I’d never been good at hiding my feelings. He glanced up at me, seeming almost amused by it. “We will play,” he said, “but first…we’re going to talk for a bit. I just want to get a sense of where you are. What you like. There are no right answers. The only rule here is that you’re honest about what you want.”
“Okay.”
He motioned to the board. “You may go first.”
I picked up a handful of stones. They were polished and smooth to the touch. I dropped them one-by-one in the cups.
“Did you come up with a scene name?” Phantom asked as we played.
“Ophelia.”
After all, wedidrecite Shakespeare in our first meeting. It felt right.
He looked pleased by my answer. “Ophelia. Phantom.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Phantom.”
This was fun. It felt like starting a show. We were assuming characters—setting the stage. This part felt familiar.
“When we’re in a scene, I want you to address me asSir.”
“Yes, Sir.”Well. That rolled off my tongue easily.
Shockingly easily, actually.
“Have you engaged with kink before?”
“I read books. I’ve had kinky sex.”
