"You could tie up my wife..."

"I'd like to see my wife tied up", you hear yourself saying, although you never thought about Megan before that way. "Would you do that?"

He shrugs. "Depends. How your wife looks. What she represents. What I see in her, when I see her. And I don't see her around, so I guess she's a newcomer as well." You nod again, picturing Megan tied in ropes, displayed on stage. The thought makes your heart beat faster. Of course, you are less than certain if she would agree to that. "You don't tie up people against their will, right?"

He snorts. "No, sir, I certainly don't. I am an artist, not a ****." He reaches for a glass of beer on the table and takes a gulp. "If you are into the consenting **** kind of thing, you need to look somewhere else."

"No, that's not what I meant. I just… I just wondered", you reply quickly.

"Because you're not sure if your wife is interested", he says. Again you wonder how he can read your mind so easily, and you nod. "Well", he continues, "you might be surprised how couples sometimes find out they share the same fantasies. Then again, there are quite a few who find out that the fantasies they share are strikingly different. In any case, joining a party like this here is a good way to find out."

"I did not come exactly to explore my fantasies", you admit.

"Hah, but you still might. You never know how the evening turns out. There are some who come home with completely different experiences than they hoped for." He swallows another mouthful of beer, tips his finger to his forehead and turns away to scan the room once more. You feel dismissed.