Strange places.

The waiter brought the wine and two glasses. He offered a taste to Jane, who swirled it gently before taking a sip. Her eyes widened briefly, then narrowed again.

"It's ok. Drier than I like, but I think it'll go well with the manicotti." She held out her glass and he topped it off before pouring a glass for Ryan. As soon as he had turned his back she took a large sip and closed her eyes, drawing in a heavy breath through her nose as she let the wine sit on her tongue. After a second she swallowed it and a smile crossed her lips.

"Holy shit, that tastes incredible. How was my poker face?"

Ryan chuckled. "I think you pulled it off."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I think I'm getting better at this. Honestly, I'm having a great time."

"Of course you are," he said dismissively. In response, she leaned across the table and slapped him.

"Ow! What the fuck, Jane?" Ryan rubbed his cheek gingerly. He noticed several other diners were looking curiously in their direction. "You're making a scene."

She sipped her wine and flashed a devilish grin. "I wanted to try something. Normally, I would feel bad about slapping you for basically no reason. But of course I can't! I can't feel guilt or regret at all, and I can't even miss them. In a way, that gives me a lot of power over you."

Ryan started to ask how but she interrupted him by pulling down her blouse and bra to reveal her right breast. He immediately turned beet red and reached over the table to cover her up. "What the fuck, Jane? We're in a public place!" She pulled her top back up, satisfied.

"See? I don't care, but you do. That gives me leverage. I'll bet you're wishing you had picked someone less aggressive, huh?"

The manager approached them cautiously. "Is everything ok here, folks?"

Ryan grimaced and once again turned red. "Yeah, sorry about that. She was just kidding." He hoped that the manager was referencing the slap, not the flash.

"Yeah, he likes it. He loves when I slap him around in public," she added cheerfully. "I won't do it again. I just couldn't resist giving the little piggy what he wants. Isn't that right, dear?"

Ryan looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. The manager, nonplussed, reminded them that it was a family restaurant and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ryan leaned over and hissed angrily at Jane.

"Why the fuck are you doing this?"

She laughed and refilled her wine glass. "I thought you wanted to experiment, man. I'm just trying different things. Had enough experimentation for now?"

He nodded sulkily and she smiled back. "So I'm happy Jane again. It's nice to be able to express my real feelings. God, I feel incredible! And apologies if I made you uncomfortable."

She leaned back with satisfaction and sighed, idly swirling her wine. "It's funny how this works. I feel so good and I want other people to feel good, so my first impulse is to do whatever makes other people happy. But when you told me you wanted to experiment and learn more about my condition, I figured maybe messing you with a little bit would be fruitful. And you know what? I enjoyed them both equally. I'd find it equally pleasurable to take you out the parking lot and give you the best head of your life or to knock your teeth out with this wine bottle."

The waiter appeared from the kitchen and set their plates in front of them. As he put her plate down, Jane lightly touched his forearm. "Thank you, sir. Can we have another bottle of wine?" Ryan realized she had polished off the bottle while he was still working on his first glass. He raised his eyebrows and she raised her glass.

"To eternal happiness!"