Back in the living room

"Hey, Gary!" Bernie greeted from the couch. Mark sat beside her, though he kept a respectful distance.

Gary gave a small wave. They had turned on some music while he'd been out. He noted that Sam and Lil had returned as well, with Lil sitting between Sam and Peg. It looked like a bit of a makeshift dance contest was underway, with Felipe showcasing a few breakdance moves. Patrick and Carmen cheered from their spot on the other couch. Looked like everyone was accounted for. So much for saying something quickly.

"Hey, Bernie, could I talk to you a sec?" Gary asked over the music, indicating with a tilt of his head he wanted to ask her in private.

"Sure," Bernie agreed, getting up from the couch.

As they walked over to the nearby hallway, Gary could hear Lil yell: "This is MY song! Turn it up, guys!"

"You like Billy Royce, baby girl?" Carmen asked.

"I LOVE Billy Royce!" Lil said excitedly.

Gary chuckled once before turning his attention to Bernie, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"What was that for?" She asked with a bashful smile.

"Just because I love you. I know I don't show it enough, but I'm going to put in a redoubled effort from now on to show you," he promised.

"I..I love you too, Gary." Bernie hugged him, genuinely touched by the sudden gesture. "What brought this on?"

"Talking to Roxy actually. She made me realize a few things about myself. One being how lucky I am to have you," he said sincerely. "Another thing she made me realize is I have to be open to talking to you about things important to our relationship."

Bernie listened intently. That must have been one heck of a talk. "That all you talked about?"

"No," Gary said, at first hesitating but then remembering how important honesty would be in this relationship. "She made it clear if it's okay with you that she'd like to have sex with me."

"Oh," Bernie said in surprise, not expecting that. "Well, it "is" a swing party. I mean..it's kinda implied stuff's going to-"

Gary put a hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want me to, I won't." It'd be hard to say "no" to women in the future, but if he was serious about this relationship he would do his damnedest to respect Bernie's wishes.

"No, it's not that," Bernie assured. "Just not used to being so upfront about it?" She looked at him seriously. "You really wouldn't if I said no?"

Gary fought the urge to gulp. This would be a huge cockblock, especially at a party like this, but if he couldn't say no here, then where the hell could he say no?

"That's right. This is an equal relationship, Bernie. I love AND respect you. I'm going to work every day to prove that," Gary assured.

After a moment, Bernie smiled.

"Thank you. It means a lot that my feelings mean that much to you. That being said if I stopped you from having sex with a hottie like Roxy, I can't help but think you'd have permanent blue balls."

The tension broken, Gary couldn't help but laugh. "I'd have learned to live with it." Gary smile turned more serious. "That goes for you too. If you want to hook up with Mark or anybody else here, you have my permission. Don't feel like I need to be around in order for you to have fun. I mean I do want to see you and Mark go at it at least once tonight, but I think we'd all have more fun if we played this by ear."

Bernie smiled, blushing a bit at the idea of sex with the others at the party. "That goes for you too, but you better give me all the details tomorrow."

"Of course. Same goes for you, Bernie. I love you." He hugged her once more.

"Love you too, Gary." She hugged him back.

"Holy shit!"

The pair looked at other curiously before heading back to the living room to see what was going on.