“I know when a couple are really in love with each other. And by that I do not mean just sexually attracted. There is too much talk about sex, too much attention is paid to it. I do not mean that anything about sex is wrong. That is nonsense. But sex cannot take the place of love, it goes with love, but cannot succeed by itself.”

“How much do you have in common withthis guy?""Not much. Basically we're polar opposites.But do you want to know the main attraction,the weird part? . . . It's the talking.""Talking about what?""About anything," I said earnestly. "Weget started and it's like sex, this back-andforth,and we're both so there, do you knowwhat I mean? We rattle each other. Andsome conversations seem to be happening ona few different levels at once. But even whenwe're disagreeing on something, there's aweird kind of harmony in it. A connection.”

“I have no idea why this is. I’m sure somebody with a beard and too much time on their hands would say it has something to do with sex - but they’ll say that about anything.”

“When a clandestine couple kisses, it is much more likely that sex will immediately follow. This is because there is much more risk. Once you have kissed secretly, it is very difficult not to have sex. It would be impolite not to have sex. You have to show that you are serious about each other.”

“I know people think erotica is just a romance novel with rougher sex. It's not. If it's a subgenre of anything, it's horror.Horror? Really?Romance is sex plus love. Erotica is sex plus fear.”

“I hope I redeemed myself with the whole dancing-sex comparison.”“I suppose there were a couple of notable similarities,” I observed, holding a straight face.“A couple? What about attention to detail, heavy exertion, lots of sweat, and single-minded determinedness to get the job done and done well?”“Mostly I was thinking you just don’t talk during sex.” Mean perhaps, but I couldn’t resist.“Well, my mouth has better things to do.”I swallowed, my own mouth dry. “Are we still talking about dancing?”