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.”Jeremy laughed.“Where’d you two meet?”“Same as you,” Rasul said.He pointed his bottle at Emily.“She served me my very first beer, ever in my life.”“No way.”Rasul nodded.“Partly cultural.Plus I’m very…particular about certain things.About controlling things.” He cleared his throat and a fever settled over Emily’s skin, making her glow with appreciation for how out of character it was for him to share such thoughts.“Before I came here,” he said, “I loathed the idea of alcohol, and drunkenness.I thought it did nothing but make people lose their sense and self-control.Then I saw this woman, and she asked me what I’d like to drink.”Emily jumped in.“And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ And I said, ‘A beer?’ And he nodded so I said, ‘Okay, what kind?’ and oh my goodness, the look on his face.”Rasul smiled, eyes still aimed at the floor.“I was practically drunk already, from her.”Emily flushed with pride at that.As poetic as her husband ever got.“So she chose for me, and I changed my tune.”“He said if it wasn’t for beer, he’d never have found the balls to ask me out.”Jeremy nodded.“Liquid courage.”“I, um…I have a lot going on, up here.” Rasul waved a hand to mean his brain.“Not a lot of brilliant thoughts, though.A lot of noise.A drink helps turn the volume down, I found.” His head finally rose, and he looked to Jeremy as he sipped his beer.“I bet there are a million couples out there who’d never have gotten together if not for alcohol,” Jeremy said.“And probably a million more who shouldn’t have got together,” Emily teased.“I see them leave the bar together every week.”“Can I ask what you guys did on your first date?”She smiled at the memory.“Rasul told me right off the bat, he had no clue what American women enjoyed except shopping.But I suspected I liked him so I grabbed those reins and said, you’re gonna pick me up at this time, at this place, and we’re eating lunch at such-and-such restaurant and if that goes well, we’re going on a walk in the park.And that’s what we did.”“Guess you’re not controlling about dates then,” Jeremy said.Rasul took a drink and considered it.“I am not very controlling about anything she wants.” He gave her a fond glance.“Maybe that’s why I like her so much.She’s the only thing I know that’s perfect, just how it is.”Emily rolled her eyes but her burning complexion was surely giving away her pleasure.“You just know I’d never stand for gettin’ bossed around.” She paused a second before the wine led her to add, “At least not in most situations.” She held her breath, wondering if that innuendo would cool the men’s rapport.Jeremy drained his bottle.“So you said.”“What else has she told you?” Rasul asked him.He knew perfectly well from Emily everything they’d talked about, but clearly wanted to get a handle on Jeremy’s perception of the situation.Emily rose to check on dinner, listening raptly and watching from the corner of her eye.“She said… Lots of stuff, really.But nothing explicit.She said she likes how you are, you know.In bed.‘Bossy’, I think was the word she used.”Rasul nodded.“And she said that tonight, you guys inviting me and everything, that I’d pretty much be doing whatever you tell me to.”Emily refreshed her glass and brought two more beers back to the den, thinking they’d need them before long.Rasul accepted his, attention glued to Jeremy.“Did she say it could get rough?”“Yeah, she did.”Rasul nodded again, his face turning thoughtful.Emily didn’t think she’d ever seen him look this way in front of a fellow male.“My wife,” he began, and trailed off for a moment.“She has given me more pleasure than I knew was possible.In life, I mean, not sexually.I’m not good at a lot of things…being emotional or interpreting her emotions.But for all the ways I fail as a husband—”Emily began to protest but he held up a hand to silence her.“For all those ways I’m not so perfect,” he corrected, still addressing Jeremy, “I want her to feel like I can give her anything she asks for.And you’re one of those things.She wants you.She does not need you, but she does desire you.Another man, who she trusts and is fond of, alongside me.In bed,” he tacked on, voice turning blunt once more.Jeremy’s face was hard to read.“To say I’m flattered is the biggest understatement ever.”“And I think you like my wife,” Rasul said.“As a person.”“I do.I think she may be the sweetest person on the planet.”Rasul’s lips twitched, expression softening.“Yes, she is.” He held his bottle out and Jeremy realized after a second it was an invitation to toast.The bottles clinked and both men turned to her.“Golly, if I wasn’t blushing already, I am now.”“Before whatever happens tonight,” Rasul said to Jeremy.“I have something else to demand of you.”Emily’s eyebrows rose along with their guest’s.“Okay,” Jeremy said.“She and I are letting you inside our marriage,” Rasul said.Jeremy nodded.“I trust you can appreciate how immense an invitation that is.And an honor.” He shot Emily a look of aggressive, blinding pride.“Of course,” Jeremy said.“I never would have guessed I’d ever let such a thing happen, but here I am.And I need something from you in exchange.Your word.”“My word about…?”“I want your word that for the time you and Emily have left as friends, before you move away, that you will look out for her at the bar for me.”Jeremy’s posture relaxed.“Of course.I’d like to think I do that already.”“I also want you to promise me that if anything happens to me, you’ll be there for her.”He tensed again.“How do you mean?”“If you are away, you will come back and help her in whatever way she needs.”Emily looked to her husband.“Baby, my family can do that.”He returned her glance with a telling one, reminding her that no, her family probably wasn’t capable of supporting her all that well, in any sense of the word.“He’s just our guest,” she said.“It’s okay,” Jeremy said, catching her eye.“I’d be honored to do that.I’m sure it won’t ever come up, but if you ever need me for something, I’ll always make sure you’ve got my number or my e-mail.”Emily nibbled her lip, thrown by the serious edge the discussion had taken on.But that was Rasul’s way.Or his price.A pittance to her, considering the gift he was offering, and apparently a price also reasonable to Jeremy.Jeremy reached out a hand and Rasul shook it, his face looking grim once more, but calm.Such a fascinating, perplexing man, her husband.Such a charming enigma, her friend from the bar.They chatted about less heavy topics for another twenty or thirty minutes, until the smell of dinner pulled Emily out of the conversation.She stood.“You two stay where you are.” She’d given this some thought and had decided to go casual—everyone eating off their laps in the den.The thought of them sitting down to a formal meal at the table felt awkward and stodgy, a mood-killer, she was positive.As the dish cooled she fetched water glasses and napkins and freshened drinks.She flipped the maqluba upside-down onto a plate and doled out three helpings, delivering them then settling back on the couch, cross-legged.“Dig in
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