His expression turned a bit sheepish at that. They hadn't figured out each other's humor just yet, had they? He was confident they would, but he was still learning her boundaries. "Oh, gotcha. I trust you too much for that, Ky.. does anyone ever call you Kiki?" He must really like her if he's asking before just giving her a nickname.
He inhaled slowly and nodded. "Okay, that's a fair question." He takes a moment go over to the refrigerator and grab one of the bottles of beer though before coming back to answer. He needed something much harder than water for this conversation. "An 'open' relationship means that you have more than one person you are involved with. A 'closed' relationship is a monogamous one- the traditional kind. You have just you and the person you're dating and everything outside of it is seen as cheating and hurtful and a break in trust."
Was this really something he should be explaining to a young girl? He didn't know. What he did know was this was the longest he'd been able to talk all week without choking, so what the hell? Plus, she seemed interested? Maybe? "Open doesn't mean you're wanting to just tell the world all your business. People judge everything. They don't know what a couple feels or what kind of trust you have built. Plus, at least for me, it wasn't the most acceptable thing to have certain kind of partners in my crowd. So, anyway, open is open trust, open relationship. To hell with everyone else and their judgmental crap."
And in case she thought he was done, he lifted a hand sharply to accent his next point. "Now, just so we're clear too, open doesn't mean cheating either. You've got to be really honest with everyone you're involved with if you're with more than one person or you're a scumbag." He paused to take a drink from the bottle. "I grew up acting like an asshole and treating people poorly, but that was a long time ago. I'm not like that anymore. I wouldn't do anything without my partner being completely on board. Pepper.. she just always seemed to understand. We had some really close friends and.." He shrugged. "Sometimes she was with us and sometimes she didn't want to be. She trusted me."
no subject
He inhaled slowly and nodded. "Okay, that's a fair question." He takes a moment go over to the refrigerator and grab one of the bottles of beer though before coming back to answer. He needed something much harder than water for this conversation. "An 'open' relationship means that you have more than one person you are involved with. A 'closed' relationship is a monogamous one- the traditional kind. You have just you and the person you're dating and everything outside of it is seen as cheating and hurtful and a break in trust."
Was this really something he should be explaining to a young girl? He didn't know. What he did know was this was the longest he'd been able to talk all week without choking, so what the hell? Plus, she seemed interested? Maybe? "Open doesn't mean you're wanting to just tell the world all your business. People judge everything. They don't know what a couple feels or what kind of trust you have built. Plus, at least for me, it wasn't the most acceptable thing to have certain kind of partners in my crowd. So, anyway, open is open trust, open relationship. To hell with everyone else and their judgmental crap."
And in case she thought he was done, he lifted a hand sharply to accent his next point. "Now, just so we're clear too, open doesn't mean cheating either. You've got to be really honest with everyone you're involved with if you're with more than one person or you're a scumbag." He paused to take a drink from the bottle. "I grew up acting like an asshole and treating people poorly, but that was a long time ago. I'm not like that anymore. I wouldn't do anything without my partner being completely on board. Pepper.. she just always seemed to understand. We had some really close friends and.." He shrugged. "Sometimes she was with us and sometimes she didn't want to be. She trusted me."