That evening, Karla was putting away the leftovers from dinner when Matt casually asked, "So, how was your lunch date with Ted today?"
Karla tensed slightly at his choice of words. "It wasn't a date, Matt. We just grabbed a bite as friends and coworkers."
"Of course, of course," Matt replied, a little too quickly. "I'm just curious how it went. Did you two have a good time? Did he...say anything interesting?"
Karla narrowed her eyes, sensing an ulterior motive behind Matt's line of questioning. Was he fishing for details of Ted flirting with her? Part of her wanted to tell him about Ted and Mei-Lyn's arrangement, just to see his reaction. But she held her tongue, afraid that Matt might latch onto the idea of an open marriage a little too eagerly.
"It was fine," she said neutrally. "We just chatted about work and life, nothing too exciting." She busied herself wiping down the counters, avoiding Matt's probing gaze.
After a beat of silence, Matt changed the subject. "Hey, have you seen that flash drive I had in my jeans pocket the other day? I can't seem to find it anywhere."
Karla froze, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. In the whirlwind of the day, she'd completely forgotten about swiping the drive that morning. A pang of guilt stabbed through her chest at the deception.
"Um, actually..." She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I may have...taken it this morning. I was curious about what was on it after our conversation last night."
Matt's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You took it? Okay, well, no big deal. Can I have it back?"
Karla sighed reluctantly. "Sure, but I'd like for you to delete that stuff before it gets lost. That's all we need is for someone at your lab to pick up a random flash drive, only to find my bare ass filling the screen!".
Matt stifled a chuckle. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind too much, it's such a beautiful ass."
Karla rolled her eyes. "Oh whatever, it's in my purse".
Matt reached across the counter to grab Karla's clutch purse and began rifling through the zip pockets. "Is it in the front pocket or the main pocket?"
"It should be in the front pocket, with my cash and cards"
"I'm not seeing it, are you sure?"
Karla felt her stomach beginning to churn with panic. "Yes, it was right there," she exclaims, tension filling her voice. As she emptied the contents of the purse out all over the counter, her mind begins to replay the events of the day. "When was the last time I opened my purse?...I had it with me at lunch, but Ted picked up the bill, then we drove back to work and I was going to repay...Oh shit!"
Karla bit her lip, a sinking feeling in her stomach as she remembered the last place she'd seen the small device. "I...I think it might have fallen out of my purse. In Ted's car."
The words hung heavy in the air between them. Matt was silent for a long moment, processing the implications. Then, to Karla's utter shock, a slow grin spread across his face.
"Well, well, well," he chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Guess Ted's in for a special surprise, huh? Lucky guy."
Karla gaped at him, anger and hurt rising in her throat like bile. "I cannot believe you right now! Those are private, intimate pictures of us, of me, and you're seriously okay with another man just...ogling them without my consent?"
"Oh come on, babe, it's not a big deal," Matt shrugged, infuriatingly nonchalantly. "They're just pics. Besides, I thought we agreed last night that the idea of other guys looking at you was kind of hot."
"No, you agreed to that, not me!" Karla snapped, slamming the dishtowel on the counter. "I never said I was okay with my naked body being passed around like some kind of porn star!"
She felt exposed, cheapened. Was that all she was to Matt now - a tool for his vicarious thrills? Did their relationship, their intimacy mean so little to him?
"Karla, calm down," Matt placated, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I'm not suggesting we post them online or anything. Ted's a good guy, I'm sure he'll be discreet if he finds the drive. Honestly, what's the harm in letting him have a little peek? Might even spice things up for all of us." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Karla couldn't believe what she was hearing. Spice things up? This was why she was always so hesitant to 'explore' with Matt. He was constantly begging her to 'relax' and 'open up', but if she dared express even the slightest hint of interest, would obsess about it until a) she relented, or b) it boiled over into an argument. She hated that she felt like she had to censor herself to avoid either triggering a fight or feeling like she was compromising her own values to satisfy his overactive libido.
"You know what, Matt? I'm beginning to think our relationship means very different things to each of us," she said coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because to me, sharing naked pictures of your wife with your buddies for funsies is the opposite of love and respect. Do you even care about how this makes me feel, or is it all just one big pornographic game to you now?"
Matt's mouth fell open, taken aback by Karla's sudden vehemence. He started to stammer a response, but Karla cut him off.
"And while we're on the subject of marital expectations," she barreled on, the words spilling out in a heated rush, "did you know that Ted and his wife Mei-Lyn have an open relationship? As in, they're allowed to have sex with other people?"
That shut Matt up real quick. He sat back in his chair, blinking rapidly as he processed this bombshell. "Wait...what? Are you serious? So, they are like...swingers?"
"Yep," Karla confirmed, a grim satisfaction in her voice. "They've got it all worked out. A "modern arrangement" is what Ted called it."
She watched the emotions play across Matt's face - shock, confusion, and then, to her dismay...curiosity. Intrigue. That familiar gleam of excitement he got when mulling over some wild new idea. Oh no. What had she done? He's never going to let this go.
Slowly, carefully, Matt leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "An open marriage, huh? Wow. That's...that's really something." He looked up at Karla, a new intensity in his eyes that made her belly clench with nerves. "And Ted just...told you this? Out of the blue?"
Karla shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. "We were talking about relationships and marriage. It just came up naturally." She didn't like the speculative gleam in Matt's eye one bit. Time to nip this in the bud before he got any crazy ideas.
"Look, the point is, every couple has to decide what works for them," she said firmly. "And for us, I'm not okay with this exhibitionist nudey pic stuff or...or anything more than that." She swallowed hard, pleading Matt with her eyes to understand. "I need you to respect that, Matt. Please."
