Page 64 of The Boyfriend Algorithm

“It’s a relevant question.”

“No questions about last night. We agreed.”

“You agreed. I was told.”

“Same thing.” Her voice is tight.

The highway stretches out ahead of us. The music is playing and the sun is bright and the car is warm and Ruby is wearing the T-shirt she slept in, which she didn’t sleep in for very long, and I need to stop this line of thinking immediately.

I last thirty-six seconds.

“Did it feel good when I—”

“Aiden.”

“I’m asking for feedback purposes. If I’m going to—”

“There are no feedback purposes. This is not a performance review.”

“But how will I improve if I don’t understand what worked and what—”

“You don’t need to improve. It worked. All of it worked. Moving on.”

I process this. Interesting “All of it?”

“I’m not elaborating.”

“Because when you made that sound—the one near the end, not the first one, the louder one—I wasn’t sure if that indicated—”

“I will drive this car into a ditch, Aiden.”

I glance over at her. “That seems unwise.”

She exhales through her nose. Hard. The way she does when she’s trying not to laugh and also trying not to strangle me, which is a combination I generate frequently.

We drive in silence for approximately forty-five more seconds.

“I told you I was larger than your toy.” I remember this part with amusement. “And I told you I’d make it fit. And I did.”

The car swerves slightly. “We are NOT—”

“I’m just noting that my assessment was accurate.”

“Your assessment?”

“Regarding the size differential. You seemed concerned, and I assured you it would be fine, and it was. I think acknowledgment is reasonable.” I can’t keep the pride from my voice. She seemed delighted by my size last night. I think that’s worth remembering.

“Aiden. We are not talking about your size right now,” she practically hisses, her cheeks slightly pink.

“But size is important to women. I read several articles—”

“Those articles are written by men who are lying.”

“So size isn’t important?”

“I didn’t say that.” She catches herself. Her face is so red it’s practically glowing. “I mean—it’s not the most important—that’s not the point—”

“You just confirmed it’s not unimportant. Which supports my research.”