Reunion

Within a touch

All it takes is a couple beers. A few beers in and the guys are posing rather intimate questions she would never reply if she herself wasn't a bit inebriated.

"So when people say 'gay' they're also trying to fit into one of the borders, don't you think?" Eddie poses, mentioning the lines on the floor of Dogville scenery.

Rob looks at her deep thinking face and tenses up at the subject. They're in opposite sides of the living room now. She's on the couch with Eddie and he's sitting on a big armchair next to the screen so he has a privileged view of her features.

"I think queer, gay etc. are, for me at least, the exact opposite. It's like, I don't fit into these lines or quadrants as expected." She replies.

"Ok, but if by being gay or stating that you are one thing or the other, isn't it finding your own fences?" It's Andrew now.

"Why do I feel you're grilling her? Kris, you don't have to answer them." Rob tries to intervene, sipping his beer without breaking his gaze from hers.

"I don't feel grilled and thank you for coming to the rescue by the way." The way she says this with an eye roll is his cue to leave them to the movie and go to the bar to find a more appropriate drink. The way the night is going he knows only beer won't do.

"Aw Rob, you don't have to run away. We still need to question your fluidity!" Tom says loudly, trying his best to sound cute. Funny.

"This is such a delicate subject I question myself if we should be entering this arena for a project that was supposed to be fun," Rob breathes out pouring himself a jack on the rocks.

"As if we could do Spider-Man 7 or something and find that relaxing." Andrew says laughing at himself and everyone follows.

They all go back to the screen and watch an intense scene where Nicole Kidman's character is assaulted. Kris cringes and Eddie has tears in his eyes when he asks her next, in a low voice.

"Is there a moment? When you realize? Like a switch turning or something?" He feels stupid the moment the words form out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked this."

"Well, it's ok. And the answer is no. For me at least. It's always there. Covered by social convention of course." She looks at Rob as she says that and sees his eyes close as if he had been hit. He opens them again to look at the rocks rolling on his drink.

"Um, but you know what I came to realize?" She clears her throat before she continues, looking down and then back at the screen — but she's really looking at Rob. "It's not a matter of sexual orientation and gender identity when two people get together."

Eddie looks at her, surprised.

"It's not? Oh, but doesn't that imply, or even reins over your choices? How you perceive the world, your romantic ideals, who you're attracted to, who you wish you were with?" Eddie is thinking this might be a chicken or egg kind of thing.

"Yeah, the way I think, dude, is that we're attracted to the other person's being, their soul or something. And who's to say if souls have genders? I think they don't. That's what fluidity means to me. Although I identify myself as gay, in that way I tend to think fluidity is definitely a thing and I may be that too." Kristen looks at Rob and is pleased to see his face is back to a normal expression. Not smiling, but he doesn't look hurt any longer either.

Andrew is the one to intervene next.

"Ok, ok, Kris, I get that we're all the same on the inside when it comes to basic needs of love and safety and pleasure even. But let's not forget the way we express these feelings have everything to do with the person we're with. Not only their openness but their bodies, how they portray themselves and all of that. Bottom-line, there are certain things a guy can do to you that a girl can't..." Andrew smiles in a very smug way right then.