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"  After everything that happened with Justin last week, I was emotionally exhausted. It wasn&amp;#039;t a Hamptons weekend, and I was looking forward to having the two-day holiday to myself to relax and recover.  On Friday afternoon, as I was packing up to leave, Richard swung by my desk.  &amp;quot;How goes it?&amp;quot;  I pointed at the bags under my eyes. &amp;quot;I think this says it all.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;You look like you always do.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;God, I hope not.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;What are you doing this weekend?&amp;quot; he asked.  &amp;quot;Nothing and I couldn&amp;#039;t be happier about it.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Are you serious? It&amp;#039;s finally summer. This is not the weekend to hibernate.&amp;quot;  He was right. It was 90 degrees out and sticky. &amp;quot;Break up pain is season-less,&amp;quot; I protested. &amp;quot;It wants Ben and Jerry&amp;#039;s no matter how hot it is outside.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Josie,&amp;quot; Richard said. &amp;quot;You have it all wrong. Break ups should whip you into better shape so that you can outkick your coverage when it comes to the next person you sleep with.&amp;quot; He pulled my chair away from my desk so quickly that it startled me and I yelped. &amp;quot;Let&amp;#039;s go get a drink. Vodka soda for you, miss.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;I drink that any way,&amp;quot; I grumbled.  Richard and I ended up at an Irish pub a few blocks from our office. I realized I didn&amp;#039;t really know that much about him other than the fact that he was 26, from Long Island, and that he liked IPAs.  &amp;quot;What made you get into book publishing?&amp;quot; I asked, swirling my straw in the vodka soda Richard had ordered for me.  &amp;quot;I read Bright Lights, Big City when I was 15 and was determined to work at a high brow magazine, just like the main character.&amp;quot; Richard shrugged. &amp;quot;The entry level position at a magazine is an editorial assistant, same as in book publishing. When I got this job a few years ago I thought I could eventually transition to magazines.&amp;quot; He shook his head. &amp;quot;Doesn&amp;#039;t work like that. But this job still has a creative component, which I like. Plus, I figure learning the industry from the inside out is a good way to make connections. Maybe I&amp;#039;ll write a book of my own one day.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a writer too!&amp;quot; I exclaimed. &amp;quot;I have a book coming out in September.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Wait, are you serious?&amp;quot; Richard asked. &amp;quot;How have you never mentioned this before?&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Well,&amp;quot; I cleared my throat. &amp;quot;I have some reservations about it.&amp;quot; I explained to him the concept of the book. How it was a small publishing house that had approached me. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not the same as coming up with your own idea and shopping it around until you find an agent and an editor,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s really manufactured and formulaic.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Why are you shitting on yourself?&amp;quot; Richard asked. &amp;quot;So it&amp;#039;s not the next great American novel\u2026you&amp;#039;re what? Twenty-four? You have time.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Twenty-five,&amp;quot; I said.  &amp;quot;Nevermind. I take it back. You&amp;#039;re past your prime.&amp;quot; Richard grinned at me.  I elbowed him. &amp;quot;What about you?&amp;quot; I asked. &amp;quot;You know all about my relationship drama. You owe me a chapter of your own.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d give it up if I had it.&amp;quot; Richard took a sip of his beer. &amp;quot;But I&amp;#039;ve never been in a relationship before.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;What do you mean you&amp;#039;ve never been in a relationship before?&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Exactly what I just said,&amp;quot; Richard laughed. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a relationship-virgin.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;But not like a real virgin-virgin, right?&amp;quot;  Richard gave me A Look and I held up my hands. &amp;quot;Just asking.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;I just don&amp;#039;t really believe in monogamy,&amp;quot; Richard said.  &amp;quot;How convenient for you.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not just an excuse to have sex with as many people as I want, you know.&amp;quot; Richard took a sip of his drink and smiled. &amp;quot;Though it helps with that too.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Ugh. Gross.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Relax,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m just messing with you. In all honesty, my parents had a really fucked up marriage, and an even more fucked up divorce. I just haven&amp;#039;t ever seen this idea of being with one person for the rest of your life work out for anyone.&amp;quot;  Even though I was proof positive that monogamy doesn&amp;#039;t always work, I couldn&amp;#039;t imagine the idea of being single for the rest of my life. I could imagine being an old woman with lots of cats and one especially rotund bulldog, but that would be a result of continuing to pick men who are afraid of commitment, not a conscious choice. &amp;quot;What about kids?&amp;quot; I asked.  &amp;quot;Love other people&amp;#039;s. Don&amp;#039;t want any of my own.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;re better than I am,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t even like other people&amp;#039;s.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;You monster!&amp;quot; He pointed at my drink. &amp;quot;Finish that up. I have a date in an hour and I have to run home and change.&amp;quot;  The word &amp;quot;date&amp;quot; caught me off guard and I can&amp;#039;t really explain why. I certainly didn&amp;#039;t think Richard and I were on a date right then, and he was like, betraying me or anything. And it wasn&amp;#039;t even like I wanted to go on a date with him. There was a mild flirtation between the two of us but we seemed to have an understanding that there was a line, and we wouldn&amp;#039;t cross it.  I slugged the rest of my drink and dug around in my purse for my wallet.  &amp;quot;Stop,&amp;quot; Richard said. He dropped a $20 on the table. &amp;quot;I got this.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Are you sure?&amp;quot;  He gave me a kiss on the cheek. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m opposed to monogamy, not chivalry.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;Thanks,&amp;quot; I said. &amp;quot;This really did cheer me up.&amp;quot;  As I pulled away in a cab that Richard hailed for me, I realized the one plus side of a break up (aside from losing weight and outkicking your coverage the next time around) is that it shines a light on all the good people in your life.  Want more from Josie? Follow her on Twitter @BedroomBlog "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a13116/j-bedroom-blog-the-relationship-virgin/>