Tom sits on the edge of the sofa, while his girlfriend sits timidly beside it. She wraps a strand of hair around one of her fingers. “So Marijn doesn’t feel like having sex at all anymore,” he says. “And I’m starting to get pretty worried. What if her desire never comes back and it’s really over for us, so to speak.” He looks sideways toward his girlfriend and stays silent for a moment. “Could she be asexual?” He then asks cautiously. “Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about that. Could that explain it?”
I glance at Marijn to gauge her reaction, but she shows no reaction at all. “Tell me, Marijn, what do you think of Tom’s question?” She lets go of her hair. “Well, uhm… people who are asexual don’t feel like having sex, right? Then maybe that’s what it is. After all, I’m never in the mood either.” She looks at Tom for a moment. “But have you ever felt sexual arousal and have you felt like having sex with another person?” I ask. “Yes, of course I have, quite often,” she says. “And have you also ever felt sexual attraction toward Tom and felt like having sex with him?” She laughs. “Yes, in the beginning of our relationship we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.” Tom suddenly starts beaming, too.
