That time on vacation in the co-ed sauna: It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at the spa that was recommended by our waiter at dinner the night before. As promised, it was a short twenty-minute ride from our hotel in Rome and it looked very luxurious. An attractive hostess greeted us warmly with a thick accent and generous smile as she showed us to the locker rooms. She explained how the men’s and women’s changing areas...

The city slides past in blurred ribbons of light as the Uber curves through downtown Seattle. Raindrops chase one another down the window beside you, glinting like threads of silver whenever they cross a streetlight. You rest your fingers on your husband’s hand, feeling the quiet pulse beneath his skin. He hasn’t told you where you’re going—only to wear something that makes you feel dangerous. The secrecy is deliberate. T...