"I'm fond of plenty of people, doesn't mean I want to tie my life to theirs and tangle all of myself up in'em." That's the big difference for Mat. The more bits of you and your life get all enmeshed with someone else's, the more complicated and uncomfortable things become. And messy. Why bother? What grand benefit does it truly offer? He has no needs going unmet. Emotional or physical.

"Course we don't fight. What in the world would we have to fight about? Certainly not who else you might be kissing. I don't give a damn who else you kiss. I don't own you. You're my dear friend and we have all manner of fun together, in bed and out, but that hardly means we have any exclusive rights to one another."

The whole notion is mad, as far as Mat's concerned. Sure, if both parties want some exclusive arrangement where they're tied together, let them. But it ought not be what was expected.

Thank light he and Jesper are on that same page.