When The Young and the Restless introduced the character of Claire, all anyone was thinking about was to whom she was tied and what she was really up to. Now that we know the answers to those questions, and she’s well on her way down the path to redemption, everyone is just assuming that she’ll wind up clicking romantically with Kyle. We’re among those who are assuming that.

We fully expect that Claire and Kyle will start dating, inadvertently turning Summer into a green-eyed monster. She may be perfectly happy with Chance, but the idea of somebody else being with Kyle would still drive her crazy. (It certainly did when he was with Audra!)

But what if along the way it comes out that Claire is bisexual? She could be just the person to inject some actual drama into Mariah and Tessa’s storyline. “You two are lucky you’re all married and settled down and stuff,” Claire might tease them. “Back in college, I was an incorrigible flirt.”

The couple wouldn’t be tempted, per se. But they might jokingly ask which of them Claire would have made a play for? “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Claire could respond, leading Mariah and Tessa to both playfully argue that she would be the new girl in town’s pick.

That would be that… or so we’d think. Left to her own devices, Mariah would start to realize that wow, she walked out of the closet and straight into a long-term relationship. She didn’t date different women or have different experiences… she married the first woman she ever kissed.

The last thing on Mariah’s mind would be cheating on Tessa — “Teriah” shippers would lose their [bleep]. But given the opportunity, she might confide in Claire that she was a little jealous of the freedom she had to explore her sexuality. “Don’t be too jealous,” Claire might reply. “I also grew up with my psychotic aunt.”

Claire might go so far as to suggest that being married isn’t the same thing as being dead. Mariah could still experience different people, different things… at least if it didn’t really mean anything. Would she go so far as to kiss Mariah? And would Mariah be able to shrug off the excitement of being with someone with whom she hasn’t changed diapers and done the dishes?

In the end, even the hint of temptation might be enough to turn Mariah and Tessa’s home into a battlefield. At the same time, Kyle would have to ask himself if kissing bandit Claire is a risk that’s worth taking, and Summer would have to weigh the pros and cons of sticking with stand-up guy Chance or making another play for the one who got away.