The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

I lay my skirt across a chair and it lies there. (Present.)
I laid my slippers on the floor and they lay there. (Past.)
I have laid myself upon a quilt and I have lain there. (Perfect.)

He lays his pants by my skirt and they lie there. (Present.)
He laid his boots beside my slippers and they lay there.(Past.)
He has laid his body next to mine and it has lain there. (Perfect.)

Lay, lies,
laid, lay
laid, lain.
All grammatically correct and, still, it is not
the lay or laid that bothers him but the lies.

He may love to lie with me, yet to lie about me is for him
a tense not found in any text of standard usage. (Imperfect.)