Well, once we mix them, the sodium chloride dissociates and forms ions. So we have a bunch of polar water molecules separated by ions. At any given time, two of these ions might be separated by a solvent water molecule, and at this point, they can't interact with one another because of this separation. However, at another place, the solid molecule, the water molecule, might not separate them. And at this point, because of their proximity, the ions will form an ion pair. And this is only for the moment.