There's a beautiful human
being inside many ugly or old people, male and female."
"Wish I could get on board with that, Iz, but
unlike you I'm a mere mortal. Now Damien Cage, there's physical perfection."
"I'm so jealous, Annika! You sat at a table
with Damien Cage. Did he invite you to one of his parties?"
I take a big swig of my Strawberry
Daiquiri.
"Actually," I say, "yes."
Isabella squeals, then puts her hands up to
her mouth to squelch it. Several eyes look over at us. I'm used to
it. She's done it ever since middle school. Yet another patented
attention-grabbing device.
"You know what goes on at the private
after-party with his select guests, don't you?" she says.
"Of course," I say. "Who doesn't know?"
"What is it he calls it again?"
"Training girls in the Deviant Arts of
Pleasure."
"That's right. And you know what his
favorite thing to teach is. Have you ever been ass-fisted
before?"
"Isabella! Keep your voice down. No."
"Sorry. I'm just... wow... Damien Cage...
hmm. Have you been practicing?"
"Practicing what?"
"Stretching out your butthole."
"Iz, I'm not getting ass-fisted! Not by
Damien Cage. Not by any man."
"Annika, this is Damien Cage we're talking
about here. Damien. Cage. Remember you licked your arm where his
sweat fell on you?"
"Yeah, I know."
Isabella's eyes go wide and she stares into
me.
"You've never had anything up your butt, have
you?" she says.
"Once with my old boyfriend Jeff. It was
awful. Painful and messy."
"Honey, that's why you clean yourself out
ahead of time and open yourself up a bit. Once you get that out of
the way, it's almost better than vaginal."
"Oh, Iz, come on!"
"Seriously, you have so much to learn. It's
not like a regular orgasm. It's more like a plateau that you hit. A
plateau of nonstop pleasure that just goes on... and on... and
on... I sometimes wonder how long it could go on."
A bead of sweat has formed on my upper lip. I
lick it off. I take another sip of my drink and stare out at the
water over to Star Island.
"No, Iz," I say, "that's just something I
won't do."
Even though I actually want to try it with my
new blue dildo. Not ready to share that with Iz yet, though.
She folds her arms and leans back, giving me
a frown with a harsh stare.
"Annika, you're a living contradiction," she
says. "On the one hand, you're this vibrant sexual being that wants
to experiment. A wild girl dying to get out and party. But on the
other hand, you won't actually let yourself. Maybe you still have
too much Bible left in you. It's like your mom still controls you.
Have you considered talking to somebody?"
"What, like a therapist?" I say.
"No, not like a therapist. An actual
therapist. Somebody who might be able to help you free this fun
happy girl from the clutches of that woman who lives in that dingy
little house."
I look down.
"My mom and I have been through a lot," I
say. "She depends on me. Don't talk about her like that. And it's
not a dingy little house."
Isabella reaches into her purse and pulls out
a card, handing it to me.
"This is my girl," she says. "I don't see her
much anymore because I'm a lot less confused than I used to be.
Although Tristan helped with a lot of that. Wish I could send you
to him , but he's off the table. Delphina here is my girl.
She'll help you out. Put you on the path of sexual freedom."
I take the card. There is a photo of the
Venus de Milo. The card reads:
DELPHINA DIAMOND
A sex positive and kink aware counselor
specializing in shame reduction, guilt emancipation, and deviant
leisure... all in a safe, shame-free, open-minded environment.
"Deviant leisure?" I say with a laugh. "Who
gets enough deviant leisure, really?"
"Dont knock her," she says, "she's very good.
She'll cut right down into the problem."
"Yes, but can she belt out Sweet
Caroline with passion? "
" Stop being a little bitch and call
her. Now, on to more pressing matters. Damien Cage. Friday night.
Let me check my calendar. Oh, look. I'm