I wasn’t sure what some of those identifiers were so I said what I knew. “She’s a human female.”
Inola chuckled. “Thank god she’s human. I don’t know anything about mermaids, and I’d hate to report you for bestiality.”
Sorrow was quick to intercede before I lost my patience. “Vie is literal, so please be careful with what you say. Trust that when he asks a question, it’s sincere.”
Inola turned serious, and she gave Sorrow a nod. “Sorry about that.” She turned her attention back to me. “Right, so your partner is a she. Does she have a hard time achieving orgasm?”
“I don’t know,” I responded, looking to Sorrow for help.
“The issue is that Vie finished too quickly,” he said. “This woman is his first everything. He could use a little tutorial and the basics. Pretend as if he’s been a monk all his life and is only now trying to date.”
Inola’s eyes went wide, then she reached out to touch me, but thought better of it and stopped midmotion.
“Oh, sweetie, I’d be honored to help you! Your first should be special, whoever you are. Let’s start with a video. Follow me.”
She led us to the back of the store where there was a small dark room with a large flat screen on one wall with four chairs facing it.
“Have a seat and watch this,” she said, grabbing a remote and bringing up a menu. She picked an item, and it started to play. “I’ll be right back with some stuff.”
I’d been among humans long enough to know what a porno was and expected to be bombarded by a movie full of naked and obnoxious humans. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself watching a short documentary on human sexuality with a focus on female orgasm.
“This is interesting,” Sorrow said, watching the video as intensely as me. It occurred to me that he was interested because he had hope of finding a human partner of his own.
By the time the short documentary was over, Inola had returned with a box overflowing with items. She set the box on a chair next to me and pulled two books out.
“This isCome as You Areby the brilliant Emily Nagoski and the accompanying workbook. Trust me, this will give you great insight into your partner. Later you could get Nagoski’s other book,Come Together, but this is a good place to start.”
Although I wasn’t as big a reader as Sorrow or Pain, I did enjoy a good book occasionally. If these books would help me with Willow, I’d study them as if my life depended on it.
“I’d like copies too,” Sorrow said, eyeing the books I was holding.
“Sure thing,” Inola said, reaching back into the box and pulling out something that looked like a bracelet. “This is a cock ring. If you put this on, it will help you last longer”
She pulled out a rubber penis with balls out of the box and demonstrated how to apply the cock ring. I hid my wince and nodded my head as she went through her instructions and warnings.
The next thing she pulled from the box were several types of vibrators. Then lube and condoms. She even went through how to apply a condom and when to use lube.
“Don’t mess with her asshole unless she specifically asks,” Inola warned me. “If she asks, then come back to me for more instructions because it's easy to hurt someone if you don’t do proper prep.”
“I’ll do that,” I promised. I felt intensely thankful for Inola’s clear and non-judgemental instructions. Now I understood why Sorrow brought me here.
“Great!” Inola said with another wide smile. “I’m here Tuesday through Saturday. Stop by anytime. I also put a thumb drive with a video of me and my girlfriend in here. It’s not flashy, but it’ll give you a realistic idea of how long it might take to get your girl to climax. Don’t believe the pornos, okay? They’re made for men by men.”
“That’s kind of you,” I said.
She shrugged. “I made it specifically for guys like you. I only wish there were more of you.”
It pleased me that she said that. If my eagerness to give Willow pleasure made this knowledgeable woman happy, then that gave me hope.
“Thank you, Inola,” I said.
We followed Inola back up to the register. I tried to pay, but she refused. “Without Teo, I don’t think I would've survived my mother's passing. A box of goodies for his brother is nothing compared to that!”
Sorrow shook his head. “You paid for every session. Let us pay for these items.”
She gave him a stubborn look. “You billed me for a lot less than you could’ve. And you let me call you any time I was struggling. You got me through those first six months. If you wanted this entire store I’d give it to you, Teo.”
I almost envied the way Sorrow could help people, but to be like him, I’d have to be available, and I could never do that.
