They look up in confusion.
“She should’ve told me,” I snap. “Before I… ate it.”
Sol nods sympathetically. “Consent is important culturally, too. It’s like… cultural consent?”
“You lost me again,” Amin starts scrolling. When they asked me what was wrong with me after warm ups, I didn’t think it would spawn a whole investigation into my sex life. All I asked is what religion could possibly ban oral sex. How we ended up judging ‘cultural consent’ is beyond me.
“I just don’t want her to feel like I disrespected her…” I tried to explain.
“Okay, listen to this.” Amin cuts me off, “Some sects have clauses where a woman can receive but not give if it’s to maintain divine balance or whatever. So it’s like… technically okay as long as she doesn’t use her mouth?”
Sol nods. “Clause ting.”
They both look at me like they’ve solved world hunger.
I stare at them.
“Yeah. That doesn’t help me,” I say flatly. “At all.”
Amin shrugs. “Look, bro, maybe she put you in a loophole.”
“Loophole, huh?” I repeat. “So I sinned on her behalf.”
Amin snorts. “Did she stop you?”
“No,” I grumble.
“So maybe she’s calm with it,” Sol says, hands up. “Even if she doesn’t do it, she might not mind you doing it.”
I pause.
Breathe.
Then I rub the back of my neck.
“Did she seem upset after?” Sol asks.
“Yes.”
“What? You didn’t tell us that part!” Amin starts typing on his phone again.
“Maybe you’re just bad at it,” Sol adds with a shrug. “No wonder she kicked your arse out.”
The pain in my shoulders moves to my head.
“It ain’t even about the sex—” I gesture aggressively at nothing “—she’s —ugh! She’s so fucking hard to get a read on. One minute, she’s cool. Next, I fucked up majorly, and I don’t even know how! Like, who the hell kicks someone out immediately after sex?! What planet is she from?”
Sol pats my back. “Jamaica ain’t a planet, fam.”
I glare. “I truly hate you.”
“So, what are you gonna do about this girl, man?”?? Amin asks.
“I don’t know,” I relax. “I don’t know what I can do.”
“You should try to get to know her.”
I blink. “Iamtrying toget to know her.”
