Page 8 of The Chase

I loved living in South Philly. I didn’t love how much the rideshare cost me to get home, though. Maybe I should have let TJ call me one instead. Not like he couldn’t afford it on his salary.

Kei’s black-brown eyes stared at me from over the couch. “Was the date good?”

I grimaced at her.

“Bad? But it looks like you have whisker burn on your chest, so…” She trailed off, and a wide smile spread across her dark complexion.

“He didn’t show up!” I fumed.

Her face fell. “What? What the hell! Wait, I’m confused because you look like you just got fucked.”

I cringed at her words. I wasn’t a total prude; it was just that my parents drilled into me that swearing wasn’t ‘lady-like.’ It was a hard habit to break when you were told you needed to be a good Christian girl all the time.

“Not with him.”

“Girl, spill!”

I sighed. “Rox asked me if I needed an emergency call yet, and when I told her I thought I was being stood up, she told me to come to Eileen’s.”

“The hockey bar?”

I nodded.

“Okay, so…” her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her. “Holy shit, you fucked a hockey player!”

“Kei!” I whined.

“Good for you.”

I grimaced.

Her face fell. “Oh no. Was it bad?”

“No. I guess it was okay, but…”

“But you didn’t get yours?”

I shook my head.

“Did you say anything?”

I gave her a blank look.

“Maxine! If you’re silent, dudes think you’re enjoying it.”

“I wasn’t silent.”

“Max! Faking it’s not helping your problem. Stop feeling ashamed of liking sex and ask for what you want. Look, I know your parents did a number on you, but sex is healthy. It’s okay to like sex.”

I rolled my eyes.

Keiana was all about being sex and body-positive and always harped on me about it. Sex made me so uncomfortable. I couldn’t even think of the word ‘orgasm’ without feeling a lot of shame and guilt about it from my strict religious upbringing. I liked sex when I was in the middle of it, but afterward, the guilt sunk in. It was a hard feeling to rectify. Why did something that felt good fill me with such guilt and shame?

“Max, when was the last time you had an or—”

“Can we please not talk about this?” I asked, cutting her off and rubbing a hand over my face.

Keiana nudged my shoulder. “Girl, come on.”