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“Does it embarrass you?”

“A little. I mean, I don’t even know what I want anyway.”

“Well, do you want me to touch you?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

I hesitated for a split second. “Here,” I said, cupping my breasts.

“Then you know what you want,” Mark replied.

He placed my hands in my lap then ran his finger over the top of my bra, starting on the left side and following the heart-shaped curve slowly and thoughtfully.

“Women have the most beautiful clothing,” he said, fingering the tiny pearls between my breasts.

He was in a trance, staring at my bra, thinking. About what? His next move? Surely he knew because he was an experienced lover. An out-of-my-league lover.

He reached behind me and unhooked my bra. Instinctively my hands flew to my breasts, pressing the garment against my skin before it fell away. Mark smiled.

“We don’t have to do anymore if you don’t want,” he said. There was no trace of disappointment in his words, but I wasn’t a fool. He was so close to seeing my bare breasts, and there was no way he wouldn’t feel a little frustrated if I said no. He would be respectful of me while he nursed his silent frustration.

I felt a little heady at the power I wielded in that moment. Yes, he could very well rip the bra right from me and do whatever he wanted. I was no match for his physical size, but he wasn’t a barbarian, and he respected me. Oh, the little flirt in me wanted to tease him mercilessly, make him ache for me, but the young woman in me respected him.

I dropped my hands, and the bra fell away revealing my small, firm breasts. I was little—a full B cup on a good, swollen day—and wondered if he would like them. I immediately felt self-conscious as I watched him stare at my nakedness. He was thinking. Again. Like he was sizing me up. My hands went back to my breasts, covering them.

“No,” he said, and pushed my hands away.

I expected he’d replace my hands with his own, but he didn’t. Instead, he wrapped his fingers around my ribs and lifted me up and towards his face. I put my own hands on his shoulders for balance. He kissed the top of my breast and then the underside, careful to avoid grazing my nipple. He licked under my breast, then sucked gently on the soft skin, eliciting soft cries.

He worked his magic on the other breast, always careful to steer clear of my nipple. His lips accompanied by the scruff of his facial hair were too much.

“Why are you teasing me?” I cried, gripping his hair. I had no idea when my hands moved from his shoulders to his head.

He chuckled. “I’m not, Cadence. Or at least I don’t mean to.”

I huffed and pulled his hair, jerking his face to look up at me. “Yes. You. Are.”

He nodded, and I released him, sitting down on his lap. He leaned forward, encouraging a small arch in my spine as I leaned back, pushing my chest out, inviting him to taste again.

“I like that, Cadence,” he said. “Very sensual.”

An “Oh!” escaped my lips at the first touch of his lips on my nipple. He drew it in his mouth and gently sucked, swirling his tongue until I was mewling and writhing on him. I couldn’t ignore the wetness between my legs, soaked through my panties, and ground my hips on him harder, searching for my orgasm. He moved to my other breast, fastening onto my nipple, and sucked until I felt an explosion building hard and fast in my thighs.

My rhythm turned to steady, circular movements of my hips, grinding slow on his now prominent erection. I hadn’t taken any notice of it. I was too swept up in my own pleasure. But now I noticed, and I wanted to tease him while I got off.

I felt Mark’s hands splayed on my back, holding me while he licked and kissed my breasts. He knew what he was doing. It was almost frightening how easily my body responded to his touch. 

“I’m gonna come,” I breathed.

“I know,” he said, his lips on my nipple. He gently bit me, and I exploded. Little sunbursts of pleasure accompanied by soft whimpers. I undulated my hips until the last of the sunbursts fizzled out, leaving me warm and sleepy.

Mark pulled me up, letting me rest my head on his shoulder.

“How did you do that?” I asked, lips grazing his skin.

“Do what?”

“Make my body do that without you even touching me.”

“Oh.” He was silent for a moment. “I guess I’m just that good.”

I laughed. “You’re arrogant.”

“You wanna know the truth?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never done that to a girl before.”

“Oh.”

“I like that I could do that to you. It made me feel powerful. Is that wrong?”

I shook my head.

“It’s easy to be possessive of you. I won’t lie. But I’ll never be that way. It’s alarming, actually, that I felt that rush of power when you came. I don’t know what to make of it.”

“I’ve felt powerful at times. The way you look at me. Like I could make you do anything. Crawl on your knees. Beg me. Is that wrong?”

Mark chuckled. “No, that’s not wrong. That kind of power just naturally comes with being a woman.”

I sat up and looked at him. “But I don’t really have any power at all.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re stronger and older. At any moment you could wipe all this away, and I’d be powerless to stop you.”

Mark caressed my cheek. “I’m not wiping anything away.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

***

“I don’t know, Avery,” I said, feeling my stomach tie into tight knots. We were sitting in her car in her driveway about to go get waxes.

“Cadence? Trust me, okay,” Avery replied. “It’s not so bad. Just take deep breaths when Luana tells you to.”

“Deep breaths?”

“It helps with the pain. I think it’s the same technique they use in childbirth.”

“That’s it! Forget it!” I said, and opened the car door.

She snatched my arm just in time and held me captive in my seat.

“Stop being a pussy,” she said.

“Cute. That’s really cute,” I replied.

Avery laughed. “Cadence, I promise you you’ll love it. It makes sex like a trillion times better.”

“I’m not having sex,” I countered.

“Oh. Well when you do, it’ll make it a trillion times better.”

“How would I know? I’ve got nothing to compare it to,” I said, and closed the car door.

Avery shrugged. “Say, why are you doing this then? I thought you and Mystery Man were getting it on.”

She turned the ignition and backed out of the driveway, glimpsing me as she turned to look behind her. I was flushed a deep red.

“Ohhh, I see. Not sex but maybe a little innocent fooling around,” Avery said. “So he hasn’t been down there yet?”

“First of all, you’re supposed to use your mirrors, not turn your head. Second, no he hasn’t. And thanks to you, I’ve been a wreck over it. Tell me. When did hair become such a terrible thing?”

“Since always,” Avery replied. “Luana will explain it all to you, but it’s not just about sex. It’s a hygienic thing.”

“To not have hair?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a young woman. Shouldn’t I have hair?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong with shaving?” I asked.

Avery screwed up her face in disgust. “Are you freaking kidding me? Totally. Gross.”

“It is?”

“Yes, and way dangerous.”

“Really?”

“Cadence? Have you ever cut yourself down there?”

I grimaced thinking about a few weeks back when I sliced into a soft fold, making it bleed heavily for a good two minutes.

“Exactly. Not wise to shave. Cuts make you vulnerable to all kinds of stuff,” Avery said. “And razor bumps? Bleh. Just nasty.”

“Doesn’t waxing mess up your skin?” I asked.

“No. Not if you take care of yourself down there after you get it done. It’s called exfoliation, and lots of it.”

“Will I bleed?”

“No. Unless you have freakishly sensitive skin or something,” Avery said.

“How long before the hair starts growing back?” I asked.

“That’s the awesome part. You shave and the next day you have stubble, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, I go a week to a week and a half before any hair starts growing in. And it’s softer, too.”

“Wow. Really?”

“Yes. Now can we talk about Gavin?” she asked.

I had a million more questions for her, but I sensed I was becoming tedious. It wasn’t my fault. This was an entirely new world to me.

“Do the strips hurt?” I asked.

Avery huffed. “Luana doesn’t use strips. Strips are cheap.”

“What does she use?”

“Hard wax.”

“Huh?”

“Oh my God, Cadence. I swear you will be fine. If you keep asking me questions you’re gonna freak yourself out more.”

“I’m already freaked out!” I replied. “So just tell me what hard wax is.”

Avery sighed. “Hard wax is wax that hardens on your skin. Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Then it’s peeled off along with your hair. No strips.”

“Interesting,” I replied, and Avery chuckled.

“I like how you say that. You emphasize the “in”. Say it again.”

“You just wanna laugh at me,” I replied.

“Oh, just say it! It’s cute. ‘
In
teresting’.”

I rolled my eyes. “Will you keep answering my questions?”

“Yes.”

I laughed. This girl didn’t need much in the way of entertainment. “Okay, Avery. I find this whole waxing thing very
in
teresting.” I made it sound really good. Avery burst out laughing.

“You’re such a weirdo,” she said. “I love it.”

“Thank you.”

“All right. So what else do you want to know?” she asked, and I delved right in.

Luana was sweet, but I couldn’t understand half the things she said. She was new to the United States, and her English was weak. But she tried her hardest to console me when I told her I’d never been waxed and was scared out of my mind. I don’t think she understood a word I said, but the fear was written all over my face. Emotions are their own universal language.

“Wax is good,” she said soothingly, stroking my arm while I sat on her table. “Now take off bottoms and I come back in.” She smiled and slipped out of the room, leaving me in the stark, bright whiteness of her workroom with the task of getting half naked.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to kill Avery. How could I let her talk me into this? I slid out of my panties and climbed onto the table, folding my hands between my legs as I stared at the ceiling, waiting for Luana. She threw open the door when she came back in, and for a split second I was mortified. What if someone in the hallway saw?

“Okay. Open legs,” she said.

My heart pounded. Really? Open them just like that under these medical office lights? This was not like the visit to the gynecologist. At least I had paper wrapped around my waist so I couldn’t see the doctor going about her business.

“You okay. Open legs,” she said, prodding my knees apart.

I closed my eyes. I thought that might help. Plus, those lights were starting to really irritate me. My body jumped at the first contact of warm wax. She spread it all over. I don’t remember telling her exactly what I wanted. Avery said some girls just do bikini waxes. A Brazilian meant it all came off. Did I tell Luana I wanted a Brazilian?

“Deep breath,” Luana said.

Deep breath? Avery wasn’t joking. Oh my God, I’m about to die . . .

One
rip!
and one very loud “FUCK!”

“I know,” Luana giggled, and fanned my vagina. She
fanned
it. And it felt so good.

“Two more times for the bad, and then good,” she explained.

“Two more times for the bad” kept repeating over in my head as she ripped the hair out on the other side and then the majority of hair on my mound. She pressed her hand against my vagina and fanned me rapidly. I thought I should feel embarrassed that her hand was pressed against my open legs, but it soothed the pain, and I didn’t want her to stop. I was sweating on the paper cover. I could feel my back radiating heat like a furnace.

“Good girl,” Luana said. “Now easy part.”

“How long have you been doing this?” I gasped.

She smiled. “I’m thirty-three. I give waxes at fourteen.”

“Fourteen years old?!”

She giggled again and went to work ripping out the rest of the errant hairs. I didn’t even feel it. She used a magnifying glass and tweezers to get a few finer hairs. All the while she worked she explained the hygienic and sexual advantages of waxing. I understood none of it. She also explained how I needed to take care of my skin. I didn’t understand that either apart from some words that sounded vaguely close to “Neosporin” and “fluffy poof.”