"Never say never. Don't knock it until you've tried it. What have you got to lose?" All grown-up versions of the double-dog-dare. All things we've heard when presented with some sort of exotic food or when someone is trying to get us to try the next big thing like hot yoga or planking. It was May in Washington when Amy presented me with the sexiest double-dog-dare of my life.
We were driving from Seattle to Olympic National park on a long weekend getaway. Being in Washington and seeing the natural beauty of Pacific northwest had been on our bucket list for some time. We wound our way through the hills looking up in amazement at the tendrils of mist that shrouded parts of the mountains like fingers of silk.
The long ride gave us ample opportunity to indulge in conversation about our favorite subject, sex. Amy and I were fascinated by all aspects of it from the physical act of doing it to heady conversations about societies attitude toward it. We found ourselves exploring what people were into and wondering if everyone had a secret freak inside. We decided they did. It was more fun to imagine that they did, anyway.
"I don't understand why people can't just be themselves. Say 'fuck it' and be out there with it," I began to preach. "Just think how much less repressed we'd all feel if we all boldly stood up and declared who we were."
"In a perfect world I suppose," Amy retorted. Her tone was an obvious refutation on my misguided idealism.
She looked radiant. The gray and green of the world that surrounded us suited her. Her ivory skin glowed. Her lips seemed more red and her eyes were darker and more alluring than I had every seen. Plus, she was happy. Not a giddy manic happy, but a serene contented happy. She wore that peace well. It was irresistible. She beamed with a light that beckoned me.
She continued, "Its hard for people, especially women, to be open about this stuff."
"What do you mean?" I scoffed.
Amy explained, "Its a lose/lose situation for a lot of woman. If she keeps her desires to herself, she never learns what she really likes. No one ever learns how to please her for that matter. She ends up just tolerating sex. I have seen it a million times. Now, if she is open about what she wants, she can get treated like a piece of meat or labeled a slut."
I shot her a mischievous smile, "I don't think you're a slut."
"You don't? I'll just have to start trying harder," she shot back.
She could be such a smart-ass, which made me smile...most of the time.
"I suppose you're right," I offered. "Besides people are into some pretty weird stuff."
"People could say that we're into weird stuff," she offered.
"You liking the touch of another woman and having fun in public isn't the kind of weird I'm talking about," I said.
"What kind of weird are you talking about?" She took the bait and I was going to push her buttons.
"There all people who like to have sex with animals, Amy," dropping the biggest bomb I could think of.
It worked. Her face contorted. "You wouldn't believe what some people do with a jar of peanut butter and an extra hour on their hands," I continued.
"Eww. Stop," she laughed.
"Some people cut themselves. I've even seen a video were this lady stomps on a guys balls with her stilettos...the heel part." We both winced at that one.