Irrational fear
Frankie leaned back on the worn-out couch in Mya's dorm, swirling the last of his drink in a red plastic cup. The after-work get-together had thinned out hours ago, leaving just him and the four women he'd spent an intense month with during their training course: late nights, shared stress, inside jokes, and way too much caffeine. Now that the program was over and real work had started, this little "just-one-drink" meetup had turned into something more personal.
There was Mya: a sharp-witted, openly lesbian, and the kind of bold that dared you to keep up. She was the one who offered up her dorm for the hangout, claiming her roommate was gone for the weekend and "the floor was already sticky anyway."
Sophie and Jade were the chaotic best-friend duo: both wild, magnetic, always half-daring each other to take things a little further, a little faster. You didn't invite one without the other, and somehow they always turned a quiet night into a story worth regretting.
And then there was Erin. Erin, who had been coolly professional during training but kept catching his eye when no one else was looking. The one who invited him tonight with a casual text--"Don't stay home. Come through." She said it was just to make sure he wasn't stuck in his apartment alone again, but something about the way she looked at him when he showed up said there might've been more to it.
Now it was just the five of them. Music low, drinks mostly gone, the air heavy with something unspoken. Laughter still came easy, but beneath it was a buzz of curiosity, tension, and the thrill of crossing a line that had been there all month.
They were all there to help Mya get over her ex...again. The Fourth breakup now and counting. She'd been drinking more since the split, but at least she could go the night without throwing up now. The conversation had drifted, as it always did, from heartbreak to sex: what they were good at, what they hadn't tried, what they were curious about.
"You've never eaten a girl out before?" Sophie asked, one brow arched at Frankie.
He hesitated. "Not yet."
Jade scoffed. "That's a damn shame."
Erin, perched cross-legged on the bed, tilted her head. "Why not?"
He shrugged, heat rising up his neck. He couldn't exactly admit the truth: that he had an irrational fear of being too good at it. That, in the heat of the moment, he might drown under a woman's pleasure, literally.
Mya smirked wiping away her eyeliner tears. "You scared or something?"
The room paused for just a beat too long.
"Not scared," Frankie muttered. "Just... cautious."
Sophie and Jade exchanged confused glances. Erin leaned in, chewing her lip. Mya cracked her knuckles, clearly entertained.
"Cautious of what?" Sophie asked, more gently this time.
Frankie exhaled. Screw it.
"I've just thought what if I'm too good? Like, I'm the kind of guy who really commits to something when I enjoy it and I'm sure I will. What if one day, in the wrong position, she squirts and I can't breathe? What if she doesn't realize I'm drowning?"
Silence. As they ladies all take in what they just heard.
Then: laughter. Loud, uncontrollable.
"Oh my god," Sophie said, wiping tears. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
Jade doubled over. "You've been holding out on eating pussy because of that?"
Frankie crossed his arms, cheeks burning. "It's a valid concern."
Now grinning, Mya leaned forward. "Well, there's one way to find out."
The room shifted. A challenge had been thrown.
"Wait," Erin said, sitting up straighter. "Are we actually doing this?"
"Why not?" Mya stretched, cracking her back. "I need to get over my ex for real this time and I wanna test his theory."
Frankie blinked. "You're joking."
Sophie hopped onto Mya's work desk (drink still in hand), pulling Jade with her. "Oh, we're so not."
"Hey Siri, play my 'Stripper Music' playlist," Mya called out.
Erin's gaze found his. Her expression was unreadable. "You don't have to."
But he wasn't backing down now.
"Alright," he said. "Let's do this."
The room turned into something out of a surreal, sexy science lab. Jade and Sophie stripped on top of the desk, swaying to the beat. Mya stood in front of him, panties now on the floor, hands on her hips.
"You start with me," she said, snapping her fingers and pointing down.
Instinct took over. Frankie dropped to his knees faster than he ever did in church, not hesitating for a second. He crawled to Mya on all fours like a man starved, hands landing on her thighs as his mouth zeroed in on the heat between them.
Just before his lips reached her neatly trimmed bush, Mya snapped her fingers, halting him.
"Open wide," she whispered with a wicked grin then blinked in surprise. "Holy shit. Frankie, did anyone ever tell you your tongue is long as hell?"
He smirked, tongue already hanging halfway out. "Yeah, my parents told me not to show it off until I got engaged. I'm starting to see why."
A sudden whistle broke the tension. From somewhere nearby, Jade's voice called out teasingly, "Damn, boy that must be five inches you're hiding back there."