As Mauz cut vegetables for breakfast alongside her friends, gossiping about any that were missing, a cold pit began to grow in her stomach. She wondered what they would be saying about her if she had taken the day off, if any of them knew what she had done. The woman next to her nudged her with a 'what's the matter?' look, and Mauz tried to smile, but she felt like she would cry. It stopped all the talk, all staring with intense curiosity, and possibly accusation. They knew. They must. Even if they didn't, their town was proudly the home of both the Western Messenger Guild and the Guild of Chroniclers; honesty was their thing. She couldn't hold it in any longer, "I cheated on Vait!" She sobbed, dropping the knife so she could catch her head in her hands. "Oh, my gods, I'm horrible!"
"With whom?" Naam asked, at the same time someone else asked, "Why?"
Mauz took a deep breath, tears still spilling. She considered carefully which was the more important question. "Well... I... you know I love Vait. But you know how... awkward we can both be. We never really talked about it, but I've never enjoyed myself in bed."
The women nodded sympathetically. Mauz had spoken of the act as a duty she didn't care for and was failing at.
"I accepted my inadequacy, but... he convinced me that it wasn't my fault. He said it was just a matter of technique, and he was just joking at first about how he was so good at it, he could give lessons. At least, I thought he was joking, but before I knew it...
"The thing is, he was right. I had a... no, I had three. My first three orgasms. I understand now what you're talking about. I apologize, but I thought you were exaggerating all this time. I never knew it could be like that."
"Who was he?" Naam asked.
"Are you going to tell Vait? Apologize?" asked someone else.
Mauz sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Yes..." She straightened up, disregarding her work as they all encouraged her to do so. They would start gossiping about it as soon as she left, but she was glad to get it into the open. She dreaded telling her partner the truth, but knew she must, before anyone else could. He wasn't home, so she was turning back out to continue her search when the handsome Waren approached. Her eyes narrowed and it appeared to confuse him, but he followed into the house at her urgent gesture.
"Hey, you," he said, looking around as though expecting an ambush. "What's the matter?"
"You're the matter! How could you..."
"How could I," he said, staring back at her. He wasn't exactly smiling, but perhaps he was trying not to. "That wasn't a repetition, it was a correction. You cheated on your husband. I didn't cheat on anyone, because relationships are for suckers."
Mauz slapped him and his smile broke out after all.
"I show you the wonders possible when you know what you're doing, and you hit me for it? I told you before: it isn't talent, it's skill. I use techniques that you can tell... shit, what's his name?"
"It's Vait!"
"Right. If you'd just been honest with him, he might have known enough to avoid this whole ugly affair."
"I was honest that it wasn't that important to me," Mauz muttered. "You're somehow seeing yourself as a hero here? You just wanted to teach me about lovemaking, and were in no way motivated by your need to get off inside any warm body you can find?"
He frowned thoughtfully, meeting her eyes. "There's no reason it can't be both. You must have heard about me and...?"
"Naam? Yes," she snapped. "She was so proud of it. Like you wouldn't fuck anything that moves. Obviously."
"Ugly chicks need love, too," he said, a hint of sternness in his voice. "She was happy, so why would you be angry about that? Other than jealousy, of course."
"Jealousy?!"
He smiled sagely, his crooked little smirk as arousing as the first time he had used it. "You think that emotions always come into it, but they don't have to," he said. "I get exactly one 'feeling' from sex, and that's intense pleasure. Now imagine that combined with all that romantic shit you've got going on with your husband. You just have to be more open about what you want. Well, first you have to know what you want."
Mauz sighed deeply. She couldn't help seeing his point: she had made the decision to cheat on her loving partner of nine years with this cad. And this cad really was incredibly skilled. She had never known what she had wanted before, because she hadn't known such things existed. She knew things now that would make it better for both of them, if Vait ever let her share his bed again.
The Waren sidled closer, putting an arm around her as though in comfort. Mauz only glanced at it, her heart racing and she didn't know if it was rage or arousal. "You deserve to have every happiness," he told her, gently placing his hand to her face.
"I..." Mauz murmured. "I don't want to cheat on him again... I can't..."
"This isn't cheating, this is homework. This is just practice." He kissed her softly and her lips opened for him, ignoring what her mind was saying. How could she be taken in by this shallow cad again, knowing what he was about? The answer, obviously, was the sheer sensation of his touch. She didn't know if the way he kissed her or fondled her breasts could truly be learned. So gentle, yet with so much passion, her reciprocation going from acceptance to eagerness, he guided her to the bed and lay down next to her.
"Oh, gods," Mauz moaned.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" he whispered, nuzzling her neck.
She squirmed as his hand travelled into her crotch, pressing through her skirt and against the throbbing heat in her. She closed her eyes, and her nagging mind to all but the sensations that spread through her flesh from every touch, tickle and lick.
"You're wishing it was your husband doing this to you," he said, and she opened her eyes.
"Why would you talk about him right now?" she gasped.
"I just want you to be honest," he replied. One hand slipped up beneath her shirt, taking her breast in his hand. "Isn't that the big thing here?"
"I love him, but... he's never made me feel this way. The sensations..."
"Practice is all," he assured her. "That and knowing what you want and sharing it with your partner. He shared a little information with me, too."
"You... you slept with Vait?"
The Waren chuckled gruffly, kissed her, and drew back shaking his head. "No. He admitted that he didn't know what was wrong but knew something was."
"When did he say that?"
"This morning. Right after I told him that I'd fucked you."
Mauz pushed him back, scoffing. He had spent more time begging her not to tell anyone than they had having sex. "You did what?!"
"Isn't honesty the thing here?" he asked. "As I said, he took it pretty well. I mean, he was hurt, obviously. He really loves you, and you cheated on him. But he wants you to be happy, satisfied. We had the idea that he could learn something from me."
"What are you talking about?" Mauz asked nervously. He motioned with his head toward the door, and she gasped, clutching her shirt together between her breasts. "Vait!"
Vait stood with his head down, shuddering with grief and anger. "I didn't want to believe it, that you would let this asshole seduce you not once, but twice. Was it really so bad with me?"
"No," Mauz said softly. "It was never bad."
"Honesty is supposed to be the thing here, isn't it?" asked the Waren.
"It was never bad!" Mauz insisted. "It was just... underwhelming. I love you, and I thought that was just what sex was like, but Evan..."
Evan smiled that smarmy smile that made it clear his skills were all that he truly took pride in. She couldn't believe now, back with the partner as timid as she, that Evan's arrogant self-confidence had turned her on in the first place. "Go on," he said. "What was sex with Evan like? Honesty, now."
"Yes, tell us," Vait agreed at length when the only response she could manage was glaring. "Or better yet, I'd like to see it."
Mauz's jaw dropped, looking at her partner. "What?"
"I think, in the name of honesty, if I'm such a bad lover, I might at least see what possible use that dick could be to anyone."
"Easy, big guy," Evan muttered. "It's not my fault you didn't satisfy her."
"It's all skill, right?" Vait asked. "Technique? Show me, if you're not totally full of shit."
"I'm kinda having a tough time keeping it hard while you're insulting me," Evan admitted. "Just nervous, I guess, but I'm game if she is."
"Is this some kind of test?" Mauz asked. "What do you want me to say, Vait? I'm so, so sorry. I love you, and I'm sorry. I will never again..."
"None of that is what I want you to say," Vait said. "I want you to say yes."
"Why?" she cried. "Is this to punish me?"
"Of course not," Vait said. "The way he described it... I want to be able to do that for you."
"How much detail did he use?" Mauz asked, squirming beneath the intense gaze of her partner. She thought for the first time that there was more than anger in it.
"So, so much detail," Evan said. "Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words. Are we... are we all in agreement here? We can get down while he watches?"
