r u l e # 3

Rule #3 Don't be judgmental, and acknowledge that women are sexual beings too

Let's face it: some women want sex just as much as men do. It's not fair to stigmatize those who follow their desires, because not everyone views sex as some magical rite of passage. Sex can be just sex, not an access control system.

Women are not gatekeepers to a treasure trove and men are not pirates trying to rob them of something sacred. There's no conquest and no giving up. We're partners who share a pleasant time together, so there's no need to feel triumphant or remorseful.

By the way...if we shame girls who are willing to have sex with us, then we'd just be cock blocking ourselves.

......

"Jess," Jake said in between hungry kisses, knowing that he had to get this out as early as possible. A few minutes later he'd be too far into the game to keep his head—the one up there—straight. "You can stop me anytime you want, okay? You don't need to feel obligated to go through with anything you're not comfortable with."

Jessica pulled back slightly as her lips curled into a smile. "How many times have you practiced saying that? You sound like a pamphlet on sexual health."

He reached for her chin, leaned in, and planted another kiss. "Or you can sign the contract I printed out for you...remember to check the box that says I agree to the terms and conditions." He smiled. "Kidding. I just want you to be sure. Don't worry about upsetting me in case you wanna back out."

"Jake. We've gone out four times and hinted about it every way we know how, we're at a hotel room, and I have on my best pair of underwear. I know we're not here to discuss homework."

He could see the reflection of the chandelier sparkling in her eyes as she lay down. They had met at the hotel she suggested—her dad owned the place, turned out—after repeated rescheduling. Jessica seemed to be a busy girl and was rather inflexible about her plans. She didn't appear to be playing hard-to-get but wasn't overly eager, either, and Jake hadn't the faintest idea about what went on in her life when she wasn't seeing him.

The only thing he managed to learn about her was her opinions on sex, which was what ultimately led them here.

"I don't have the best reputation at school," Jessica had said during one of their not-a-dates. They were sitting together on the park bench and were chatting about passers-by when the topic shifted.

Jake perked up. This was unusual, because Jessica could comment on anything as long as it didn't involve herself.

"Apparently I have no respect for myself because I like talking to boys," she said.

"They are jealous of you."

"It's not just because of that. I never shoot down people when they hit on me or turn down a dance, so I give the impression that I have no standards," she said. "I act like that because I know it takes courage to approach someone, and there's no reason to be mean or sassy about it. I just want to be nice."

"You were pretty sassy with me," Jake said, even though he hadn't minded one bit.

Jessica smiled and traced his face with her dark eyes. Dark eyes had this special hypnotic power to them, like they could silently suck him right in and absorb him. "Only with you, Jake. I know you can take it. You're obviously very confident. When I saw you I was thinking, gosh, look at those cheekbones. Those are model cheekbones. This guy has never heard a no in his life."

He laughed, liking the compliment. "That's what I thought of you, too."

"Being friendly doesn't mean I'm not choosy when it comes to sex," she went on, "but the girls at school call me Panda Express behind my back."

"What?"

She shrugged. "I'm cheap, Chinese, and I deliver."

Without warning, a ball of fire rumbled in the pit of his stomach. He was almost never angry, but he was sure he would've broken things if he'd been there. "What the fuck? That's way out of line!"

"I know, right?" Jessica was extremely serene about it. "I mean, their food is awful."

She made a few more jokes at herself and said she wasn't at all bothered, but Jake didn't buy it. No one could possibly hear a nickname like that without taking it to heart. He had attempted to put his arm around her shoulder, a move he normally didn't like because of the intimate undertone it conveyed, but Jessica had stood up and conveniently escaped his touch.

"The thing is, I don't get it," she said, walking several steps ahead of him. Jake hurried to catch up. "There are people who share their innermost thoughts, secrets, their dreams and private life with anyone and it's fine, yet when I choose to sleep with a cute guy I'm not in love with, I'm condemned, because I'm supposed to save it for that special someone."

"Save what? It's not a bank account."

She gave him a smile full of mockery, closer to a sneer, but she still managed to look stunning. "Exactly. I have plenty of things saved for that special someone, but my vagina isn't one of them."

At this, Jake burst into laughter. He liked her crass honesty. "Jess...I think I've been looking for a girl like you all my life."

She nodded, her face completely serious. She sighed. "We're soul mates, Jake."

"I don't have the best reputation at school, either. I'm the big manwhore on campus."

"Are you sure that's not a compliment?"

"It's not, but it works in my favor. Once I got my name out, 'good girls' know to stay away from me." He made air quotes with both hands. "They filter out naturally and save me a lot of trouble."

Her eyes narrowed, but not enough to hide the humor in them. "Are you saying I'm not a good girl?"

"You're more than good, Jessica River. You're extraordinary."

He said it then, and as he stared at her lying on the bed now, he wanted to say it again. She was exactly his type, no matter what angle he chose to process it from. She was pleasant, upfront, and unbelievably gorgeous in the baby blue dress that hung off her body.

Classy and sexy at the same time.

She took off her pearl earrings and left it on the nightstand. Jake positioned himself next to her, running his hand up her torso and across the front of her dress. Jessica busied herself with the zipper on his jeans.

"Want to hear a poem?" He placed his palm against her thigh and marveled at how it made him feel. "There once was a hot girl named Jess, who made my hormones a mess. My brain turned to lard, down there it's hard. I need her to take off that dress."

She laughed. "I hope that horrible limerick doesn't count as foreplay." She moved in and covered his mouth once again with her lips, which were pink as cherry blossoms, and he let her tongue slide in and wrap around his own. Her hands pushed under his shirt and lifted it off of him without hesitation.

Jake couldn't remember the last time he was so turned on. He needed to invent a new phrase to replace "turn on", because this was at an entirely different level. He felt overpowered, almost, and it was something he wasn't very familiar with.

It wasn't just because Jessica was a sublime kisser or that her skin was smoother than cool silk, or that she was kind enough to reciprocate the things he did to her, or because she was especially skilled or that she knew any cool tricks. It wasn't because hooking up at a luxury hotel felt grown-up, either.

It was mainly because she seemed so turned on herself. She was thoroughly unapologetic about it—not that she should be, of course, but he had to do a double take because it was so rare to come across. She stared into his eyes boldly the whole time. She knew exactly what she liked, how she liked it, and told him she liked it when he did as instructed.

He heard before that for a girl, an orgasm was like a lovely hike up a hill. The air was crisp, the scenery was spectacular, and when she reached the summit, the view below was absolutely breath-taking.

Judging from Jessica's reaction, that was some world-class view. He was feeling so achieved and aroused from her reaction, he made sure she did that hike for at least twice, even though it made his jaw pretty sore.

Sex is something that when done wrong, it's still pretty amazing, and when done right...there's no word for it.

They took their time covering all areas before they went in for the kill. As Jessica took that hike again, for Jake it was like getting into the elevator and pressing the top floor. It might be a shorter journey for him, but the view from the penthouse wasn't any less good.

That was, quite frankly, the best sex Jake Lancaster had ever experienced in his eighteen years of life. If someone were to interview him on his deathbed, he was fairly certain he'd think back to this day and wipe away a single stray teardrop.

It was that awesome.

"You blow me away in bed, River." Jake was never especially fond of cuddling, but at that moment he wanted to hold her for a while longer.

Jessica sat up smoothly and dodged his embrace, but at the same time not forgetting to return his sexual innuendo. "I had fun too. I'm glad I came."

She slipped out of bed, put on her bathrobe, and padded off to the shower.

Jake was good at interpreting body language. There was an analyzer in a corner of his brain that was constantly picking up clues, and this time it told him that no, Jessica did not want him to join her.

He stayed on the bed waiting for her to come back. Even though they shared an act of intimacy, he didn't feel much closer to her. He now knew that her lips tasted like vanilla and cinnamon, she had a tattoo in the shape of a bat on her hipbone, her best pair of underwear was black with laces, there was a sensitive spot at the nape of her neck, but he didn't know her hobbies, what scared her, the lies she had told, and not even her favorite color.

Jessica came back. She was fully dressed, looking fresh as a lotus flower.

"Hey, are you hungry?" She picked up her earrings and put them on. "You can eat anything from the minibar, or you can order from the hotel restaurant if you want something hot. The lasagna is pretty good."

"What would you like?"

"Me? I'm good." She glanced at her watch. "I have to get going anyway, but you can take your time. Everything's on the house."

Jake stared at her stunned. The saying goodbye, to him, had always been the most difficult part of a hookup. There was the awkward silence, the "so...", the hinting and making up excuses, but Jessica had made it extremely easy for him.

She made it so easy, in fact, that he realized with alarm that he was more wounded than relieved. Whether it was his ego or heart that was wounded, he wasn't ready to find out yet.

"You don't want to eat together? We can chat for a bit," he said, feeling like all the girls he had been impatient to chuck out of bed. It wasn't that he wanted to turn this into something complicated, because he was more professional than that, but it would be nice to at least learn a little more about her.

She intrigued him. With her beauty, her matching sense of humor to his, how candid she was about sex and how mysterious she was about everything else, she had managed to pique his interest.

Or maybe it was simply because she was the first girl to show zero interest in hanging out afterwards, and like the cocky boy he was, he fell victim to the reverse psychology defenselessly.

"We can get out of here too," he suggested. "Do you want a smoothie? I know a great place."

"You're really sweet, Jake." Jessica combed her fingers through her hair, but she was staring at the mirror instead of him. "You don't have to do that. I know what this is and I'm cool with it."

The way she said it, it wouldn't surprise him if she were to shake his hand and thank him for his time, telling him how it was a pleasure doing business with him.

"I'm not suggesting it to be sweet, Jess."

"Maybe next time," she said, in a sickening familiar way he had used plenty of times himself. Translation: don't be silly, there's never going to be a next time.

"Can I ask you what your tattoo means?"

"You can." Her smile was dazzling as she picked up her purse. "But I won't tell you."

Jessica left without leaving any part of herself behind. Jake didn't feel like he took anything from her, and if anything, it was the opposite. She said she was efficient at the party when he first met her, and she was true to her words.

The next day he received a text from her, thanking him for a good time, but there was no false promise of meeting up again. Jessica did everything his way, like a true gentleman.

He never knew it sucked to be on the receiving end of it.