Page 37 of Lessons with the Mothman

Which, it occurred to me, Hannah had never really done before. I relaxed and nodded to her, but my thoughts were turning in a new direction, and I glanced back and forth between the two women, wondering if my curiosity might lead me to overstep after all.

"What?" Natalie asked, pointing at me, her brow furrowing. "You've got a funny look."

Hannah huffed a laugh as I bristled. "You do look on the brink of something."

"I have a…hypothetical question…related to the study that I'm curious about," I said.

"Isn't that for Victoria to discuss then?" Hannah asked.

Given the hypotheticalwasVictoria, I shook my head. "I don't want to accidentally…influence her own lines of inquiry."

"Hit us," Natalie said with a careless wave of her hand.

I wet my lips and then set about pouring myself my own drink. "There's an open booth. Let's go there. Nora can handle the bar." The bar was crowded, but it was also nearing closing, and mostly we were dealing with people finishing their drinks and winding down for the night.

Hannah and Natalie hurried to claim the booth, and I followed them out a moment later, finding them whispering with their heads bowed as I approached.

"This is exciting," Natalie declared, her eyes a little glassy from drinking. "I hope you know I love giving my opinion on things that aren't my business."

I refrained from answering and settled into the booth, carefully spreading and draping my wings at my sides.

"Itisokay that you're asking us, isn't it?" Hannah pressed me.

It probably wasn't, but… "I don't see why not," I said. I just had to frame it carefully. "There was a case…an interview, with an individual that finds achieving orgasm challenging."

Both women sat back in their seats, Natalie with surprise, but Hannah was wary.

"This isn't really relevant to the study. I suppose this is something I've been mulling over myself," I continued. "They, the individual, claim that it is more satisfying for them to have that aspect of sex ignored."

"They enjoy sex?" Natalie clarified with a raised finger.

I nodded. "Yes. But not when it's focused on their pleasure."

"Okay…" Hannah said slowly, head tilting. "So…what's your question, exactly?"

I placed my hands on the table top, frowning upon finding it sticky. "Well, I suppose…should their partner reallynottry to offer that to them? It's notimpossiblefor them to achieve an orgasm, but the process seems to be tangled up in some kind of mental or…" I floundered for a moment and shrugged slightly. "Emotional impediment?"

Natalie slumped. "I mean…if the partner knows theycanget them to orgasm…"

"The partner is hypothetical," I said quickly.

"It'sallhypothetical," Hannah said, eyes narrowed.

"Well, yes. But in this case, let's say yes, the hypothetical partner is absolutely certain he-they can?—"

Mercifully, Natalie interrupted my bumbling. "It's a hypothetical of 'can't' achieve orgasm, and not one of 'doesn't want to?'"

My head jerked back. "Why would they not want to?"

"Hypothetically," Hannah muttered under her breath.

Natalie shrugged. "Some internalized sense of sexual shame."

Victoria's broken pleas, the eager thrust of her body, the sight of her back arching to take me deeper all flashed through my mind. Her ease in the aftermath, relaxed and pleased and smiling.

"I can't say for sure. They said they can't."

Natalie's expression twisted, and she shrugged. "I think I'm leaning that…yeah, hypothetically, go ahead and prove them wrong."

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