Page 34 of The Outcast
“I don’t think I can ever be prepared for something like that,” Bianca muttered. “That’s just gross.”
I whipped my head in her direction. “Don’t say that. I told you that we aren’t interested in your judgment. How would you like it if I told you that your way of binding yourself to one person for your whole life is insanity? It’s like picking out a piece of clothing and expecting it to be in fashion for the rest of your life. People change, their preferences change. We evolve and so does our sexuality. What if your partner and you evolve in different directions?”
“Loyalty and partnership are beautiful things,” Bianca argued.
“That might be, but in our eyes, your way looks stifling and limiting.”
“Our cultures are opposites in that way,” Aubri agreed. “If you go to France, you have to accept that culture isn’t about right or wrong, it’s just different ways of doing things. No one is forcing you to have sex with anyone, but you need to be prepared that many will want to sleep with you. So, let’s talk about some ways of rejecting offers in a kind manner.”
I nodded. “Sure, but first, let’s have Keith come back and try flirting again. No life stories or talk about dead parents. Pay a compliment and make your intentions clear. Nice and easy like I showed you, all right?”
“Yes, okay.” He wiped his palms on his pants and stood back up.
Taking a few steps back, I studied how Keith touched his red beard and moved closer to Sparrow. The man was the size of Indiana and strong as an ox, but he was socially awkward, which made sense if he’d lived on his own in a remote area since he was fifteen.
“You have such pretty eyes.”
“Thank you,” Sparrow said in a polite tone.
“Could you see us together?” Keith shifted his balance. “I mean would you have sex with me?”
Sparrow looked to me and I gave an encouraging nod for her to play along in this role-play. “Yes, that sounds… nice.”
Keith lit up. “I would love that.”
“See, not difficult at all,” I said and ended the role-play.
“Now, let’s go over some kind ways to reject someone. Sparrow, would you hit on Keith with the most aggressive pick-up line you can think of?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment and then she leaned her head back and looked up at him. “I wish I could take you behind a tree and fuck you.”
I smiled when I realized it was the same line that I’d told Sparrow after we bathed.
Keith’s eyes widened and he stared at her. “You can.”
“Nooo.” I laughed. “Keith, you’re supposed to turn her down.”
He shook his head vehemently, “I would never turn Sparrow down.”
I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Keith, Sparrow didn’t ask you to have sex with her in real life. You understand that this is all pretend, right?”
The way Keith kept staring at Sparrow made me uncomfortable. “Keith?”
Looking straight at her, he whispered, “You’re very beautiful.”
“Yes, she is, but Sparrow isn’t French, and she would never proposition you like that. This is all role-playing, nothing more.”
With Keith unable to take his eyes off Sparrow, the situation was awkward. Folding her arms around her body in a protective manner, she went to stand next to Aubri.
“Let’s move on. Hmm, Lilly, do you want to demonstrate how to turn down someone in a kind way?”
I got Lilly and Aristotle to play out ways to say no.
“How to set boundaries is taught to us French in school. It’s important to know what you like and don’t like, but it’s equally important to respect others’ boundaries. So let’s discuss how to pay attention to body language and ways to read your sex partner. Who can define rape for us?”
Eight people raised their hands.
“Yes, Christopher.”
