Page 33 of The Outcast
“I’m okay. You?” Keith replied without looking at her directly.
“Have you… ehh…” Sparrow licked her lips and sucked them in while scratching her arm. “I mean, you’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I’ve lived in Alaska all my life. My mom was a Motlander but a few years after she and my dad had me, she got tired of the hard life up north and moved back home to the yellow district where the sun always shines. We never saw her again and then my dad died when I was fifteen. I’ve lived alone ever since.”
“Oh, wow, I’m sorry to hear that.” Sparrow blinked her eyes as if a little overwhelmed with the situation. “Do you like… ehh…” She looked around. “Nature. Do you like nature?”
Keith shrugged. “Sure.”
I sighed and pushed a hand through my hair. “Do you two even know what flirting is?”
Keith shook his head. “I haven’t met many women so it’s not something I have experience with.”
“Okay. Then how about you sit down for a second and watch how I would do it.”
Keith went to sit on one of the chairs in our new classroom. The last two weeks the candidates had practiced teamwork while building both a classroom and a shower building. Having projects like these presented an opportunity for us to study the candidates’ ability to work with others. Over the next months as more candidates would arrive to get trained, we would extend the facilities to include a dining hall, more classrooms, and dorm rooms.
“There are many different approaches to showing your interest in another person,” I said and walked over to stand in front of Sparrow. “Hey, beautiful.”
Sparrow smiled. “Hey.”
“What is that ring on your thumb? Does it symbolize something?”
When Sparrow raised her hand for me to see the silver ring up close, I took her hand and brought it to my face. “Is that a pearl?”
“Yes, my younger brother gave it to me for Christmas.”
“He has good taste.” I smiled. “But then with you as a sister, he’s had beauty surrounding him his whole life.”
Sparrow pulled a shoulder to her chin and lowered her face, which had turned crimson. “Thank you.”
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
My tone was flirtatious and my smile seductive. “Would you like to spend some time with me then?”
Sparrow’s smile widened. “Maybe.”
“I’m free tonight if you want to come over.”
“I’m free tonight too,” said Sparrow with a beaming smile.
“Good, then give me your contact information and I’ll send you my address.” Still holding her hand, I squeezed it a little and let go before turning to all my students. “See? Flirting doesn’t take much, but if someone asks you to their house or asks you if you want to spend time with them, that’s a way of asking for sex.”
“But what if it’s not direct?” Lilly asked. “Can you show us how it looks if it’s subtle?”
“Oh, no, thiswassubtle. If I was direct, it would go something like this.” I turned to Sparrow again. “You are by far the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. I could just rip your clothes off and fuck you right here. How would you like to go somewhere private and suck my cock? Or do you prefer an audience?”
The candidates gasped and made outbursts such as “Fucking hell.”
“You’re being an asshole. If you speak like that to any woman, she’ll kick you in the balls,” Shiva claimed.
“Nope, Banni is right.” Aubri stepped closer. “Let me demonstrate the most direct proposition I’ve experienced.” With a confident swagger, Aubri walked straight to me and pushed a hand into my chest. “You and me are going to fuck!”
“You’re kidding,” Sparrow exclaimed.
“I wish I was, but in her defense, it happened in a night club and the woman was under the influence of alcohol. The point is that we’re trying to prepare you that initiating sex in France is very different from here. You need to be prepared.”
