Page 15 of Malliko
Opening his mouth to speak, Malliko stopped himself and closed his mouth again.
With my neck heating up from the regret at my openness, I apologized. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very professional of me,” I said and tapped my nails on the table. “It’s just that you took me by surprise with that question. Maybe your customs are different, but here in the States, we don’t ask strangers about their sex life.”
His eyes drifted to the screen where we had read several messages that were very explicit in nature.
“This…” I pointed to the screen. “This is different. What happens between two strangers on a dating app is a whole other thing than you asking me about my sex life. In this part of the world, it’s considered rude.”
“Rude.” Malliko looked from the screen to me and back. “Why?”
“Because… one’s sex life is private.”
“I see,” he said, but I didn’t get the feeling that he truly understood.
“How would you feel if I asked you details aboutyoursex life?” I asked.
He spread out his arms. “You can ask me anything.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do. Ask me anything you want to know.”
Narrowing my eyes, I thought of the one question I knew would push him more than anything. “Okay. What are your kinks then?”
I fully expected him to laugh and refuse to answer. After all, we had only just met, and this wasn’t a bar with alcohol or an anonymous chatroom.
“My kinks?” The way Malliko leaned his head to one side and wrinkled his eyebrows told me he wasn’t sure what I was talking about.
“Oh, kinks mean the things that turn you on. For some people it can be fetishes like leather corsets, gas masks, or diapers.” The look on his face made me ramble faster: “Not that I’m saying you’re into diapers, but you get the picture, right? There’s no right or wrong as long as it’s legal and consensual. In my line of work, you learn not to judge a book by its cover. The most cultivated of people can be into some pretty freaky stuff.”
Malliko looked confused and rubbed his forehead. “Wow, human sexuality is… ehm… I see that I have a lot to learn.”
His innocence was endearing to me, and it boosted my confidence that I knew more than the PhD student.
“That’s actually one of my favorite parts of this job. I learn about sexology, and I guess I’m fascinated by people’s kinks and fetishes for the same reason people are fascinated with serial killers. You wonder how they became that way and maybe you wonder if it could happen to you. Like that Ted Bundy guy who was so handsome and charming and yet sick and twisted.”
“Ted Bundy. I’m sorry, but the name is unfamiliar to me. Who was he again?”
“Oh, I forgot that you didn’t grow up in the US, but everybody here has heard about this famous serial killer called Ted Bundy who murdered a lot of women back in the day. He seemed so friendly and charming and is a reminder that looks can be deceiving.”
“But killing women isn’t considered a kink, is it?” Malliko asked.
“No.” I frowned. “I would say that’s beyond kinks. Although, role-playing games where youpretendto kill her might be a kink of the more extreme kind. Some people are into drinking blood, and some want their partner to play dead.”
“Tell me more about these kinks and fetishes. What are the most extreme cases you’ve met?”
Excited by his interest in a subject matter that I knew a lot about, I happily explained. “Well, as I said, Kenny and I deal with the profiles that get flagged for severe violations. When we experience people talking about bestiality and pedophilia, which are both illegal here in the US, we pay close attention. It’s not illegal to discuss the concept of those things or even to admit that you’re turned on by the subject matter. But confessions about things you’ve done in the past or plans about things youwish to do in real life require us to report the user to the authorities. Only yesterday, I had a report where a guy was talking to a woman about his hope to find a partner to share bestiality with. He was quite blunt about it.”
“Bestiality as in sex with…” Malliko squinted his eyes a little but didn’t finish his question, so I said it for him.
“Animals.”
“Fascinating.”
“Why is that fascinating? Are you into animal sex?”
He straightened up. “No, it’s not something I’ve ever considered. Cross species breeding is a controversial subject.”
“Hmm… well, he was looking for a girlfriend with the same interest and his dream was to get a puppy together and train it to want to have sex with both him and his girlfriend.”
