= Sarah POV =

  I walked over and flopped onto the bed beside Chris.

  “Every time I left a dorm room, I was given compensation money, and maybe a small sex toy to sort of say “Hey, thanks for trying, why not practice a bit before the next time?” I continued, despite Chris’ outburst, and pouted, “ I swear I know that sex does not equate to some kind of boratory session. I have tried to view this from different angles and using you as a control group…. I mean as an example “ I said, gncing up at Chris who was now sitting cross-legged facing me, with her hand propping up her head as she listened to me “ I have tried with so many guys, and the result is always the same; I don’t know what to do with their junk, and even after they stick it in, it’s just…kind of bh.

  Worst of all, I’ve never climaxed before. I have managed to reach a fulfilling orgasm with my own fingers; however, with guys, it just doesn’t hit the same. So that is why, I would like to try, the alternative form of sex, with someone who won’t get attached, someone I trust, and someone who is experienced, and so ” I said and looked at Chris as earnestly as I could “ So I genuinely wanted to know, as my best friend, or ex-best friend, how you do it. How do you get all the girls to melt under your fingers? Please teach me, so that I might finally, be able to have a proper retionship, with someone one day”

  Chris stood up slowly. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “You really…is that how you saw our uni-days? Wait…you sound so confident about my sexual prowess. How would you know that ALL the girls I had been with were satisfied with my…skill set?” She asked, crossing her arms and leaning against a bedpost.

  “I interviewed them! I often met them at the canteen, and we would chat, and every single one of them said you were amazing,” I said, smiling up at her.

  “Every one of them? EVERYONE OF THEM. You talked to every one of them…about having sex…with me?” Chris asked, leaning forward to hold the side table next to the bed.

  I nodded “Yup! And they all loved it,” I replied.” They told me that you were the best, and there were quite a few who had partners before you, so they had people to compare you against,” I added. “I was really proud of your abilities as my best friend at the time”

  Chris tilted her head to the side. “So you’ve been thinking about having sex with me…the entire time…we were living together…in uni..”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but you know, we’re friends, so it would have been awkward to ask you for some tips; that’s why I asked all the girls you slept with. However, it turns out that people are OK with saying you are great in bed, but are not willing to expin how,” I said, putting my hands together thoughtfully “ Also they all told me not to ask you directly as they said it would ruin our friendship…but I’ve been so desperate, you saw how my st retionship turned out” I expined and sighed “ It’s just that I was talking to George, and he got himself into this whole arranged retionship situation with a client of his, and I thought maybe if I did the same with you, I wouldn’t ever have to tell you the truth, I could just fly under the radar and learn how to do the deed without having to tell you how I really feel. Plus, I was banking on the fact that you like sleeping around. I never imagined that things would get this complicated”

  “George? Ok. That is a story for another time. That little boy keeps getting himself in all the wrong kinds of retionships as well. So, throughout this entire time, you’ve seen this experience as a training session. Am I to believe that you don’t have feelings for me?” Chris asked pointedly.

  I smiled and leaned back. “Of course not! Why would I? I’m not going to force those kinds of expectations on my best friend; I know you too well for that; you’re like a free bird, bound to fly off into someone else’s arms, and I would never aspire to put you in a cage,” I beamed, hoping to reassure her that I wasn’t going to pigeonhole her like that.

  Chris walked across the room and leaned against her desk. Despite my attempts to be reassuring, her mood seemed to be plummeting with every answer I gave her.

  I sighed and leaned forward “Look, I wouldn’t have done all this if I wasn’t this desperate. When I say I’ve tried everything, I mean it. Even the sex therapist says I’m a lost cause”

  Chris pushed herself off the table and wiped her face with her hand. She looked off into the distance for a moment before turning to look at me, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

  “Sex…therapist?” Chris asked, crossing her arms and moving to sit on the bed next to me.

  “Yeah, I booked a few sessions,” I expined, backing up and bringing up my leg to make room for Chris as well as so I could sit facing her. “I really couldn’t understand the whole point of touching someone who I had just met. My brain kept thinking of assignments, and then I just lost interest, and after the third session, he canceled on me. He even brought in his wife during the second session to try to get me in the headspace, by showing me different positions, but it just didn’t click for me, you know?” I expined.

  “Could it be…that you have never…fallen in love, with any of the people you have dated?” Chris asked thoughtfully.