Page 141 of The Moment You Know

He laughed out loud and a second later she joined in.

When they were finished, her expression turned thoughtful. “The need to get myself off practically every day was really unexpected … to me, anyway,” she stressed in response to his raised eyebrows. “I mean, I wasn’t an actual horny teenager with raging hormones, so embarking on a journey of self-gratification in my thirties was kind of awkward. Masturbation had never been a thing for me and my first attempts weren’t always successful. It’s harder than you think to get out of your head and just feel pure, honest pleasure, when it’s something you’ve never done before.” Paige paused, pressing her lips together. “It kind of felt like I was in training, almost like masturbation boot-camp.”

For a moment, David got sidetracked thinking of her rubbing one out. “Wait. Did you just say ‘masturbation boot-camp’?”

“That’s what it was like. It was kind of grueling.”

He had never in his life thought of jerking off as grueling and for the first time, the extent of her struggle for normalcy really struck him; it was something most people took for granted, himself included.

“But it was also enlightening and life-changing,” she added. “I know that sounds ridiculous, because all I was doing was learning how to bring myself to orgasm, but it was life-changing. And even if it’s only the first rung on the ladder, it’s still a step up from where I was a year ago, when I didn’t even know what my clit was for. But once I figured it out …” she trailed off, frowning at his expression. “Is this making you uncomfortable?”

It was, but not in the way she was thinking, and David didn’t want her to shut down, just because he was having thoughts about her (and her clit) that he shouldn’t be having. But, in his defense, it was a little difficult not to, since she was talking about it so openly. “What? No.”

“And just like that, complete honesty is nothing but a memory,” she deadpanned. Then, imitating him from a few minutes ago, Paige crossed her fingers and held them up so he could see them, before uncrossing them dramatically.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” he insisted, unable to keep the amusement from his voice, because Paige busting his balls was pretty funny.

“Are you sure? Because you look uncomfortable and that’s the last thing I want.”

“And the last thing I want is for you to worry about making me uncomfortable, because you’re not. This is just the first time you and I have ever talked about your … clit.”

Her head tilted as she acknowledged the sad truth of that.

“So it’s a little surreal,” David continued evenly. “But the more we talk about it, the less surreal it’ll be, so let’s keep talking.”

For a moment, she couldn’t recall exactly where the conversation had stopped, but he apparently had no such memory lapse.

“You were saying you figured out what your clit was for,” he reminded her. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thanks. It was a big day for me, almost a milestone, really. You probably don’t remember the first time you discovered the joy of masturbation, but—”

“Are you kidding? Of course I do.”

“How? That had to have been more than twenty years ago.”

“Twenty-two, to be exact, but I remember it vividly. I did it after school in my room, before my mom got home from work and it lasted about one minute.”

“It was probably the best minute of your life,” Paige teased.

His mouth twitched. “Followed by the worst twenty minutes of my life, when I had to clean up. Honest to God, it went everywhere.”

“What do you mean, ‘everywhere’? Did you spray the room?”

“Jesus. No, I didn’t spray the room,” he denied, only to lower his voice and clarify, “Not on purpose, anyway.”

She stifled a laugh. “So you did it by accident?”

“Well, shit … it was like a geyser.”

At that, she was unable to stifle her laughter any longer and it came out at full volume.

“I was unprepared,” he added.

That only made Paige laugh harder. “You didn’t think to use a towel … or anything?”

“I was thirteen. Of course I didn’t think to use a towel … or anything. I had a Playboy and lube.“ His expression turned rather nostalgic. “I still have it, actually.”

“The lube?”

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