Rhythm
Chapter 4 – Good Noodles
Ethan set the plates on the table while the noodles reheated. They were never as good the second (or third) time, but Shara was right, his mom did make pretty good Jajangmyeon. He put out silverware, then remembered that Shara liked chopsticks, even the little flat Korean ones. He grabbed a couple of sodas from the refrigerator just as the girl came down the stairs.
“The noodles should be ready in a minute, though I think we might be out of the sweet sauce.” He set out cups of ice as well.
“Ethan… We need to talk.” She said, sitting on the bottom step.
“We can’t talk and eat at the same time?”
“I’m serious.”
The microwave went ding, and he set the bowl in the middle of the table before dropping into a chair. “So am I.”
She sighed and relented, joining him.
“What happened upstairs…” she began, “I want you to know, I’m not in the habit of randomly jumping people.”
He paused briefly as he served himself. “And I’m not a blabbermouth, Shara.”
“That’s not what I mean.” She accepted the plate of noodles he handed to her. “I don’t… sleep around.”
He looked up at her. “I never thought you did.”
“I just… I don’t know how to describe it. I’ve never felt like that before. It was weird.”
“Weird?” He replied, looking a little concerned.
“Not the sex. That was… amazing.” She had a slightly glassy-eyed look.
“It was?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
She met his gaze. “You didn’t think so?”
He suddenly felt like a trapped rat. “I… Yes! I mean, I guess… Shit, I don’t know…”
She was frowning at him.
“What?” He blurted.
“Ethan, was that… your first time?”
“… First time what?”
She sighed. “Were you a virgin?!”
He didn’t say anything.
“Holy shit… You were! Oh, Ethan, I had no idea.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I’m not complaining or anything.”
She was giving him a quirky sad face.
“I still feel bad. Your first time is supposed to be special, you know? Not some out of control romp on the couch.”
He took another bite of food. “Like I said, I’m not complaining. I just don’t have anything for comparison, you know? So when you asked how it was, I don’t quite know how to respond.”
They were both silent for a bit, eating. Finally, she asked in quiet voice, “Did you… like it?”
He looked up at her. “Yeah. It was pretty damn amazing.”
That seemed to make her happy.
He took a few more bites of food.
“So… what was ‘weird’ about it?”
“Not you, don’t worry. It was that music… The way it made me feel.”
He breathed a sigh of relief, then considered what she was saying. “What, like erotic or something? When I woke up, and you were standing over me, you had a pretty intense look on your face… Like you were really desperate or something.”
“I was desperate!” She exclaimed a bit more loudly than she meant to. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I had been listening to that music for like ten minutes, and the more I listened, the worse it got.”
“The worse what got?”
“My… arousal!”
He frowned, confused. “The music was arousing?”
She shook her head. “Yes!… Well no, not exactly. It was something… in the music. I felt it almost as soon as I started listening, maybe five seconds in. It was like someone had poured warm water in my ears. There was a strange warmth, and a feeling of slowing slightly, almost as though my brain were falling in sync with the music. I can recall a specific moment when the music suddenly became… bigger, or clearer, or something. After that, it had me.”
“Had you?”
“I couldn’t stop listening. It was like a drug… I wanted to keep listening, really badly.”
“Did you like the music that much?”
She sighed. “That’s just it. It wasn’t the music. Sure, I like techno, and dance, and the melodic qualities were fine. Nothing that extraordinary. It was just a rhythm. It was that other part, the ‘bigness’, that made it… addicting.”
Ethan was squinting at her.
“You think I’m making this all up, don’t you?”
He sat back. “No. I just don’t understand. How could it be addicting?”
“I… I was still in control of my body, but my brain… It was like I was hypnotized or drugged. I knew that every second I sat there would only make it worse, but I didn’t care. It… felt good.”
His brows rose a bit, and she blushed.
“The music made you feel pleasure?”
“Yes,” she replied, inclining her head, “but it was more than that. I felt… aroused. Sexually aroused.”
When he just stared at her, she went on.
“My heart rate increased, and my breathing. I was flushed everywhere. I felt myself grow… wet.”
“Wet?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ethan. You may have been a virgin, but even you can’t be that naive.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah, big time. I mean, I’ve been aroused by things before, but not like this, and certainly not by simple music. And it kept getting worse and worse. I found myself needing… relief, really, really bad. I even considered just doing it myself, right there in that chair.”
“Seriously?”
“I’m telling you, Ethan, after ten minutes I would have done anything to have an orgasm. That’s when I looked over and saw you laying on the couch…”
He swallowed.
“One look at you, and… I knew right then there was no way I could resist. I’m not quite sure what would have happened to me if you had turned me away.”
“Why would I do that?!”
She gave him a quirky smile. “That’s not really the point, Ethan. I was out of control. The music had gotten me so bothered by then, that I wasn’t myself.”
He was quiet for a moment, thinking.
“So… You actually… didn’t want to have sex with me?”
“Oh, I wanted it alright, more than breathing! But, I think I understand what you’re asking. Look Ethan, it’s not like I haven’t thought about it before…”
“Really?” He asked, hopefully.
“Why the surprised look? You’re a good looking guy, kind, honest, clean… What’s not to like?”
Ethan was a bit taken aback.
“Huh. You never seemed interested.”
“Well, just because you’d make a good lover, doesn’t necessarily follow that I want you in my bed. But that also doesn’t mean I haven’t considered it.”
“I’m confused.” He admitted.
She sighed. “Look, I always liked you as a friend. I know that I’m attractive. I can find bedmates aplenty if that’s all I want. But finding a reliable, friendly male who can accept you without pressure to take it further, well, that’s special. I knew you would have liked something more, but you never pushed it. You’re too much of a gentleman to play that game.”
He sighed. “I’m still not sure I understand. It’s going to be a lot harder to think of you as just a ‘friend’ now, though, that’s for sure.”
She set down her chopsticks and looked into her lap. “Yes. Yes it is.” She said a little sadly. “That’s kinda the way it is. Once you cross the line as lovers, it’s a bit hard to go back to the way it was. The thing is,” she continued, looking up at him again, “I’m not really sure I want to.”
Ethan considered this. “I… I suppose it would be hard to be friends.” He sighed. “Alright… But I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do if I have computer trouble.”
“Uh… No, Ethan, that’s not quite what I…”
“… Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty tied up with the dojo anyway. I have another weapons test coming up, so I’ll probably be spending even more time there than I am now…”
“Ethan…”
“Hell, I might make forth Dan by the end of summer…”
Shara stood up, walked around the table, grabbed him by the ears, then tilted his head back while she leaned forward and put her mouth to his. She made sure her tongue left no doubt about the kind of kiss she was giving him. He resisted for all of two seconds, then fell into it, his shoulders slumping into dizzy complacency.
“Done ranting?” She asked, after they had finally broken free of each other some indeterminate time later.
He just blinked at her.
“I don’t want to go back to the way it was, Ethan, because I would rather be your lover. Is that clear enough for you?”
He nodded, still too stunned to speak.
“That is, of course, if you are willing?”
“Yes!” He finally managed to squeak out.
She smiled. “Good.” Then, returning to her seat, she picked up her chopsticks and continued with her noodles.