“I’m surprised I’ve gazed at you so long without kissing you,” he told me recently.

“Maybe it’s because you haven’t asked to kiss me”, I replied.

He paused. “Do I have to ask?”

It was that choice point again . Risk “ruining the moment” by asserting that consent always matters, even with all the non-verbal affirmations we had already shared. Or laugh it off, act cool and let it go.

Lucky for me, I’ve been here before.

And I know that it is *actually* consent that makes it juicier, despite the voices in my head that would tell me otherwise.

“Yes…you…must…ask,” I said slowly and deliberately. “Because it helps me be present for what is coming when I give consent. And I so want to be present for the moment of our first kiss”.

He breathed. Half smiled. And began again.

“May I?”

And the fireworks began.

#ConsentIsWhatMakesItJuicy #ChoiceAtTheTransitions #TurnedOnAwake

Photo by henri meilhac on Unsplash