In the heat of the moment
by Selina Renfrow
Love can bite. Sometimes in a good way, other times in a bad way. I’m not talking hickeys here. We’re out of high school and sucking on the neck is about as cool as it is to proclaim that Twilight is the best movie of all time. I’m talking aggression mixed with passion in the heat of the moment. However, opinions will vary on this form of affection.
Personally, I don’t mind the bruises; the combination of pain and pleasure during a steamy mattress session fits perfectly. Of course you have to cover your love bites up while around family members or at the workplace; it’s the polite and professional thing to do.
Others are less enthused. For my friend Simone, biting and scratching are feminine traits. Digging the nails into the back, biting the shoulder — I suppose those could be considered feminine — but we all have teeth and nails so men making their mark can and does happen. In her experience, many guys have a weird sense of pride after leaving a mark.
For my friend Thomas, it’s not so much pride as it is satisfaction. “It’s sort of like knowing that you did the job right,” he explained ,after sharing his story of bruises. Unlike biting, which is intentional, Thomas not only gave a partner rug burn, he also got burned himself — specifically the knees and the top of his feet.
Wondering who else would have a story to share in this regard, my Reflector colleagues and I remembered an incident that occurred two years ago to a mutual friend. Here is Kevin’s story:
“About two years ago, I was at a formal Christmas party. Many of my mentors, colleagues and professors from my respected field were in attendance. These people were just that; respected. Now, with it being the Christmas season and all, we were allowed to bring guests and family to the soiree. I thought this was going to be a great opportunity to meet new women. This sort of thinking ended up coming back to bite me so to speak.
“After meeting up with and chatting with some of my professors, I decided to mingle a little bit with colleagues’ friends, and more importantly their hot female guests. It was at about this time that I heard ‘Kevin, come get in the picture with us’. Without even thinking twice about it, I posed with my friends as any normal, properly socially indoctrinated person would do. I happened to notice that the woman taking the photo of my friends and I was actually quite attractive. Once the photo op was complete, the friend using the camera said ‘Ah, you guys look great,’ looked at me and asked ‘Would you like to look?’ Again, not thinking about it, I reached out and she put the camera in my hand but noticeably held onto my wrist.
“After thanking her for taking the photo, I felt that she was pulling me closer and closer. She leaned in and the smell of modest perfume and liberal amounts of hairspray made their way to my nostrils. Now, in any other environment, I would feel like I was king of the castle. I mean, this hot girl has singled me out as the one she wants out of the whole room. I haven’t asked her name, showed any sort of tangible interest and she totally is jamming her tongue in my mouth. But this is not any other environment. This room has pretty much every person in my life that I want to remain at least semi-professional with. Embarrassed. Confused. Inappropriate. Awesome. These words all describe how I felt at that moment.
“Realizing just how inappropriate this behavior was for the setting we were in, I listened to my better judgment and tried to stop kissing her. Then it happened. I felt an aggressively painful stinging on my tongue. She was biting me. Hard. Seriously, I like it rough but I am telling you this girl was hurting me. So fearing my future ability to articulate, I pulled my tongue out of her mouth before she could draw blood. Upon her release, I cocked my head to the left exposing my left cheek. Big mistake. This lunatic of a woman bit my fucking cheek to the point where she had drawn blood. So there I am, in my Sunday’s best, in front of respected professionals, bleeding from the cheek. I had very obvious teeth marks imbedded in my face for over a week.”
Ouch.