House Rules
"Do you understand the concept of consent?"
"Y-yes," you say barely above a whisper.
"Good." She looks at you for a long moment. "Then let me test it."
She reaches for the straps of her dress and slides it off her shoulders with the same unhurried precision she applies to everything. She sits there and looks at you directly, completely unbothered, as if nudity is simply a variable she has introduced into the conversation for illustrative purposes. You avert your gaze.
"This," she says, "you can watch, this is what consent looks like. I am choosing to show you my body. You are looking at it with my full knowledge and permission. There is nothing wrong with this."
You are looking. You are very aware that you are looking.
"What you did last night was the same act... looking at my body... without that permission. You see the difference?"
"Yes," you say again. Your voice is remarkably steady given the circumstances.
"Good." She doesn't move to cover herself. She is making a point, and the point is not finished yet.