My hands find his back, my nails digging into his skin as I try to hold onto something solid amidst the whirlwind of pleasure. He looked around the riverbank, his eyes scanning the ground looking for something. His trust in me was absolute, his confidence unshaken. As we approached the water’s edge, the smell grew stronger, the sweet scent of the river mingling with the musky odor of the forest floor. It was as if he had forgotten the task at hand, lost in the simple pleasure of the act. I knelt down, and Naira took my invitation to step on my thighs and then sit on my shoulders, his bare feet surprisingly gentle despite their roughness. I glance down at my body, the newly created circles of bumps standing out against the grey ash. I didn’t want to disappoint him but I could only manage a slow jogging pace. But then he made a gesture that was universal: come here. His breaths come in short, sharp gasps, his eyes never leaving mine as he watches my every reaction, my every gasp. His body language suggested he knew I had reached my limit.
