Thread: Culture Clash (DaddyIsHere and TerraFirma)

American boys smell nice. I realize it is an odd observation to make but it was still something that stuck out to me. Whenever I have been within a 2 feet radius of an Indian or a Pakistani boy, he is either pungent from his sweat, or seems to be fond of bathing in his cologne. There are obviously a few exceptions, but I found myself noticing the...odd comfort that came along with the certain way some American boys smelled. It was a clean and soothing scent, like new soap mixed with this strong masculine undertone. Max smelled like this, I found myself thinking while he sat very, very close to me. I was glad then for my darker coloring, because I'm sure I would have resembled a ripe tomato from the blood rushing to my face. We had been hanging out for a while, and I was now amusing him with Bollywood dance and song numbers. Sheila, being a traitorous trollop, had noticed my slight interest in Max, and had conveniently taken a liking to Neil, this other boy we met. She'd whisked him off to do the obvious, and had left me at the mercy of my awkwardness. Alone. With Max. Who was fairly cute now that I could actually look at him for more than 5 seconds without being overcome with shyness. I translated a bit of a song for him, but the entire time I was conscious of how my bare arm was brushing against him. Yes, he's a nice enough boy. But this was no reason to get all flustered and girly. I began to scold myself but then...then he mentioned that he thought Indian women are beautiful, and his eyes met mine for a long while...and I began to wonder if he was having similar thoughts. What if he leaned closer? What if his arm found my waist and his mouth found my mouth and... This train of thought would only lead to trouble. I was curious about how sex worked. My only knowledge of it came from novels, and whatever stories I had heard from my roommates. However, I was not about to just fall into the arms of the first attractive male I came across. Though...he did have nice arms. And an adorable smile. He seemed like a nice boy, maybe a bit bland, but maybe that changed in bed... Damn it, Riya, don't you dare. There was only one way I could keep myself from doing something stupid. Well, I slowly managed to say. I have class in the morning, so... This flustered him for a bit but to my surprise he did not try to push anything on me. I had been taught by my mother that men tended to want nothing but sex, and this sentiment seemed to echo in America too. But here Max was, going to the door without making a fuss or trying to convince me that I wanted to sleep with him. I smiled a bit as he said goodbye. You should drop by again sometime. Maybe I'll even have some samosas lying around. I teased. I uh...yeah sure, that sounds good. he grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. That night I found myself troubled. College was going to provide me with new and exciting experiences but I might as well go home if I was going to shy away from all of them. My two roommates were still out, and this was just another reminder of how everybody was out enjoying themselves. Unlike me. That was going to have to change. Eighteen years of being told not to do anything fun had made me instinctively averse to fun things. Like sex. That sounded fairly enjoyable. Maybe I would try it. For a moment I thought of Max again, and the way he smelled, and the way his shirt sleeves were rolled up to expose muscly forearms. He honestly was a very sweet guy. Even if we never had sex, I definitely wanted to befriend him. But still... I knew that my parents would have suitors lined up for me within a year or two, but that didn't mean I couldn't have some fun before I committed to some lackluster arranged marriage. My virginity wasn't a problem either. I had learned from the more precocious girls in my Pakistani high school about the numerous ways virginity could be faked. Such deceit made me uncomfortable, but I wanted to experience something of life before I resigned myself to fate. I figured my line of reasoning was sound.