Mask of Celibacy

Chapter 5

In philosophy class Mr. Romano used an interesting teaching method. He encouraged us to form discussion groups to brainstorm various topics like truth, honesty, and conformity. Then he'd compare our results with both ancient and modern thinkers.

It was clever. Instead of lecturing on a bunch of random ideas from old, dead guys, he made us ponder the concepts first, which meant they stayed in our minds.

This class felt like home. It was the only other place where I could speak my mind openly and without fear. Kind of like during the debate.

Today's topic? Love.

Woot...

Still, it was cool. I liked Mr. Romano.

He resembled a young Emmett Brown from Back to the Future with his wild hair and tall, gangly features. Full disclosure: I had a bit of a crush on him. No, not a crush per se. More like a deep admiration for his wacky brain. One that made me wish we could discuss the important concepts of life over coffee because I was ten years older and we were friends.

At first Care and I shared our bemusement about the prevalence of sexuality in every corner of modern life. That morphed into a discussion about the difference between love and sex.

We didn't get very far before our duo was interrupted. In a shocking change of affairs, St. Stephen's favorite royals, Nicky and Sarah, deigned to visit us plebes along with their gaggle of followers.

The newcomers gathered around us in a semicircle, slouching or sitting backwards on chairs. My best friend and I gave them all a puzzled look because that strata of society tended to ignore us.

What's up with you?

"We were just talking about dating and the Catholic Church," said Sarah.

Pursing my lips, I leaned back. "Oh?"

"It reminded me of our discussion last month about birth control."

I nodded.

"How can you show your boyfriend physical love before marriage and still be a good Christian?" she asked.

"Do you want my own view or the Catholic Church's?"

"Both."

Exhaling a long breath, I cupped my chin in thought. "Well, the Church says that while you can show affection for your boyfriend, it shouldn't be sexual."

"So you can do everything other than sex?"

"If it's designed to be a sexual experience," I replied, "it's not allowed."

"So no sex acts of any kind?"

Checking to make sure Mr. Romano wasn't in earshot, I lowered my voice. "Full sex isn't allowed, of course. Nothing that resembles it either."

Everyone around her started chuckling. It occurred to me that Sarah didn't ask the question genuinely and might have been trying to get a rise out of me. Well, too bad. She could ask me all the questions she liked.

I wasn't a prude.

"So no oral sex?" asked Nicky.

"No."

"Manual sex?"

"No."

"French kissing?"

"Questionable. Probably not."

"What about touching?" she asked, flustered.

"Hugging, normal kisses, or holding hands is fine," I replied. "But no sexual grabbing."