Maxie had never been afraid of food before.
But after last week's sound bath made her climax from a single note, she approached Step Fourteen with caution.
> "Step Fourteen: Feed your hunger with sensual intention. Taste becomes touch. Swallow with meaning."
The associated workshop was called "The Aphrodisiac Picnic: A Journey Through the Mouth and Beyond."
It was being held in a secluded botanical garden just outside the city. Each participant was to bring a "personal aphrodisiac." Maxie debated between honeyed dates and oysters, but ultimately arrived with a Tupperware of frozen grapes and a bottle of chilled rosé.
"Trust me," she muttered to herself, "grapes don't moan."
She was wrong.
---
The Garden of Eaten
The setting was almost offensively romantic.
Lush vines tangled overhead, sunlight dappling across blankets laid out in circles, each complete with scented candles and silk napkins. Everyone wore white linen or floral prints. Maxie arrived in a wrap dress with a print of cherries that suddenly felt like a warning.
Their guide, a woman named Lush (yes, just Lush), welcomed them with a basket of passion fruit and a wink that made Maxie drop a grape.
"Today," Lush purred, "we eat with our bodies first. Touch your food. Smell it. Let it seduce you."
Maxie blinked.
Had she signed up for an orgy in the Secret Garden?
---
Round One: Tongue Teasers
The first dish was a shared platter of honey-drizzled figs, candied ginger, and something called "sacred chocolate."
Maxie tentatively bit into a fig.
It exploded in her mouth like a fruit-based innuendo. Sweet, sticky, warm.
A man across the circle moaned softly.
Maxie looked up. He was licking honey from his wrist.
"Oh god," she whispered, reaching for the rosé.
The woman beside her fed herself a slice of pear as if auditioning for a very naughty perfume ad.
Maxie tried to eat a strawberry, but it slipped out of her mouth and rolled down her chest.
Three people clapped.
---
Round Two: The Cheese Awakens
Lush brought out the next course: Erotic Fromage.
Each cheese was paired with an emotion and a suggested partner.
"Brie for longing," Lush explained. "Gorgonzola for boldness. Goat's cheese for mischief."
Maxie chose brie. Safe. Soft. Mild.
Until she tasted it.
It melted on her tongue and spread like an erotic poem made of cream.
She involuntarily gasped.
Then she moaned.
Then she leaned.
The man beside her, a botanist named Pierre (of course), offered her a cracker.
She took it with a giggle that sounded suspiciously like foreplay.
---
Round Three: The Orgy of Fruit
By this point, Maxie was flushed and full, slightly tipsy on rosé and heavy breathing.
Someone began feeding mango slices to their partner with their toes.
Someone else was blindfolded and guessing fruits by taste and arousal.
Maxie tried to avoid eye contact with a couple massaging papaya pulp into each other's forearms.
Then Lush appeared beside her.
"Would you like a sensual bite?" she asked, holding a cherry dipped in balsamic and chocolate.
Maxie opened her mouth.
The moment the cherry popped, she nearly fell over.
"Did you just have a flavor orgasm?" Pierre whispered.
"Yes," Maxie gasped. "I think I came from chutney."
---
The Final Course: Surrender Pudding
The grand finale was a shared dessert called Surrender Pudding. No one knew what was in it.
It was served in golden bowls with tiny silver spoons and came with no instructions.
Maxie took one bite.
Her eyes rolled back.
Her legs trembled.
She made a sound only whales and very horny opera singers can hear.
When she came back to consciousness, Lush was waving a lavender-scented fan over her face.
"Welcome back," she smiled.
Maxie adjusted her bra and whispered, "What the hell was in that pudding?"
Lush just winked. "Surrender."
---
Journal Entry:
> Step Fourteen: I just made out with a fig and had full-body tremors from cheese.
I am never eating a cherry in public again. Ever.
PS: I think I proposed to Pierre with a grape. He said yes.
---
Next up? Step Fifteen: Sensual Acoustics – Discover Your Moan Tone.
Maxie better start warming up her vocal cords.
And maybe bring earplugs for the neighbors.