‘These so-called bleak times are necessary to go through in order to get to a much, much better place.’

– David Lynch

This was originally published over at Smutathon for our grand erotic writing marathon that took place on 26th September! Thanks to all of you wonderful people, we have reached our £3000 fundraising target for Endometriosis UK – an achievement that still makes me gasp in happiness – but fundraising is still open and every £10 donated will enter you into a sex toy raffle, which is also still open!

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Now, I admit that writing pandemic porn at the moment is a massive cliche but I couldn’t resist it. I hope you don’t mind…

They sat 2 metres apart, watching each other from either side of a clean, wide table. After so long in lockdown, the pub felt almost uncomfortably crowded even though it was practically empty. It smelt vaguely of disinfectant, which Alice found unexpectedly reassuring as she absentmindedly rubbed the remains of the alcohol gel into her hands.

So this was fucking in a pandemic?

Both Alice and the stranger in front of her were wearing masks and they didn’t take them off, even though it wasn’t compulsory now that they were seated. This was one of the rules that they had agreed upon. His name was Xavier, and Alice was surprised how much not seeing someone’s mouth had affected her first impression of them but, wow. She couldn’t stop looking at his eyes, reading perhaps too much into the smile lines that creased around them when he spoke, and the fact that his lips were hidden meant that she couldn’t stop thinking about what they might be like. His voice was deep and rich, and she imagined his words being framed by full and soft lips. What would he taste like? Obviously, she’d never know but that just made her want to taste him even more.

‘I last had a test 3 weeks ago and it was all clear.’

‘COVID test or STI screen?’

She had been very frank on her Tinder profile – lockdown had been hard and the solitude had become unbearable; she wanted sex but she didn’t want to take too many risks. She had a number of requests and firm boundaries. This was sex her way, and meant it had been pretty easy to filter out idiots who pushed too hard too early or tried to negotiate what wasn’t negotiable.

Alice had always loved living alone but this was on the assumption that she would be having regular contact with others, physically and socially, and as the months passed, her craving for another’s touch got stronger and stronger. And, inevitably, her need soon eclipsed her fear and she found herself justifying risks and choices that had felt unthinkable earlier in the crisis. It wasn’t long before she had made a plan that could satisfy her lust and risk aversion.

‘I meant COVID test – and I’ve only been to the shops a couple of times since then – but my latest STI screen was only a couple of months ago. That was clear too and I’ve not slept with anyone since.’

Xavier’s answers to her profile had immediately grabbed her interest. Rather than starting with an attempt at flirting, he had simply wanted to clarify her safety precautions and boundaries. What touching would be allowed. What cleaning precautions did she want. How recently did she want him to be tested. Even the later slips into dirty talk had been somehow clinical. It was unexpectedly hot! ‘When should I wear a mask?’ he had asked. ‘At all times,’ she answered. ‘Agree in principle,’ he responded, ‘but does this include oral? Would you agree to a dental dam instead if I wanted to go down on you?’

Alice’s first thought was to say that she just wanted to be fucked hard and long and deep, fucked until her body was sore and all the tension that 6 months of fear and isolation had wrought into her bones had been released, and she wasn’t that fussed about anything else. But instead, she found herself enjoying the power and control. ‘I’ll allow it. But the mask goes straight back on.’ ‘Of course.’

And so it went with all of their arrangements – time, place. His approach was business-like but warm, and made Alice look forward to their meeting more and more. Perhaps fucking in a pandemic wouldn’t be so bad after all!

‘Excellent. I had an STI test last week – all clear – but I haven’t been able to access a COVID test more recently than 2 months ago. Fucking Test and Trace. Is that still OK?’

‘Sure. I assume you’ve had no symptoms or contact with symptomatic people?’ ‘Sadly no contact with anyone – except at grocery shops. And no symptoms.’

‘OK.’

‘OK. Shall we go?’

Neither of them had touched the glasses of wine they had ordered when they arrived but it had become unthinkable to delay any further. Damn, she had missed this urgent tension. She couldn’t believe how much she wanted to rip off his clothes, pushing him against the wall and rubbing her body against his, just to feel his skin against hers. And, of course, the fact that it was forbidden just made her want it more!

Once at her house, she directed Xavier to the bathroom before heading into her absent housemate’s ensuite shower. This had been one of her rules – showering before and after sex – and, as she stood under the hot water, she imagined Xavier washing his own body and thinking of her. Was he hard already, stroking his cock with soapy hands? Did he have hair on his chest, directing the water to run in rivulets across his body? What did he look like beneath his clothes?

Alice entered the living room and Xavier was already waiting. His wet hair was slicked back from his forehead and, wearing only a towel and mask, he looked astonishingly naked. Starting towards her, he checked himself.

‘I cannot tell you how difficult it is not to touch you.’

Alice sat in an armchair across from him and opened her dressing gown. She knew her body would look flushed from the heat but, when she spread her legs to show him her cunt, she also knew that the glistening wetness between them had nothing to do with water. Parting her labia, she dipped her finger into her cunt and spread the wetness up around her clit. This familiar touch was intensified by the gaze of the man across the room and Alice suddenly found that she was struggling to breathe behind her mask. Even through her own panting, she could hear slick stroking sounds and looked up to see Xavier’s lubed hand pumping up and down his cock as he watched her.

Together but socially distant, they masturbated for each other, bringing themselves closer and closer to orgasm but holding back from the edge.

‘Please.’ Xavier pleaded from behind his mask, ‘Please, I…I don’t know how much longer I can wait.’

‘Thank God!’ Alice responded, and she beckoned him over to her side of the room.

Opening a condom, Xavier rolled it down his cock and Alice turned around so that they weren’t face to face. He gently laid his hands on her hips to pull her closer to him; the touch of another person after so long felt electric and the warmth of his fingers pressing into her arse sent tendrils of pleasure shooting through her limbs. She could feel Xavier’s cock pushing tentatively against her opening and she pushed back, encouraging him deeper.

Slowly, powerfully, he thrust into her, each movement stretching her more and more as he plunged deeper and deeper. She leaned further forward into the armchair, bracing herself against the arms and squeezing tight around him. Pleasure was building into a fiery ball in her core and Alice reached down to stroke her clit, releasing the pressure and triggering an orgasm that made her body shudder and shake. Her moans soon merged with Xavier’s as he came inside her, the spasms of her orgasmic cunt proving to be absolutely irresistible.

After a moment to recover, Xavier and Alice stepped back from each other and took their places again on either side of the room, straightening their masks and laughing at the brilliant absurdity of it all. Both of their grins were easily visible despite the masks as they tried to catch their breath.

As agreed, both showered again, reliving the sensations and holding onto the memories of the touch of someone else, and then Xavier went to leave.

‘Thank you,’ Xavier stood in the door, ready to go. Alice knew she had asked for this impersonal transaction and was grateful for him returning to the same business-like approach that they had used for their initial negotiations, but she found that she was surprisingly sad to see him go. ‘We must do this again some time.’

‘Absolutely. And maybe one day, without the masks.’

‘Oh yes, I’d really like to know if you taste as good as you look…’

Read post from previous Smutathon challenges here: