SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS

Introduction.

You're walking to the bus after a night out with friends. The air steals the warmth from your face, and you hunch your shoulders to stop it from getting at your neck. Though you're still warm from indoors, you know that too long out here will quickly rectify the situation. Your footsteps sound hollow and empty in the dark.

Someone is already waiting at the bus stop, curled in on themselves as you are. You study their face as you draw nearer, trying to work out your response. You pick out their clothes, a few features, their face, and then you feel the cold get pushed off of your skin. You're suddenly glad that there aren't any street lights about as a deep blush takes possession of your face.

The tight feeling in the pit of your stomach confirms what you already know. You want this person, and minutes between now and the bus arriving are going to filled of pleasurably tortuous limbo as you attempt to take control of your rampant thoughts. Every piece of your skin will itch to get closer, and you will be able to feel every heartbeat breaking through your chest.

You exhale a deep breath, sending crystals into the air, and go to stand at the stop.

* * *

The credits roll and you relax completely against your partner. They grab the last few pieces of popcorn then put an arm around you. You turn your head to smile at them, caught again in their features: their eyes, their dimples, the way their hair brushes over their brow.

You lift up your head and kiss their lips, just once, then draw away again. Their mouth turns upwards and they dip their face to yours, stealing a longer kiss from you. You can feel every point at which their body touches yours. At each place of contact, your skin burns and writhes. You turn to face them more fully, seeking out their body, every movement setting off fireworks. Your breath comes short and your stomach twists. You can't think. Your mind has been taken from you. It is impossible to stop.

* * *

Did you relate to the experiences above? For most people, this is the norm. Either in the context of a close relationship or in noticing strangers, the majority of people feel an attraction that can be described as sexual. This attraction can often be categorised as being towards a particular kind of person, for example male or female. However, with a broadening understanding of peoples' identities (check out our Gender Orientations book), more words have been invented to fill the lexical gap in people's experiences of attraction.

This book will attempt to take you through the types of sexual attraction and also to explain the prejudices that people who experience these attractions face and how it can affect them.

LTAC!

- mynameisnotholly