She's faking it

Sometimes, talking to my sister can be impossible. She's twenty months younger than me, just turning 20 this past January, but at times the age gap divides us into two different worlds. I think she holds back from telling me the real story of what's going on in her life because I either won't understand or I'll judge her (this is more likely the case)-- but honestly, I grew up with the girl and her roommate probably knows more about her than I do.

I shamelessly tell my sister about stupid things I've done in public, or crazy stories about my ex boyfriends. When I talk about sex, she often giggles in agreement, but I sense her uneasiness. A part of me relishes watching her squirm as I urge her to be as blunt as I sometimes am.

And so, while we both spent Christmas break back in our New Hampshire hometown (in New England, U.S.), all I knew about the boyfriend she'd been with for a month was that "he's cute." I prodded for details: what attracted her to him? "We don't have much in common. It just works." So you're happy? "Yeah, it works, you know... it's cute."

Suddenly last week in our web cam conversation, she starts telling me about how she's having the best sex of her life.

I should probably add now that at one point last summer, I experienced a mind-blowing, several minute long, quadruple orgasm (yeah, for real). Needless to say, my boyfriend had a grin on his face all week and I was so proud of this incredible accomplishment that I had to brag about it to my little sis during our next phone conversation.

So I tell her that's great, and I'm glad she's happy. Then jokingly, I add, "so, any quadruple orgasms?"

She giggles and nods, "yeah, all the time!"

At that point I realized that my sister had never experienced orgasm before. It was tragic, really, watching her smile and gush about her great sex, because I could tell she really believed what she was saying. I remember beginning to masturbate in the beginning of high school and getting a bit frustrated when I hadn't yet discovered how to catch that elusive orgasm every time. The more often orgasms I had, I realized, the easier it became to have more. Eventually I could get myself off in 30 seconds, I learned tricks to prolong my orgasm, and I began to experience multiple orgasms. I bought sex toys and made a daily orgasm (at least one) part of my routine. But a crashing quadruple orgasm? That didn't enter my repertoire until my boyfriend (now fiancee) and I had been practicing our fantastic sex for eight months, and my sister is most certainly not as open about her needs or as willing to experiment in bed as I am.

I bet she doesn't masturbate. A decent percentage of women never have, and that percentage is even higher for young women. It's not that uncommon: I've seen questions posted online by young women who are wondering if they've had an orgasm (believe me honey, you'll know), and there are several websites and books devoted to helping women have their first orgasm.

Well, someone needs to get this girl into a sex shop.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. IV by Georgia O'Keeffe