As soon as we got off the highway Sami pulled onto a side street and stopped the car. I had no idea what was going on, and for the first of many times I felt a lightness in my chest, a loose cold fear at what I might have agreed to, what could happen next. He got out of the car and opened the door for me. I stood up slowly, feeling stupid and naïve and wishing I could remember anything I learned in the self-defense classes they made us take in high school. Sami closed my door for me and then led me to the other side of the car and opened the front passenger-side door. When I realized what was going on, I smiled, relief loosening my body. I sat down next to him and buckled my seat belt as Sami reversed us back onto the road toward my seminary.
“It’s so much nicer to have you here, where I can see you,” he said at the stoplight. “You’re very beautiful.”
Of course I was not beautiful, but I appreciated the possibility that my lack of beauty didn’t matter to Sami. I paused for a moment, trying to decide if he was lying to me, or just mistaken. I could not decide, so I laughed.
“You’re very nice to me,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he said, and I examined his profile as he drove. He was not beautiful, either, I decided, considering the flat wide arc of his forehead and the fullness of his lips. But he was pleasant-looking, and I liked the waves of dark hair that reached down the back of his neck, grazing the top of his collar.
We were close to my seminary then, in the neighborhood where all the streets are named after prophets. Sami swung us around a roundabout and said, “Should I call you tomorrow?”
“Send me a text message,” I said.
He pushed a button on the meter that was keeping track of our journey from the bus station to my seminary, and it spit a receipt at him, which he tore off and handed to me, along with a pen that was sliding up and down the dashboard.
“Give me your phone number,” he said.
This was where I could have given him a fake number. The possibility was there, and as I started to write I looked over at him and saw him worrying, saw that he knew I had this option, too. I put the pen back on the dashboard.
“If you tell me your phone number, I’ll just call you right now, and then we’ll know that we have each other’s numbers,” I said, and took my cell phone out of my purse.
A few minutes later we pulled up in front of the crumbling grey building where I lived with 57 other girls. The daytime security guard was a woman, and she squinted at me as I got out of the front seat of the cab, then leaned back in toward Sami. I had money for my fare in my hand, and I tilted it towards him, but he shook his head.
“I’ll talk to you soon,” I said.
He grinned. “Bye-bye.”
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
The people behind Jewrotica are quite quality! I have confidence that any project these folks take on will be equally quality.
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
What an incredible night Jewrotica was!!!! There was this fantastic moment, in a sea of Jews of all sexualities, ages, backgrounds and denominations, that I realized we were all in this together! I hope that there are many more events coming to Austin soon!
Jewrotica rocks. It’s funny, it’s informative, it’s sexy, it’s interesting. Check it out!
Jewrotica is inspiring Jews and erotica with holiness and coolness, and is the pride of progressive Judaism. Jewrotica – awesome!
While many people fear the “sex talk,” Jewrotica offers an opportunity for writers and audiences to speak about sexuality in a open and safe space. When I attended a Jewrotica reading, I heard stories that reminded me that love takes many forms, and that expressing it is a vital part of who we are as a people.
I attended and participated in last month’s Jewrotica event. The engaging performers and Ayo, our inviting host, inspired the audience to feel like one big community. What a great way to inspire our community to embrace sex as a beautiful thing that can be fun, exciting, sacred, sensual, ridiculous, scary and everything in between!
Such an amazing experience! The Sarah Lawrence Jewrotica workshop was more than I could have ever expected – a comfortable, safe, sultry environment where participants clearly felt good about sharing or listening to each other’s intimate experiences and relating them to sexy stories from the Torah. From the moment the workshop began, Ayo had a sweet presence that was kinetic and spread around the room; her storytelling abilities had everyone enraptured and made the conversation topics relata… Read more
You may not tell your mom that you’re going to a live Jewrotica reading (or whatever clever name you will dub these events) but you will tell your friends. However, both would be jealous if they find out that they missed it. I think it will only be a matter of time before Jewrotica helps us reclaim the term “Dirty Jew” the way rap music has done for “The ‘N’ Word.” I know I am now proud to be a Dirty Jew!
I love the inclusiveness – there is something for everyone, in and out of the Jewish community.
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