After the Party

Lisa giggled as she watched the varying expressions on her friends’ faces as they passed the vibrator around. The bubbly representative running the party was a friend of a friend, and had switched the toy on before passing it to the woman nearest her, instructing them all to have a go at holding it to the tips of their noses to get an idea of its power.

There were shrieks, gasps and oohs as each woman took her turn. Nudges, winks and laughs followed, as they decided whether or not to add the buzzing thing to their list of orders.

It was the first time Lisa had been to one of these events. They consisted of a bunch of female friends, and an employee of the popular sex toy and underwear company, who would pass around various sex toys, books, underwear and more, so they could all look at them without fear or recrimination, before passing them on. Wine was consumed, silly games were played—put a condom on a banana with your mouth, anyone?—and, most importantly, the orders were taken in confidence before the evening was over. If someone wanted to divulge what they’d purchased, then that was fine. But delivery was made in sealed bags to the party host’s home for the others to pick up. So if someone wanted to keep their purchases secret, they could.

Lisa swallowed her wine, as Francesca—or Frankie as she was more commonly known—passed her the toy. She already had a rabbit vibrator,...