Taiwan culture: The innocent one afternoon stand

This little story, the innocent one afternoon stand, revolves around a couple of themes that often recur:

a) This is a generalization with a hundred confusing exceptions, but: Taiwanese women are a little bit more coy and shy about saying what they want.

b) Bars and nightclubs are equivalent to whore houses and everyone inside has HIV.

I had met Zoe in a Japanese lifestyle accessories store - and now, four hours later, we were lying on the bed in a Love Hotel. She was playing with my cum on her chest; i was thinking about when i could get away.

Bored, single girls always went to lifestyle accessory stores, bookshops, Ikea or record shops; anywhere big enough that the staff wouldn't bother them - and they could wander slowly picking up items, pretending to show an interest in buying when their only interest was getting noticed, exposing themselves.

Clothes shops weren’t such a good pick up ground because girls were usually there to make purchases.

Zoe had smiled back immediately; she had been nervous, but extremely talkative.

"I haven't had a boyfriend for more than a year," she said. "I am really glad to meet you."

This did make me feel a little bad. I hadn't decided if I was going to see her again, and I didn't feel I had to, but I always liked happy endings. I decided I should try and help her meet another guy.

"That is a shame," i replied. "You are very pretty and you should have confidence in yourself. You know there are many bars where you could go to meet men. In the bar you will have lots of guys competing over you. No need to wait another year.”

"Really, but i don't like the one night stand."

There is was again, I had heard it so many times: the only possible outcome of interaction with the opposite sex within a bar was a one-night stand; in fact many believed the only outcome of walking into a bar was sex: I would have to explain to incredulous faced Taiwanese guys that i went to the bar and didn't get laid, usually saying, In the ideal world, but i am afraid it is not as easy...

Anyway, as i said, i wanted her to find another guy so i continued: "You don't actually have to sleep with the guy that evening, you could just give him your phone number. You know, I even met this guy who married a girl he met in the bar. Imagine that."

“I know, I go bar once. I give my phone number to a guy and he call me. We go out many times...Hmm, maybe 1 month, but wo bu gan zuo (I don’t dare do).”

"One month? He waited one month? Well, i think you missed an opportunity there - a marriage opportunity."

She looked at me in disbelief and i figured i had done my best. Besides, I wouldn't mind seeing her again.

I felt a little guilty so I lied back down resigning myself to not getting away so quickly. I started to think about the obvious: She must be aware this was a one-afternoon stand; store, coffee then to a hotel. But then getting picked up next to fancy imported diaries, notebooks, and table lamps, was always so much more innocent and wholesome. No doubt father’s around Taiwan were shooing away their 15 year-old daughters saying: "You just go and have some fun at the hotel with that stranger. He likes to buy pens."