“In Jesus’ name we pray.” Tori paused there for a second before adding, “Amen.”

“Amen,” the rest of the girls replied in unison.

With Bible study over, the sisters of Chi Lambda Grace gathered on the living room floor like they always did on a Sunday night. Now that their obligation to God was taken care of, it was time to pass around bowls of microwave popcorn and talk about whatever was on their minds.

Baylor University’s Charity Hall wasn’t like other sorority houses in the country. This one was built on good old-fashioned Christian values and promised to turn college girls into virtuous young ladies. It was a safe haven where God-fearing parents could send their daughters without having to worry about the immorality that went on at other schools.

That was the idea, anyway. But college girls had a way of being college girls, no matter what roof they lived under.

Tori, the youth group leader, snapped her fingers to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, girls, what’s on your minds this week?”

She scanned the room, waiting for someone to get things started. “Who wants to go first?” That’s when she spotted Allison, curled up on a beanbag chair, nervously twirling her hair.

“Ladies, it looks like Ally has something she wants to say.” She waited a moment until she was sure that she had the room’s attention before nodding to Allison, giving her the floor.

“I don’t really…” Allison said, doing a terrible job of hiding how nervous she was.

“We’re here for you,” Tori said. “Go on, get it off your chest.”

“I…” Allison still sounded anxious. “I’m not… can I ask you guys something that might be kind of… weird?”

“Sounds like this might be juicy!” Kerry giggled.

“Well…” Allison was still hesitating. “Trevor asked me something, and I didn’t know what he meant, and I didn’t want to seem dumb, so I told him I’d think about it. Only, I don’t actually know what I’m supposed to be thinking about.”

“Wait,” Jackie said. “Is this a sex thing?”

“Maybe.” Allison covered her face with both hands. “I googled it, but nothing came up.”

“The parental controls blocked it!” Kerry shouted. “It is a sex thing!”

“Say it! Say it!” the group chanted.

Allison peeked between her fingers. “He asked me if I’d ever consider…” She took a quick look around the room. “The loophole?”

There was a half second of silence before the room exploded.

“Oh my God!” Jackie screamed.

“The pastor’s son wants to get freaky!” Carly shouted, then slapped her hands over her mouth like she’d just sworn in church.

Tori tried to explain things while the room was still laughing. “Sweetie,” she said, trying to keep her composure, “he wants to put it in your butt.”

“What?”

“His penis. In your butt,” Tori said, poking a finger into the side of her closed fist, pantomiming sex.

“Uh-uh. No way.”

“That’s the loophole,” Tori said, doing her best to stay in her role as youth leader. “Anal. You can do it and, technically…” She wiggled her fingers in air quotes. “You’re still a virgin.”

“That doesn’t count?”

“Nope,” Kerry chimed in. “That’s the whole point.”

“Your butt isn’t made for sex, so you’re still a virgin,” Carly said, casually tossing a piece of popcorn into her mouth. “You stay pure where it matters to God.”

“You’re totally safe because it’s not in the Bible,” Kerry added. “It says no butt stuff between guys, but nothing about guys and girls.”

None of this seemed real to Allison. But if it wasn’t made up, how did everyone else already know so much about it? There had to be an explanation, one that didn’t involve picturing her closest friends doing something she’d rather not think about.

“I don’t believe any of this,” Allison said, shaking her head.

Tori placed a hand on Allison’s shoulder. “Sweetie, you’d be amazed by what some of us have done to keep our boyfriends happy and still be able to wear a purity ring.”

Allison nearly asked exactly what Tori meant, but stopped herself. She probably didn’t want to know.

“Trevor’s gonna put it in your butt!” Jackie sang, and a few of the others joined in.

“Girls,” Tori said in the same tone she used when she called a house meeting. “Ally looks genuinely conflicted, so can we, like, actually talk about this?”

“About butts?” Carly snorted.

“Yes,” Tori replied, straight-faced. “About butts. For the sake of the Christian sisterhood.”

That’s when everyone knew how serious she was. No one summoned the Christian sisterhood lightly.

There were a few groans and exaggerated sighs, but no one was going to object. “Lord help us,” Kerry muttered from the far side of the room.

“So,” Tori said. “Show of hands. Who’s actually used the loophole?”

It took a few seconds before hands slowly began to rise. Two at first, then three, followed by a fourth and a fifth. “Some of y’all aren’t being honest, but I’ll respect your modesty,” Tori said, raising her hand last.

“All of you? In your butts?” Allison asked, surprised by the raised hands.

“It’s not that bad,” Kerry told her. “You just have to relax and use lube.”

Tori gave a knowing nod. “God bless lube.”

“I thought it would be gross,” Lauren added. “But honestly? It’s kind of hot. Like, you’re doing something totally naughty, but you’re still a good girl.”

“That’s it exactly,” Tori said. “You’re obedient. But also, kind of a whore of Babylon.”

The girls broke into another round of laughter.

Allison brought a pillow up to her chest. She couldn’t believe how everyone was talking about anal sex the same way they talked about pizza toppings. “Is it really okay though? Like, in God’s eyes?” she asked.

“Your body’s like a church on procession day,” Tori said. “You have to save the main entrance for the guest of honor. But it’s fine if a few sneak in the back door before he shows up.”

The girls lost it. Handfuls of popcorn flew across the room. Allison still wasn’t sold on using a loophole to get around God’s judgment, but half the room had already done it, and not one of them had been struck down by lightning yet.

She’d been with Trevor for over a year and hadn’t even kissed him with her tongue until six months ago. She always figured everyone else was the same, but now it seemed like she was the only one who hadn’t done a lot more.

“Take your time with this one, sweetie,” Tori said. “We’re here if you need us.” She looked around the room. “Who’s next? What else do we need to talk about this week?”

A boyfriend asking for anal was hard to follow, so there wasn’t much anyone had to say after that. Tori moved on to the usual house stuff. They decided who would be on kitchen duty, reminded everyone that Tuesday was garbage day, and gave Carly a final warning about losing the TV remote.

After that, the group started to thin out. A few of the girls went off to study while others headed back to their rooms. Eventually, it was just Tori and Allison, picking at what was left of the popcorn.

“So, like,” Allison said, “if someone wanted to, you know, do this loophole thing, how would they go about it?”

“There’s a Christian way to do it.”

“We have special rules for anal?”

“Yes,” Tori said firmly. “Keep the lights off and don’t get totally naked. Only show what needs to be seen.”

“That’s it?”

“And no touching what you shouldn’t. You’re going to be tempted to let your hands wander, but that just leads to sin.”

“So, lights out, cover up as much as possible, and no wandering hands?”

“That’s it,” Tori said. “And no eye contact.”

“Wait… how… why?”

“It’s not an official rule, but once you see the look in Trevor’s eyes when he’s got his thing in your butt, Sunday dinner will never be the same again,” Tori said. “Trust me on that one.”

“This is a lot to take in.”

“You better hope not,” Tori said, laughing. “But that’s where the lube comes in.”

Allison could only blush and slap Tori’s arm.

“Seriously though, come up to my room,” Tori said. “I’ve got something for you.”

Allison sat on the edge of the bed as Tori rummaged through the top drawer of her dresser. “It’s in here somewhere,” she said, shuffling piles of clothes from one side to the other. “Ah. Found it.”

Tori turned and tossed a small tube at Allison. She looked down and read the label.

“Sliquid Sassy Booty Gel?”

“Lube,” Tori said. “Rub a little around your hole, and make sure Trevor’s penis is covered in it. He’ll slide right in.”

“You guys are actually serious about this, aren’t you?”

“I don’t keep lube in my dresser to prank people.”

Allison stared at the tube, turning it over in her hands. “And it’s really okay, like biblically, to do this?”

“Don’t do anything you aren’t ready for,” Tori said. “But if you are, then yeah, you’re all clear as far as heaven is concerned.”

Allison had a lot to think about over the next few days. The thing she kept coming back to was the hands that went up in the living room. Her sorority sisters weren’t the kind of loose girls who went to state colleges. This was Baylor. They wore purity rings and sang louder than everyone else at church. The idea that half of them were taking it in the butt and not one of them was worried about going to hell had to mean something, right?

By Wednesday afternoon, Allison still hadn’t made up her mind. She was sitting with Trevor on the grass in the quad while he worried about a chemistry test. She hardly heard a word he was saying because all she could think about was what it would feel like to have his penis in her bum.

“Are you even listening to me?” he asked.

“Of course, yeah.”

“What did I just say?”

“A test. Science?”

“Close enough.”

Trevor went back to talking about chemistry. She still wasn’t really listening. She was thinking about how he hadn’t brought up the loophole since he first mentioned it. He just left it up to her and kept being Trevor, the same guy he’d always been. The one who carried her books when her bag was too heavy and always left her the last mozzarella stick. The guy she loved.

He was saying something about covalent bonds when Allison looked at him and realized she’d made up her mind. If she was ever going to let someone do something like that to her, it might as well be the boy who knew not to eat the last mozzarella stick.

“Tomorrow night.” Allison cut him off. “Can you come by and give me a hand with my climate change project?”

“Of course, yeah.”

Trevor showed up at Charity Hall the next evening. Boys weren’t supposed to be allowed inside, but Tori let the rules slide a little for girls who were in committed relationships. If one of the sisters said her boyfriend was coming over to move furniture or help with homework, Tori pretended not to notice the hickey on her neck after he left.

“I’ve been thinking about that thing you asked about,” Allison said as the two of them sat on her bed.

“What thing?”

“You know.” She opened the drawer on her nightstand and pulled out the tube of booty gel. Allison could tell by the look on his face that Trevor knew what it was right away.

“For real?”

“I've thought about it a lot,” she said. “I’m ready."

“So, like—”

“Right now, if you want?”

“Yeah.” Trevor couldn’t believe his ears. He’d spent hours that afternoon researching fluctuating greenhouse gas levels and why they didn’t have anything to worry about because God’s firmament would protect the planet. He had no idea he should have been preparing himself for something far more real.

“But we have to do it the Christian way,” Allison insisted.

“There’s a special way for us?”

“Tori laid it all out for me. It’s God-approved. Just promise you’ll follow the rules, got it?”

“Uh, yeah. I can do that. For sure.”

“Step out for a few minutes. I need a bit to get ready, okay?”

Trevor leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then backed out of the room trying to hide how nervous he suddenly was. He started pacing back and forth outside the door. He couldn’t tell if two minutes or two hours had gone by, but when he was halfway through another lap of the hallway, he heard Allison call his name.

When he opened the door, the lights inside the room were off. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he saw Allison on the bed. She was already on her hands and knees, and had a new outfit on. Her cords and freshman sweater were gone. Now she was wearing a skirt and a simple white T-shirt.

“The first thing,” she said, staring at the wall in front of her, “is no eye contact.”

Trevor wasn’t sure if she was serious, but he wasn’t going to risk doing or saying anything that might make Allison change her mind.

“No kissing either,” she added. That wasn’t an official rule, just an extra precaution she’d come up with on her own. “And don’t get naked. Just pull your pants down as far as you need to.”

That last one had him a little confused. “You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded. “It’s an important part of the Christian way.”

Trevor wasn’t about to debate it with her. He was already fumbling with his button fly to get his jeans undone. He got them partway down his legs before stopping to wonder at what point he'd be considered naked.

“They’re at my knees,” he said. “My jeans. At my knees. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Allison said, sounding more sure than she had any right to. “Get behind me when you’re ready.”

Allison felt the mattress sink a little as Trevor climbed onto the bed.

“The lubes down there somewhere,” she said. Allison waved her hand around behind her without turning to look exactly where she was pointing. “Use a lot of it. Cover your whole thing.”

When she heard Trevor pop the cap of the tube, Allison hiked her skirt up. She slid her fingers under the waistband of her panties and pulled them down just enough to expose her ass. Everything else stayed covered, just like God wanted.

“Put some of that stuff on my finger too.” She stretched her hand behind her, letting it hover somewhere above the small of her back.

After feeling the gel drip down onto her index finger, she reached between her legs and smeared it between her cheeks, brushing some against her anus.

“I think I’m good,” she said.

Trevor put a hand on her hip and let it sit there for a second to make sure he wasn’t breaking one of the rules. When Allison didn't react, he stroked himself a few times to work in the lube, making sure every inch was covered.

“I’m going to… it’s… here I come.”

“One sec,” Allison said, dropping her head to the mattress and arching her back. She placed a hand on each of her cheeks and gently pulled them apart. Tori told her that would help. “Ready.”

At least she thought she was. When his tip pressed against her clenched hole, she suddenly realized the size of his penis. Allison wasn’t sure if he was big or small compared to other guys, but she immediately knew it was big as far as her butt was concerned.

“Wait,” she said. “If I say stop, stop.”

“I will,” he promised.

“Okay,” she said. “But go slow.”

He did. He stared down at her ass and gently pushed into her, almost forgetting to breathe as he did it. Allison felt herself stretch around him, thanking God for the lube. His penis made her feel full in a way she never expected. She clawed at the sheets and wondered why none of the girls mentioned this part before.

“A little bit at a time,” she said, panting.

“I am.”

“I know. It’s just... keep going.”

He went a little deeper. It burned, but in a good way, not in the hellfire way. Trevor got to a point where he had to go harder to get the rest of the way in. He awkwardly put his hands on her waist, still not sure what he was allowed to touch.

“Is that okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I have to pull out a little,” he said. “Then try to get all the way in. I think that’s how we’re supposed to do it.”

Allison hadn’t thought this far ahead. “Do it.”

Trevor pulled back carefully, then used his hips to thrust into her with a little more pressure. The second time was easier. After a few more tries, he had both hands holding her tight and was starting to slide in and out of her with more confidence.

“Allison, this is… oh my God.”

She kept her face against the mattress. It still seemed impossible that Trevor was actually behind her, with his pants pulled down, doing something she’d been told only the worst kind of sinners did. The fact that she was liking it so much didn’t make it any easier.

He pushed deeper, and her head jolted forward.

“Do it again. More like that,” she said. “Harder.”

Trevor stopped immediately.

“Why’d you stop?”

“When you said that… I nearly, you know.”

“Already?”

“It feels really good,” he said, almost sounding defensive.

“Keep going.”

He did, and with his next thrust, Allison pushed back against him without even thinking about it. So much for pretending she was only doing this for him.

“That’s it, Trevor,” she said. Then, before the good Christian part of her brain could overrule her mouth, she blurted out, “Fuck me.”

Trevor went completely still.

Allison lifted her head slightly. “Why did you stop? Did you nearly... again?”

“I’ve never heard you say anything like that before.”

“Well, I’ve never had your penis in my butt before. There’s a lot of first things going on here.”

“Should I keep going?”

“Please,” she said. “Keep fucking me.”

Trevor wasn’t sure what this was doing to his girlfriend, but he was beginning to like the new Allison. He moved a hand higher up her back until he had her by the shoulder, then slid out of her and pushed back in with more force than before.

“Yes… hard, like that,” she moaned.

He did his best. He drew back and pushed into her three times in a row. On the third, he got so deep into her that his thighs were touching her bottom.

“More,” she said, wiggling her hips. “Just like that. Fuck my ass.”

“Oh God,” he gasped.

Allison felt him twitch and throb inside of her. Before she realized what was happening, she felt herself being filled with something warm. With all the thought she’d put into this, somehow she’d never considered how it would end.

“Did you just cum in my ass?”

Trevor wasn’t sure how to answer. “I… I wasn’t supposed to?”

“I don’t know. I just didn’t think you would!”

“I mean, you said fuck my ass. You knew I was already close! What did you think was going to happen?”

He sounded anxious now, worried that he might have ruined everything.

“Don’t blame this on me!” she said, trying to pull her panties up and push her skirt down at the same time. “And you better not still be looking at my naked ass!”

“I’m not looking!” he cried. “My eyes are closed, I swear to God!” He wasn’t lying.

She buried her face in the sheets. “Oh my God. I’m yelling at you while I have cum in my ass and Jesus saw everything!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t... do you want... should I go?”

“Yes! Go!”

Trevor scrambled back, fumbling with his jeans, trying to button them up with his eyes closed. He kept them shut as he reached out around him, hoping to find a wall that would lead him to her bedroom door.

When he finally made it out, there were five girls waiting for him, casually leaning against the banister with their arms folded.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Tori said.

“Atta boy, tiger!” Carly added, holding her hand up for a high five.

He wanted to say something, but there wasn’t anything to say. He’d have to see these girls in church on Sunday, while his dad gave a sermon. Every time they looked at him, they’d know what he’d done. It was going to take a lot of prayer to fix this. Maybe a second baptism.

“Gotta go.” Trevor turned and bolted down the stairs.

“You’re just going to leave me hanging?” Carly shouted, still holding her hand up in the air.

Inside the room, Allison had barely moved. She had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Praying, crying, and hiding under the bed all seemed like good options. Instead, she laughed. It started as a little snicker, but grew louder as she realized how completely ridiculous the whole thing had become.

Allison’s knees hurt, and her legs felt shaky. More than anything, she had a sudden urge to get to the shower as fast as she could. She clenched her cheeks tight, trying not to think too much about what was starting to leak out of her, and made an awkward shuffle-walk to the bathroom.

The shower came on too hot, but Allison stepped under it anyway. If the girls were right, she wasn’t going to end up in hell for what she’d done, but if they were wrong? She figured she might as well get used to the temperature. She let the scalding water wash away any trace of Trevor and whatever sin they might’ve just committed.

Tori was sitting on the bed waiting for her when she stepped out of the shower.

“So,” she asked, “how was it?”

Allison let her towel drop and pulled fresh underwear from her dresser. “I never, for even a second, thought about where the cum would go.”

Tori snorted. “Rookie mistake.”

Allison put on a clean T-shirt and fell onto the bed beside her.

“What did I just do?” she said, pushing her face into a pillow.

“You took it in the ass, and by the grin on Trevor’s face, you did it well.”

“Oh God, Trevor. I need to talk to him. I panicked when he…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t think he imagined his first time ending with me kicking him out.”

“Yeah. He seems like a cuddler.”

Allison let out a little laugh and shook her head. “I can’t believe I actually let him do that.”

“You didn’t let him,” Tori said, stretching out beside her. “You scheduled it and picked out an outfit.”

Allison looked up at the ceiling, maybe toward heaven. “You think the loophole is real? That I’m still a virgin and my salvation is intact?”

“I do,” Tori said. “But just in case, we’ve got another loophole. When we repent, God forgives.”

“So now what?” Allison asked, not really expecting an answer.

Tori looked over. “Now? You brush your teeth. Drink some water. And tomorrow you go to class like it’s a regular Friday.”

Allison managed a smile. “Like a good Christian girl.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think I should tell my mom?”

Tori looked genuinely horrified.

“Are you crazy? The loophole works with an all-powerful God, but evangelical parents will still strike you down!”