Claudia thought George was weird. Smelling and tasting each other is a normal part of making love, but George carried it too far.

“Just what do you think you’re going to find in there?” she said when he pressed his nose between her upper arm and rib cage.

“Another part of you,” he answered sincerely.

She resisted, worried that the smell or the stubble or whatever would be disappointing and embarrassing. But he persisted, stroking her chest to try to get her to relax and reopen her armpit.

His scientific mind did not like the inconsistency. “You had your arms over your head while I was licking your pussy just a few minutes ago,” he pleaded. “Why are you so shy now?” George wisely avoided comparing the relative olfactory and gustatory intensity of the two areas.

Claudia was not in the mood for a debate. She had been enjoying the afterglow of the orgasm that George’s able mouth had given her and had been ready to invite his cock inside her when he moved up her body. But then he went off on that tangent.

They had met two months earlier and had been fucking for a few weeks. She had thought things were going well but suddenly wondered if this was going to be a problem.

George decided not to push it further that day. Over time, he figured he would get her to let him explore all of her territories. It was biological destiny, he thought. He would show Claudia that there were muscles to massage, nerve endings to soothe and titillate, textures to feel, and flavors and aromas to experience. The distinction between one spot and another, inches apart, was pretty arbitrary.

For him, it was obvious. George was a microbiologist and studied the human microbiota. That’s the several pounds of you that aren’t you at all, but rather various microorganisms that are on you and inside you. If you’ve seen those yogurt commercials, you know they help digest your food, but they do so much more. In fact, if you consider the total number of cells or how many different genes they have, there is more of it than there is of you! And they affect you more than you think.

Most people know that bacteria on your skin will create different smells and tastes. Grape juice has a fresh scent and simple sweetness, but let bacteria work for a while and you get the much richer aroma and complex flavor of wine. Wait longer and you’ll get the pungent odor and acidic tang of vinegar. Vinegar may be a disappointment if you are expecting grape juice, but on a salad or in Hot and Sour Soup, it’s just what you want.

Studies have shown that bacteria in your mouth and throat release aromatic compounds as they contact wine or food or whatever else you put in your mouth! This means some flavor notes are produced by the mouth of the taster. Family members, roommates, and lovers inevitably exchange parts of their microbiome. True love may be determined as much by the partners’ microbes as their brains and hormones.

One night George raised the topic during a deodorant commercial while they were watching TV. “You know,” he teased, “if it weren’t for the clitoris, no woman would ever let a man lick her pussy!”

Claudia poked him in his ribs while she tried and failed to think of a comeback. “You’re probably right,” she laughed. He was just happy that, as she grew more comfortable around him, her private parts tasted less soapy.

When she finally agreed to let him access her armpits, Claudia first shaved and showered. She rinsed well and skipped the deodorant as he requested. He wanted to taste her, not some inorganic chemicals. Rather than diving in, George began as they usually did, waiting to cross that bridge until he reached it.

They kissed like new lovers, which in many ways they still were. Although lying in bed naked, they took turns, each holding the other’s face, kissing forehead to chin and ear to ear, straying no farther than the neck at first.  Lips were sucked between lips, then tongues made brief forays, then mouths opened and tongues tasted each other.

By the time George’s hand moved to her chest, Claudia’s nipples rose like two dollops of whipped cream on the low mounds of her natural B-cup breasts as she lay on her back. He sometimes fancied that their distinct prominence when she was turned on was trying to compensate for the modest size of her boobs. She thought her slim build made her more elegant than the overstuffed shapes that were popular, and would never consider inflating them. She never tried to turn her medium brown hair into blonde, only wore high heels when absolutely necessary, and used makeup rarely and sparingly. She didn’t want to be anyone else, and George was falling in love with her exactly as she was.

When at last his hand moved up the side of her chest and his fingers grazed her armpit, he kept going to raise her arm and stroke its underside. Claudia tanned brown more than gold, so the rarely exposed hollow was pale in contrast. George got a small thrill from the sight, appreciating the privilege he was being afforded. Feeling her tension dissipate as he gently raked her skin with his fingertips, he successfully made the case that chest, breast, collarbone, shoulder, arm, ribcage, and armpit were all part of the same person.

His mouth dropped kisses along the same trail that his fingers had blazed. He could not resist taking a deep breath through his nose when it reached the previously forbidden area, but he tried not to make a big celebration of it. Claudia was still fresh from her shower, but her building excitement from his ministrations added traces of musk. Content with a brief sample, he moved on, planning to return when the intensity was greater.

His move to her right side would be more strategic. His mouth lingered on her left nipple, inspiring a sigh as he swirled her areola, then a gasp as he sucked it between his lips and gently munched. His thumb and forefinger attended her right one until he switched sides, relocating his mouth inches from his goal. Making the caress symmetric elicited a moan from Claudia, so he knew her physiology would be responding.

His right hand abandoned its post and ranged back to her open armpit, both arms raised as she acceded to his wishes. He massaged her muscles, then pressed into the concavity, making her tense then relax as the unfamiliar caress provided only pleasant feelings. Gradually, the stroking and kneading ranged wider, moving down her torso.

Claudia breathed in sharply when his fingers traced the arc of her last rib. The leisurely pace could not disguise his destination. The tingling between her legs grew with these novel sensations. Her skepticism melted away with the realization that she completely trusted George.

Brushing over the remaining decorative curls, his fingers parted the divide of her vulva and found her expected dampness, but he wasn’t going to probe deeper yet. He pressed his hand over her mound, gently but firmly massaging her flesh, feeling her push back against him. It was at that moment that he moved his mouth from her breast to her right armpit. Nuzzling it caused her to reflexively move her arm down, but his left hand anticipated the reaction and gently kept her arm up.

His lips also found moisture, slight but noticeable; he silently inhaled to sample it. His right hand began to move against her genitals and she moaned softly. Her warming body found nothing to object to in either the conventional or unconventional stimulation.

George began to boldly lick where no one had licked before—gently, firmly, slowly, with a wide, dry tongue so as not to tickle or chill. He felt the shiver pass through Claudia’s body, and a shiver went through his as well.

He had dreamed of this since he first saw her at that concert, raising her arms to cheer in that sleeveless blouse. In most relationships, there was something that sparked the first attraction: eyes, boobs, smile, ass, laugh, hair. For a bond to form, many other things must align, and you can’t just focus on one aspect of a partner. George had learned a thousand things to love about Claudia, but there was no denying what the first one was.

He didn’t want to overplay his hand, so he stayed with his plan. As she relaxed and accepted his peculiar attention, it seemed a natural extension of his love-making. Different notes, perhaps, but the music was the same style and in the same key.

Delicious moments passed, shorter than he wished; he wanted to be sure it wasn’t longer than she did. Using his warm breath to dry any wetness his tongue left behind, George kissed his way back to her chest. Expecting his move southward, Claudia lowered her arms to caress and lift his head.

“I’m ready for you now,” she said, raising her knees. As she did, George’s hand discovered she was quite wet. Moving into position, he saw Claudia raise her arms back over her head. His cock surged in dimensions and rigidity, igniting a particular desire. Getting off the bed, he pulled her ass so it was near the edge of the mattress. Hooking his arms underneath her legs, he pressed the tip of his cock against her pussy. Using only his hips, he moved his dick up and down her soaking wet slit, coating his organ with her juices.

With her legs spread wide, he had no trouble finding her opening, and his slick glans easily pushed into her vagina. With his feet firmly planted, the position allowed him full freedom of movement and he did not delay before accelerating his thrusting.

“Yes,” Claudia agreed with the approach. “Faster,” she encouraged. “Keep going, I’m almost there.”

Surprised to hear her say that, George nonetheless followed directions. His hips became a blur as he oscillated in and out. He wasn’t close himself, so he focused on her. Looking down into her surrendering eyes, he saw her familiar grimace of anticipation. His rapid pounding made her swollen nipples jiggle up and down with each collision.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!” she sang as each stroke hit home. She didn’t change her tune, even as her face told him that she was cumming. “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,” she continued, wanting him not to stop the action despite the spasming of her body. Supporting his weight on his legs and arms let him continue until she stopped squirming and sighed, “Okay.”

Like a rag doll beneath him, Claudia lay limp. With his rod buried inside her cunt, he leaned forward to kiss her. Before the ecstasy drained from her body, he wanted to satisfy an urge of his own.

Releasing her mouth, George craned his neck a little lower and to his right. Her arms still raised, Claudia’s armpit glistened with her sweat. His lips and tongue could not resist that invitation and he kissed and licked with abandon. It was a little salty with a note of some exotic flower, far weaker than her lower excretions, but no less intimate. Her skin bacteria would take some time to turn it into common body odor. Until then, he enjoyed cataloging the new flavor and aroma.

The excitement of the moment caused his organ to throb. When he raised his head, he saw her shake her head slightly in wonder, but her broad smile showed no regret. Resuming his movement, his preference was for depth rather than speed. Like a pile driver, his hips thudded against her thighs before the gradual withdrawal, then another swift plunge, then another. Claudia adjusted to his asymmetric rhythm, bracing herself for his downstrokes. The slow retreat teased her as well as him, the brief suspense making the penetration seem more intense.

She loved watching the tension grow in his face, knowing she provided what he was experiencing. He was a sharing lover, so usually, she would be getting as much as she was giving. Right then, he was taking all she had—methodically, intensely.

Where Claudia would sing out her pending climax, George usually grew quiet. His breaths were gasps he held for multiple thrusts until more oxygen was required. She saw his orgasm in his eyes; they fluttered without focus as his final incursion left him at his maximum penetration. She felt his ejaculation as a silent shudder shook his body.

The goofy smile on his face as he resumed breathing gave her a feeling of joy, and she returned a grin that was probably just as silly. Lowering his sweaty body onto hers, George hoped that the new wine that he had sampled would lead to other vintages and vineyards since he wished to partake of every part of her. Having crossed a boundary, Claudia looked back, uncertain why it had looked so portentous from the other side as she wrapped her arms and legs around her seemingly less-strange lover. Their bacteria, pressed between their warm, moist flesh, exchanged greetings and made plans.