There is a silly saying, "You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." It means almost nothing, other than that there are social boundaries even in a friendship. These boundaries have a place and although a close friendship can make a person feel like they are perfectly in sync with their buddies, they are still separate bodies. This notion would have done well to be remembered in the case of three friends who ended up in a small medical clinic shortly after their vacation had ended. Here is their story.
In a place where prostitution is legal and where tourists often go, there were three friends on vacation. These men were very close and did everything together. During their trip, on the last day there, they decided to spend the remainder of their pooled together funds and pay for the intimate company of a female sex worker. Their money did not go far in this plan and they had to share her company in one round. Each agreed to this single session with the same female prostitute. The caveat here is that one of the buddies had a known STI, but with the blessing of the sex worker, he was to wear a condom to protect her and the other participants in this endeavor. He also had to be the last to fornicate out of the bunch. The prostitute swore that she had done this type of act multiple times and that they would all be safe.
After the deed was done, they went home with their memories and a few gift shop items. However, a few days later, they realized that each man contracted the STI of the infected friend even though he put on a condom and was last to participate. This is the medical mystery of it all; the condom may have failed, the STI may have been very virulent, the sex worker or other men may have been asymptomatically infected with the same STI before the encounter, or something less obvious had happened altogether. It was difficult to tell where it had exactly gone wrong, but the raw skin was none the duller for it among the friends.
This all led to an argument between the once-jolly vacationers. The accusation being thrown around was whether or not the STI-carrying friend had done the underhanded act of "stealthing" because he was known to have practiced this on more than one occasion before and had likely visited the same hooker in the days prior. Stealthing for those who are unfamiliar with the term is when a person secretly slides off a condom during sexual intercourse leaving the other party(ies) involved unaware of the deception. In this case, the STI carrier swore that he did not but was accused of doing so anyway. There is also the integrity of the prostitute and other men to consider, did any of them already have the STI, and if so did they knowingly pass it along?
The men did not remain friends after this all happened at least for some time. The blame of it all would not subside. It seems irritated loins and broken trust make hanging out together less fun. In the end, it would seem that some events may do well to remain private, or if they are not at least accept the probable outcome instead of being surprised that the game of STI roulette went over with some hiccups. What do you think? Did he stealth? Was someone else in the party already infected? Was it inevitable for them all to get it? Say what you feel on the topic in the site forums.
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