Free Dirt by David Vann

mattress with her knees on either side of his head, then spread her knees and lowered down just above his face.
    Wow, he said. She looked better than the women in the magazine, younger. So perfect, he said. So beautiful.
    Don’t make any sound.
    Can I touch?
    You can.
    He felt the inside of her thigh with his cheek, with his nose. So soft and warm.
    Use your whiskers, she said, so he ran the edge of his jaw along her thigh.
    I like that, she said. Turn your face to the side and hold still.
    He did as he was told, and felt her wet lips on his cheek.
    Sandpaper, she said. I like that.
    Galen felt a little annoyed, because he couldn’t see with his head turned to the side. She was humping his jaw, which was kind of like she was having sex without him. He turned his face toward her but she pushed him back down, a hand on his forehead, and kept humping his jaw. He didn’t like this at all. The whole side of his face was wet.
    Okay, she said finally. She pulled his face upright and sat on it. You can lick.
    Galen could hardly breathe. He moved his tongue around, but it didn’t seem to matter much what he did. She moved up higher so that his nose was inside her, and she humped his nose. It didn’t seem like his tongue was even on her pussy anymore. It was lower than that.
    Lick my ass, she whispered, and he realized that was what he was doing.
    I like that, she moaned. I like that. She sped up, bucking harder against his nose, which was locked into a kind of groove, and he just kept licking.
    Galen couldn’t hear well, the way she was humping his head down into the pillow in heavy swings, and he worried about someone coming up the stairs. The bed was probably knocking against the wall by now.
    He was breathing through his mouth, and having to swallow. He felt like he was drowning. His entire face and forehead a slick.
    I like that, she kept saying. She grabbed the back of his head with a hand and pulled him in closer. Shake your head as you do it, she said. So he shook his head back and forth as he licked.
    Ooh, she said. Yeah. Keep licking.
    He realized he had slowed down a bit with his tongue. It was hard to do it all at once: breathing, licking, shaking his head back and forth, trying to keep his whiskers in play.
    Her thighs tensed, and she pulled his face up harder and slowed down. He could feel her trembling. She pushed into him hard enough once more to break off his nose, and then she was jerking in place.
    Aah, she was saying. Aah. She rose off of his face and had a few more jerks. The muscles in her thighs, the soft lines, the beautiful pink. He couldn’t believe he was seeing this. He’d lost his boner at first, but he had it back now, and he couldn’t wait to put it in.
    She climbed off, and he turned to the side to wipe his face on the sheet. Even his hair was wet.
    Wow, he said.
    She had her skirt back down and sat on his mother’s bed. He pulled his sheet and blanket back, and she looked at his boner. Sorry, she said. I’m done.
    What?
    You can’t have everything at once.
    But I didn’t get anything.
    So entitled. My mother’s right about you. You got my pussy, which is more than you deserve. Do you know how many boys at school would kill just to see my pussy?
    Can I just look at it while I jack off, then?
    No. I’m done. Pick up your pinochle hand.
    Fuck, Galen said.
    Don’t be a baby.
    Galen felt very angry suddenly. But he didn’t want to say the wrong thing. So he sat against the wall, propped on his pillow, and picked up his cards.
    There you go, she said. And you might want to wash your face before dinner.

Chapter 10
    D inner was not chicken and dumplings. That would come later, when it could cook all day in the stew pot. Dinner tonight was a tuna casserole. A jar of mayonnaise, several large cans of tuna, a large bag of potato chips, and squares of American cheese on top.
    You’ve really gone all out, Galen said.
    Galen’s mother was