The Mystic Marriage: the challenge of chapter 19

[hrj]

The challenge of chapter 19 is to continue presenting romantic protagonist #1 as a sympathetic figure even while, having despaired (prematurely) of moving out of protagonist #2's "friend zone", she decides to have wild animal sex with the next willing warm body that presents herself because, hey, a woman has needs. This chapter includes the closest I've come to writing an explicit sex scene (hint: not very close). But do not despair -- eventually protagonist #2 has her chance at being a clueless idiot and nearly screwing everything up thereby. There must be balance.