Chapter 1

I have a neurological disorder. A year ago I broke my leg in a car crash. After the surgery, a clot reached my brain and caused a stroke. The brain damage crossed up a bunch of basic survival drives, my neurologist Dr. Sato says. Since then, when I smell or taste vanilla, it triggers in me a compulsion to have sex, as soon as possible. It’s not like just being really horny - it’s that I can’t get the goal of sex out of my head, and any attempt to ignore or evade it causes me ever-increasing discomfort.

The first time it happened, I had no idea anything was wrong; we didn’t know about the stroke yet. One minute I was eating a cupcake, and the next I was entering my little brother’s room and locking the door behind me. Lucas was in eighth grade at the time. He had been lying on his bed reading a book when I entered. “What’s up, Katie?” He asked. I didn’t answer - I just sat on the bed and put one hand on his thigh, while unbuttoning my blouse with the other. He was paralyzed with a shocked look on his face, so I guided his hand to my breast, and grabbed his crotch.