Sex on the Beach

Don’t think, just answer: If forced to choose, would you rather lose a foot or a hand? Be rich and lonely or poor with lots of friends? Super smart or super beautiful? Okay, maybe those answers came to you quickly. But how about this question? Would you rather walk in on your parents having sex or have them walk in on you? Most likely that one took you a little longer to answer. (Probably because either option made you throw up a little in your mouth.) Those questions are part of a game my friends and I love to play called Would You Rather? Simple in concept, the game poses two less than desirable scenarios that you are forced to choose between. Always entertaining, it’s also often enlightening, as the answers people pick to certain questions just may surprise you. During a recent round with my friends over brunch, one question sparked quite a debate between the two sides: Would you rather give up drinking forever or sex?

To me, the answer is obvious. Drinking, duh! But apparently, that’s not the universal choice. Several of my friends actually answered that they would rather give up having sex ever again than live a life without alcohol. Does this shock you as much as it shocked me?

Putting aside the subject of sex as a recreational activity, it stuns me to think that anyone would consider it an omissible part of a healthy relationship. But my booze-loving friends explained that they simply enjoy drinking too much to give it up forever, whereas they couldn’t say the same for sex. (Captain Obvious here says they must just be sleeping with the wrong people.) They also noted that drinking complicates life way less than sex. (Okay, no arguments here.)

But those who opted to refuse the booze say sex isn’t strictly a physical act. It’s also a shared emotional connection between two people. It’s a consummation of feelings as well as a passionate exchange. It makes you feel good in more ways than just the obvious. Also, the temptation for sex is way harder to resist. I mean, I can say no to cocktails even when I want one, but put a guy like David Beckham in my bed and willpower will escape me.

So, don’t let the only spice in your life be in your Bloody Mary. Because while a good drink can warm you up, an intimate encounter, especially with someone you love, is way hotter. If for some reason you are ever forced to choose which to give up forever, I say make love, not martinis.