Stroking the Surface is the first part of the ‘Beneath the Sheets’ anthology series. If you haven’t kept up to date with this anthology then we suggest starting here for an explanation. From there it’s up to you how you wish to sample what our sheets have to offer. Enjoy the read.
What is sex if not touch? Skin-on-skin contact. Fingertips glossing over supple bodies. Firm hands grasping at hips. The biting of one’s lip. It’s all so…tactile and chief among sensual touch is the art of massage.
Massage has been part of human culture since we discovered that rubbing our bodies could bring relief, not just from pain but in other profound ways too. Soft, oiled hands have been gracing the surface of people’s skin for almost as long; the benefits of different oils were easy to discover in the warmer climates of some countries and often referred to as ‘anointing’ in ancient texts.
Times may have changed but our adoration for anointing our body with decadent oils and lotions has never faltered, though the practicality of using such oils in the home has varied.
Oil on Skin
There is nothing quite like the welcoming sensation of warm oil trickling across one’s skin. It naturally invites a touch to follow; it beckons people’s hands and spreads keenly across the body.
Massaged in to the skin, it makes you feel connected with your senses and brings you in to your body. You’re suddenly abundantly aware of your sensuality and the rush of blood to the surface of the skin leaves you craving more contact—to get closer to the person whose hands have brought you to this state.
If you bring yourself closer to them then the oil makes you instantly aware. Its sleek sheen merges with the drier skin of your masseur and your whole body becomes an extension of the experience. You are a receptacle of the massage and everything that it brings. The confidence that it induces can be intoxicating and the feeling of uniting two bodies between a thin buffer of oil is, for the briefest of moments, all that there is.
But What of The Sheets?
An oil-based massage is a hypnotic courtship ritual of sense and sensation, but it’s also undeniably messy.
Modern cotton sheets are rarely primed to deal with the decadence of massage and staining is a real concern. As lovely as massages are, no one wants to deal with the marks that they leave behind—especially not if one’s favourite sheets are involved.
Towels are a practical but ultimately flawed solution. Granted, they may evoke in some people a certain spa-like ambience (especially if candles are involved), but for most towels are mundane. They are the everyday; the thing you use to wipe up with after the fun has been had. To include them feels like a breach of the barrier—as if life is trying to impose itself on lust.
Further than this, towels are made for drying the body and they serve this purpose too well at times. Their surface cloys at the skin and feels almost grainy when laid out dry on the bed. They do not provide the tactile delight that most people associate with a passionate embrace.
This is where our sheets begin to unfold.
Freedom Through Fabric
Sheets of San Francisco are not a fan of restrictions. We like sex to be uninhibited, carnal, and expressive. When bodies unite, sensation should be one of the primary focuses, and this was a firm starting point for the design of our products.
There are many different Sheets of San Francisco but they all share one thing in common—fluids may grace their surface but they will never spoil its durable detailing, nor penetrate it with their saturation.
You can pour all kinds of fluids on our sheets and pillow cases and they will not allow a single droplet through to spoil your fun.
Liberation is what we hope to achieve, and massage is a wonderful way to ease in to freeing your desires with our sheets.
Pouring the Oil
Lay out a sheet and grace its surface with your body. No matter what oil you select, no matter how thick it is, we can assure you that our sheets will be there for you.
We recommend warming some oil until it’s lukewarm and taking the time to let it spill on to the skin, poured from above. Fragrance and flavour are your choices but the more calming the aroma the more immersive the experience.
The oil may trickle and flow off the skin but that is of no concern—it just means that it is there for a later time, when you find yourself tumbling around on the surface of the sheets, ready to greet you with even more sensation.
There are no inhibitions—no worries—there is just oil, your bodies, and the lightweight breathable surface of our sheets.
Tactile Touches
Sometimes the surface that one lays their bodies on is just as crucial as the massage itself. Again with the towels their grainy form is ill-suited for a sliding, stroking experience.
The complimentary slip of sheer fabric is at once both engaging and an effortless addition to one’s sexual activities. It makes a slight rustle when met with motion—engaging one’s hearing too—as it brings you in to the moment and strokes your form as you shift on its surface.
This is one of our favourite aspects of our sheets—their paradoxical nature. Sensual yet practical an aspect so compelling that it must be felt to be believed.
We hope that you agree.
The Aftermath of Oil
How divine is that moment after the massage too, or (even better) after sex?
There are few things more compelling than the desire to lie in each other’s arms after a passionate session of extreme sensations.
With oil this is not always an option; its messy nature means that clean-up is usually a necessity. One must save the sheets, after all.
But our sheets are made for these moments—made for intimacy, and touch, and those enduring times where all you desire is to be close to each other.
Relaxation comes in the release of the ‘to do’ list and your bodies can happily lay in the comforting, glossy embrace of our sheets.
We may make the materials but you make the experiences, and, oh, how many experiences there are to have. The opening of a fresh bottle of oil is only the beginning…