The consent scene I haven’t heard enough buzz about.

After the all stars skill contest Shane goes to 1221 and shortly after getting on the bed Ilya tells Shane to roll onto his stomach, touches him near his hole, and asks about anal sex.

I love the larger scene because of the way Shane removes his shoes and leaps over to Ilya to attack him. I love that Ilya tells him to get on his knees, expecting he won’t do it (inner monologue in book) but then loving that Shane does immediately drop to his knees. I love their dialogue about “a ting,” “what color,” “Is it big,” and “no, no Hollander I want to fuck you” as he nuzzles his shoulders.

But the another reason to love it is that Ilya asks him if he’s ever (had anal sex). Shane shakes his head ”no.” Then when Ilya asks him if he wants to; Shane doesn’t answer.

Ilya notices and states that Shane is scared. Shane denies it, but Ilya moves his body away from covering Shane as if a clear demarcation that they are moving from a ‘maybe this can happen now’ to a ‘let’s talk about this’ vibe.

I just love how Ilya reads “Mr. Lots of sex” and ignores his lies/denials/non-answers when they come from bravado. Also, after they fool around in this scene we see Ilya being a bit of a prick by demanding Shane’s phone, because he certainly can be a prick. But not about consent.