Here's an article that I found myself relating to quite a bit. It was
written by Ryan O'Connell, and he's captured many things I've felt and thought before.
I've always been interested in the way people smell. Now don't judge me just yet! I'm talking about how once you've been with someone in close proximity many times, be it a best friend, boyfriend or girlfriend, or even just somebody you hang out with a lot, their scent makes an imprint in your mind. At least that's what I feel happens. I usually never realise this until I smell
their scent while we're apart and their name flashes in my mind.
Or sometimes it doesn't even come to me that quickly - it'll bring back an emotion, that I'll trace to an activity, that I'll eventually find myself putting a face to. Point aside, these descriptions of how boys smell ring a bell to me. And they probably will for you too.
***
You Smell Like A Boy
Boys smell ripe and pungent, like fragrant peaches with a hint of rot in them. They smell like sneaky creatures who could hurt you and will hurt you. But we’re not there yet, are we? They still smell like yummy peaches. In the beginning, they always smell like something you would eat and drink.
Boys smell like patchouli, sweat, and gardenias. They smell like hard work, taut muscles, and thick hairy legs. The aromas of a boy are all irresistibly disgusting, which I guess also accurately sums up boys themselves.
Boys smell like Axe Body Spray or maybe Tom’s deodorant or maybe like clean laundry. Maybe they smell like the worst body odor in the world or maybe they smell like their mom or they probably smell like dirty sex. Whatever it is, always know this: Boys never smell like nothing.
Boys smell unavailable, hanging on the corner of your bed with their naked back turned to you. They never did care about showing you their flesh but they did shy away from exposing their heart. You would plead with them, begging for them to take off just one more layer of clothing but they said no and lit a cigarette. That day, boys smelled like tobacco and petulance.
Boys smell like the whiskey they stole from their parents on a Saturday night in high school. You grimaced at the thought of touching their tongue because you felt everything much more at seventeen, but you did it anyway. Back then, you inhaled the smell of boys like they were a drug. You would do lines and lines of smelly hair, stained t-shirts, and bad breath because it made you feel like you were experiencing life and going places. You still do but now they’re just tiny bumps and don’t get you as high.
Boys smell like an unidentifiable musk. Each one comes with his own unique fragrance and the second you come in contact with it, it’s locked into your memory forever. Because even though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, you’ll smell it for years to come. You’ll smell the boy who used to love you in the summertime at a grocery store when you’re 25 or maybe even 30, and it will stop you dead in your tracks, temporarily paralyzed by a memory. You feel like you don’t have a right to sniff that smell anymore so you make a beeline for the exit and get the hell away from it. You go home and drown yourself in your own perfume and try to erase its mark.
Boys smell like fresh cut grass, firewood, and ash. They smell like security, which can often be scary. When a boy wraps his long arms around you, you soak it all in while knowing that you could eventually one day despise his smell. We all have the option to hate the things we once loved and the musk of a certain boy is no exception. Remember that in the beginning, boys smelled a delectable peach but that seemed like a long time ago. The peach has started to bruise and change colors. It’s collapsing like a souflee and being overtaken by rot. We’re at the end of the line now and you just smell like a dirty boy who hasn’t showered in three days. It’s no longer endearing or irresistible. You’re just another smelly boy.
