How To Have An Incredible, Stress-Busting Quickie

At some point in history (we're not quite sure when) people started making a distinction between having sex and "making love." The implication is that only certain types of sex are intimate and meaningful, usually meaning long, luxurious, and gentle sex. Making love surely does not include hot, quick, "gotta-have-you-now" sex — aka, a "quickie."

"When people think about quickies they think about something that's 'slutty,' but it's really just a kind of sex that can be extremely satisfying and erotic," says Elle Chase, a certified sex educator and author of Curvy Girl Sex. "There’s no shame in a quickie."

Having a quickie can be a great way to quickly destress and relief tension (election stress, we're looking at you), but it can also be just as meaningful as spending hours worshiping your partner's body, Chase says. But, to make it meaningful, most people have to revamp their idea of what a quickie even means, says Kristen Lilla, an AASECT certified sex therapist in Nebraska. Ditch the idea of a quickie as a means to a fast orgasm or sexual release, and focus instead on being able to connect with your partner. A quickie doesn't have to end in orgasm.

"An orgasm is more of a cherry on top kind of thing," Lilla says. In fact, having a quickie doesn't even necessarily mean having sex, and definitely not just penetrative sex. Lilla encourages people who come to see her to broaden their definition of a quickie and think of it as taking five, 10, or 20 minutes to connect with each other. That can mean having a hot five minute make out or having quick oral or hand sex — essentially, doing anything your grandma might call "heavy petting." Of course, it can also mean having penetrative sex when you have the time.

No matter what your quickie looks like, Lilla and Chase have tips to make it as meaningful (and pleasurable) as possible. Read on for their advice.