The gummy was surprisingly delicious. I say surprisingly because my teeth sliced right through it, which was at first a disappointment. I typically like chewies with a little more bite—for instance, I love how a Gummy Bear needs to be torn a little. It gives me a carnivorous feeling. But with this, my teeth felt none of that, and no flavor initially struck my palate. Perhaps this slightness of texture and taste was due to the tapioca syrup in its makeup rather than the typical gelatin used in other gummies. But a moment beyond that first nibble, my second slice was rewarded with a swat back at my taste buds. That hoped-for tang kicked in—salty, too—spreading quickly across my tongue. The aftertaste was the best part: the salty-sweet mixture lingered with that perfect, juicy, sour bite.

Dinner was then made, and more snacks were gathered. My boyfriend and I enjoyed each other’s company in spurts of lighthearted direction, mostly me to him: “Do this, Mike...Get that.”

“I don’t know why, but when I’m high, I really love you,” he said to me, smirking (but earnest).

“Do you think it makes you more vulnerable with me?” I asked him.

Then, on our borrowed living room loveseat, I savored the aftertaste of the gummy as we both enjoyed the other food we’d prepared. The high started to set in and quickly turned my attention to binge-watching our favorite weekend sport—well, the only sport on television—UFC. It’s more his fare than mine, and as small as our shared chair was, we enjoyed the programming from fairly separate spheres of engagement.

Out of nowhere, I was tired and bumbly, but I maintained a nice level of focus as the timely logging and rating of my high flew past.

“Human touch had never felt so good—the feeling was remarkably satisfying as the euphoria provided by this edible took on a new form. ”

And just as suddenly...I experienced a storm of revelations. As my boyfriend walked away to the bathroom, I thought about our relationship from new perspectives. For instance, perhaps both of our guards were down in opposite ways when high together. He imbibed in his own way, but perhaps we were still on a similar wavelength. Weed has a great quality that allows people to let their guards down and be more direct, and maybe that’s what we’ve been needing. Maybe it isn’t always about saying the right thing as much as it is about just saying something. Communication is key, and maybe this gummy is too.

It was definitely an a-lot-to-say weed, but I kept those thoughts mostly to myself, and my notes. I can thank the high for the ability to have such insights, and from that moment forward I was having so much fun just sitting with him and watching UFC on the loveseat. We felt more together than we had before.

Part of me was ever-present, while the other part still tracked along separately. I was very busy in my mind, but as my high got deeper, I sunk into my body. My boyfriend began rubbing my sore legs, and I couldn’t get enough! Human touch had never felt so good—the feeling was remarkably satisfying as the euphoria provided by this edible took on a new form. At some point in my massage, my closed eyes reaped the benefit of a healing light show, and my muscles enjoyed a sensation as fulfilling as the “little death.” I could have fallen asleep right there, but I didn’t. I could have also floated off into hallucinatory visions, but the weed didn’t quite take me that way either.

“It was just a wonderful moment and a flash of absolutely transcendental zen.”

It was just a wonderful moment and a flash of absolutely transcendental zen. A full-body and out-of-body experience all at once. This mellow high had me dipping in and out of light pleasantries, and I couldn’t get enough. My thoughts were energized, yet my mind and heart were relaxed. The gummies tendered euphoric levels of relief, and throughout it all, I was at least partly focused on the now—even while tunneling down a rabbit hole of relationship analysis. In the morning, I felt groggy and a bit hungover, but it was more than worth it. From the delayed taste explosion to the delivery of a heady but totally un-paranoid high, AbsoluteXtracts gave me a sensational zone-out without ever sending me off the deep end.