The tone of my nonsensical dream slowly changed to a flash flood of emotional remembering: excited fear of the first hand between my legs rubbing the seam of my jeans, nervousness when the first hand went up my shirt timidly holding my breast, anticipation from the first hand up my skirt after going to the movies, anxiety from the first fingers, other than my own, to slip down my panties, and finally, the first boy that b...

Is it foolish to voluntarily go to the house of the other woman? I didn’t go there to confront her but was invited by my husband since she was having a party. I was not a kid or even a young adult; I was 31 years old. To this day, I don’t know why I did it, but I will let you decide if this was a good choice or a foolish one. Let me set the scene for you. I was returning home from a work trip and texted my husband that I...

I sat at my computer, opened a blank document and began to type my letter. I’d been meaning to get this down for years, but the timing never felt right and I think I’ve been a little nervous about writing it down. ‘How do I tell this story without sounding crazy?’ I thought reading the Dear over and over. ‘I just need to type it all out and then take out the inappropriate parts.’ I looked up and stared at the blank wall a...

We had just lain down in bed when my mind wandered through the evening. Marcus and I had gone to dinner with both of our families, not a new event; but something that has been happening a lot in the last few months. It still amazes me that our families get along and seemed to have genuine bonds. They even worked together to surprise me and help Marcus propose quite romantically. The proposal wasn’t unexpected, since we’ve...

My eyelids were heavy and as I slowly opened them, the light hurt. As my head started to pound I tried to move, but the pain stopped me. “Anna, oh Anna,” I heard my mother whispering. “She’s awake,” she said louder. When I tried to turn my head toward her voice, she told me not to move. I felt pain all over my body as an image flashed of Jeremy above me angry and the feeling of cold air on my skin. ‘What was that? When wa...

It has been several weeks and I have only talked to Jeremy enough for him to apologize. He is fully out of my life and we are nothing more than civil acquaintances. As for Jeff, well he and I have been flirting both online and face-to-face. After my parents think I am in bed, I meet Jeff in the backyard most every night. We get just a chance to kiss and grope at each other, but it is well worth it. Some nights we have sat...

I pulled myself out of bed and dragged myself to the shower. After tossing and turning all night, I was exhausted. I let the hot water of the shower flow over me and tried to forget about Jeremy and Nicki. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let the water wash over my face. As the water cascaded over me, I let him flow down the drain. When I could no longer hold my breath, I lowered my face and breathed feeling a li...

I looked down and wanted him too, but as I looked back at him, I still did not feel ready. I sighed and felt the tears begin to well up again. “I’m going to wait until you are ready,” he said sitting up and kissing my forehead. “You tell me when you are ready.” “I don’t know if I will ever be ready,” I said trying to hold back more tears. “I’ll wait,” he said rolling me over and curling up at my back. I curled up with him...

“Guys, you mind if I cook a little breakfast?” Shawn asked from the crack he opened in the doorway. Aaron shook his head and said, “Naw, go right ahead man. We’ll be out in a few.” I did not want to get out of bed, but as I watched Aaron pull on a pair of shorts, I moved closer to the edge of the bed. He tossed my robe to me and told me to get up. I sighed and threw my legs over the edge of the bed. Before I was fully out...

I was about halfway down the hall when I heard Jeremy pull up to the house, then knock on the door. I was hidden behind the wall and could only see half of the room as my dad opened the door and greeted Jeremy. I knew that they shook hands, but I could not see them until they left the door. Jeremy entered my sight first and all I could see was the back of his black suit. He sat on the couch out of my view. “Anna,” my dad...

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday sweet Anna, happy birthday to you,” seeped into my ears as my eyes opened to see my mother knelt beside my bed singing quietly off key. “Happy birthday my baby,” she said as I smiled at her and felt the world was in order. She had woken me like this on my birthday as far back as I could remember. It was her thing and no one else’s, our special moment. When she...

About a month later, I met Kristie for lunch and we went to my house afterward for a ‘snack.’ After our ‘play date’, we curled up on the bed and talked about our guys. “I have to know,” I said before taking a deep breath, “Is Aaron the older guy you have a crush on? It will not upset me if he is.” Kristie bit her lip and blushed before she nodded her head. I told her that it was fine and that I had to confess to having a...

The sound of the key and the flow of the words on the screen were all that I heard and saw until I felt a light kiss on my cheek. With my concentration broken, I looked up at him annoyed that he was disturbing me. “Did you hear anything I just said?” the tall and very cute man said as he loomed over me. “Nope,” I said looking up at him with a smile thinking ‘What a dumb question.’ He leaned down and kissed my lips. I love...

Our traditions say that once a year the men may choose any woman for the night. You can decline, but I have not had any reservations since I came of age two years prior. We are instructed to resist, playfully, to ‘protect our honor,’ but I do not resist. Therefore, when it was my turn to have the blinding placed I stood tall and accepted the loss of sight. When he checked my wrists were bound tight anticipation washed ove...

“Ugh, the customary work Christmas party,” I said as I opened my car door to the cold winter night. ‘I hate this,’ I thought as I trudged through the snow. ‘This is so wrong. I don’t even like these people when I get paid to be around them and now I have to be nice when I’m not getting paid.’ The cheaply decorated room with its paper ornaments and awful red and green tablecloths didn’t improve my mood. I set my gift on th...