(Author's note: Yes, this is a Holiday Contest entry, and yes, I am cheating, sort of.)Our sleeping bags zip together perfectly, something we discovered by accident a few trips ago, and have taken shameless and wanton advantage of ever since. When two of you are heating the same small, well insulated space, the need for thermal underwear, or indeed any additional layers at all simply disappears. We were two days into our...

Long day. It was the end of a long day, at the end of a long week, and Rachel was tired. Worn out, feet aching, she had opted out of the Friday Club-a-thon with work friends, riding home to her small flat, grabbing the fixings of a quick dinner at the corner market next to the bus stop.She was shimmying out of her knee-length blue skirt even as the apartment door was closing, kicking it toward the bedroom door as she plac...

Last summer, I'd been living in the City since the previous fall, and was finally used to the noise and bustle. I worked at the Big Bean slinging coffee, spending my pay as it came in on rent and fun. I went to casting calls when they came up, and was avoiding deciding whether I was going to try college the coming fall if the stage didn't end up calling my name, or if I would roll another year. I had a roommate I rarely s...

I'm awakened to the feel of the silk blindfold being lowered over my eyes. I mumble and stir, and my lover's quiet voice hushes me. "Shh, just you relax. We're going to play another little game this morning," he tells me. "mmmmm" is my sleepy reply. His games are always exciting, and through my grogginess I feel a spark of interest and excitement kindle inside. He shifts on the bed, pulling the sheets from over us. I try...

We went to bed spooned, as we often do, but this evening I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. My mind wouldn't relax, and my body, though comfortable, wouldn't really let go. You know how that happens sometimes. The mundane niggling events of the workday just wouldn't leave my head. I tried to distract myself with songs, memories, even sheep for goodness sakes, but nothing worked.I was about to excuse myself from the bed...

A dream... The scene is clearly one of a dream. The big, floppy recliner I sit in is the only thing really in focus. The room is bright, but grey and indistinct, because it's not really important.You are there. I see you are... smaller than you are. And grayer. And cold, sad. I beckon you to me and you climb onto my lap. My arms encircle you as you curl up. I feel larger than I am. Stronger. I hold you, stroking you hair...

Monday She was at the sink doing her morning ablutions in her short summer robe, having just showered. Her dark still-damp curls, held back from her face by a berrette, tumbled down her back almost to her slender waist. She leaned slightly over the sink, looking into the mirror as she prepared to brush her teeth, her legs about shoulder width apart. I ducked quietly into the bathroom and sat myself down between her feet w...

@@@@@@@The restaurant, her choice, was as fine as she'd said it would be, and the play, my choice, was as good as the reviews had promised. Her dress, black and slinky, teased me all evening, with her shoulders and back semi-hidden under a filmy shawl, and the skirt slit up to just there... She had learned that part of me rapidly and well. We had learned each other actually, and surprisingly. A short stroll from the theat...