Her scent is under my skin, in my brain, along with the sight of her taking me in, with her smile, her gasps and moans, with words spoken, hinted and silenced, and the void of questions ignored. These stay for weeks but fade, the pain never leaves.  Who is she entertaining now? 

“Not coming to bed yet, I need to finish something.”

My poodle Cassie sniffs at my pants, places paws on my shoulders and licks my face.  Her I cannot fool, but she does not mind if I see other women, she only minds if I see other dogs.