Books

It had all the ingredients for a perfect evening; the deep comfy sofa, the flickering wood fire, books, solitude, time. There was more to the recipe, the seasoning if you like; a walk in the mountains during the day, a glass of wine, the echo of recent intimacy.

They sat half facing each other at either end of the sofa, their legs interlocked in a complex dance. Her hair, amplified by the light of the fire, blazed. He loved her hair. The way it moved and shone and lay across her neck and her shoulders. He loved her.

Their books engrossed them. Two worlds full of life and ideas that they longed to share with each other. Every now and then a word, a sentence, an image would conjure the memory of a shared moment – causing one to reach out a hand to an arm, a fingertip to a thigh.

There was no rush. They had time.

She finished a chapter and slipped a bookmark, a handwritten note from him to her, between the pages. Reaching for her wine she gazed at him. His eyes glanced up and smiled, then returned to the page – flitting between the two worlds. She was happy to wait, but snuggling down into the sofa, she pushed her foot between his thighs and pressed to ensure he knew she was waiting. A hand up in the classroom. She could tell that he knew.

Her mind wandered. Not far, more exploring a theme that had been developing in her mind all day and insinuating itself into her body. He read on, turning pages, pausing to reflect. An apostrophe caused him to smile – an in joke about punctuation of all things! He caressed the leg that increasingly demanded his attention. A few more pages and he closed his book, placed it on the floor and grabbed his wine. She wriggled with excitement. Her imagination had been busy and he recognised the look.

Her eyes shone. They told a story of love and friendship, of passion and intimacy, of shared experiences and of pain endured, together. He loved her eyes. He loved her.

The evening moved on and their bodies wrote another stanza of their love poem. Each gave and received pleasure – exploring, inventing. They became one, moving together sensuously until their souls touched and consumed them.

They lay together for an eternity. Utterly vulnerable. Complete.