Joy Trail Raven Raley

I lay on the couch, my head in his lap. Staring up at him I realize how
lucky I am to be where I am. He slowly and absentmindedly plays with my
dark hair as he sits entranced by the movie we rented. All I can
think of his how wonderful he looks. His deep green eyes and soft white
skin. How his lean frame looks as he stands under the running water of
a hot shower in the morning. How his light brown hair stands on end in the
when he drags himself out of bed, awakened by an obnoxious alarm clock.

I think…I can’t wait until the movie is over. Maybe I’ll get up and
draw a hot bubble bath so it’s ready. Not sure I can move, his
carressing has put me in such a deep state of relaxation. My mind
starts to wander again. The bath will be nice. He will blow bubbles in
my face and I will lean back against him so my bottom rests in between
his legs. Maybe he will wash my hair and back, or maybe we’ll just relax
and listen to the soft music in the background. The candle will start
to flicker, reminding us that we really should go to bed for we have a
full day ahead of us. (more…)

Her apartment was old and small, up on the third floor, all the windows
open and the breeze blowing through the broken screens. She went off to
the kitchen for the beer she had promised me as I settled down into the
couch, feeling the decades of life that the apartment had seen, the stains
on the wall from previous occupants and the scars in the hardwood floor
from long ago. Ellen turned on the TV and sat down next to me, a six-pack
in hand, kicking off her shoes and leaning to my shoulder. Some old serial
was playing on the tube, black and white images reflecting off the few
things she had in the room, as her hair moved with the summer wind.

I put an arm around her as she pushed up even closer to me, holding her
tightly and feeling her body move with every breath. She was watching the
television half-heartedly, her legs curled up under her like a small child.
After a few minutes of silence she looked up at me and for the first time I
noticed her intense blue eyes. She glanced down to her cigarette and after
taking a long drag put it out and looked up at me, her pouty lips betraying
her inner emotions. I reached down for her leg and felt her quiver with my
touch, move even closer to me as we kissed, at first tentatively and
quickly with force. I pushed her back and she grabbed me, running her
hands up and down my back as we rubbed our bodies together.

The air was hot and muggy, and even though the sun had begun to set a while
back the passing cars and concrete sidewalk kept everything unbearable.
Even the customers sitting and eating dinner under the Cinzano umbrellas
were continually mopping up sweat with little square cocktail napkins. The
cold air from the kitchen was my only salvation and I would linger in the
oasis until I could sense the customers beginning to question my
whereabouts, appearing for a cursory refilling of glasses only to retreat
again. The streetlights all clicked on at once with a buzzing sound,
casting their amber-white light across the tables and cigarette smoke.

As the night progressed the high school kids took their Camaros and
Mustangs and headed off to the movies or the late-night softball games as
the neighborhood slowly regained its composure. Older couples strolled the
area, stopping off at one cafe or another and ordering their coffee,
decaffinated, with half and half. The two that always took the table
nearest the street wearily got up and ambled off towards their apartment,
leaving the habitual full ashtray covering a healthy tip. The peacefulness
was briefly interrupted as an ambulance blew by full-tilt, heading off into
the distance sirens wailing.