Imagine in the night

The sound of his voice was always a surprise—rich, low, threaded with a warmth that felt too real for a call that began with "Hey."

She leaned back on her bed, phone warm in her hand, darkness wrapped around her like quiet water and she sank into its comfort.

He asked her to imagine him being there with her. She didn't bother telling him she thought about that often - he knew. She melted into his seductive words and then rose on nerves touched only by him until her center exploded and she had to catch her breath and gather herself back into a person again.

He spoke in tones soothing enough that she could feel him smoothing out her edges. Every pause between them carried its own pulse. With her eyes closed, she could see him; imagine his hand raking through his hair, his crooked smile, his piercing eyes, the way his breath softened when he was about to say something hard.

“You’re quiet tonight,” he murmured.

“I’m listening,” she said, though what she really meant was "I’m feeling you even from here."

Silence hummed through the line—soft, electric, more powerful than anything they’d said. She closed her eyes again and for one dizzy second, distance didn’t matter; they were suspended in the same charged space, neither speaking the truth nor daring to end the connection.

“You should sleep,” he finally said, voice breaking the spell.

“When I hang up, I will,” she whispered, “but no hurry.”

They sat a while longer on opposite ends of the phone line, each in their own darkness. They talked of inconsequential things until the enchantment drifted off to find others to captivate. They said their goodbyes and good nights. She whispered, "I love you." She slid her finger over the button on the phone and watched it go dark.

She couldn't know what filled his thoughts after good bye. She could only acknowledge the ache in her own chest. She closed her eyes seeking sleep and breathed into the night, "I want to write a dream on your body - One where I use my kisses to dot the i's and my tongue to cross the t's."

Until next time...