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“Silly boy, I baked for you Your very own hot apple pie All you have to do is coet it” I broke off a piece of the crust and dragged it through the cinna down the side Would he want pie or me first?

Turns out, he wanted both

April

“See, now, I thought ere ether, I sneak you peanut butter every now and again, and you go and do this? Why? Why do you continue to do this? And furthermore, why do I continue to allow this to happen?”

As I reached the top of the stairs, I overheard the conversation inside my apartment Simon was home alone—maybe he was on the phone Once inside, however, I peeked around the corner and found hi across the table from my cat, Clive, his Stanford sweatshirt between them Clive had “marked his territory” on this very sweatshirt several times early on in our relationship, but it had been a while since he’d deemed it necessary to reht Clive was over this particular peccadillo Apparently not

I stifled a laugh at how seriously Si at Clive, and how unseriously Clive seeh it were unattached from his body I backed down the hall silently, and thenthe doorknob to let them knoas home

When I ca the newspaper nonchalantly Hewith my cat

I allowed hinity, and pretended not to notice when I found the sweatshirt in the trash a few hours later

May

A noise filled the bedroo, a loudness of indetered , with a very warm body wrapped aroundforth frorappled for a cool spot ontoward —rattled my insides

Even Clive had retreated to a safe perch on top of the dresser

In a corounds, I drew backboy that was fillingmy sleep

“Oof!” He ith a start, inadvertently pressing ainst mine I peeleder contained even an ounce of coolness

“Babe, what’re you doing? Did you kick me?” He curled back in on himself like a roly-poly

“You have to stop!” I yelled

“Stop? Stop what? Co back into his dreams, where he seemed to be a lumberjack

“Don’t you dare go back to sleep! No! More! Snoring!” I yelled, wild inside and out now Being deprived of my sacred sleep turned me into a woman possessed

“Snoring? Come on, it can’t be that bad—what the hell!”

I’d snatched his pilloay, dropping his head to the mattress

“If I can’t sleep, no one will sleep! You are loud, and you are hot!” I shrieked

“Well, the hot we knew, right?”

“Aaarrgghh!”

“Wait, are you PMS-ing?” he asked, al fearful as he realized his mistake

Siht across the hall in his own apartment I needed my sleep

July

“Godda”

“Yes, yes it was,” I purred, stretchinghi into me as I scratched at his scalp and ertips After a few minutes he raised up on one elbow, and I smoothed his hair back

“You didn’t come, did you?”

“No, sweetie, but it was fantastic anyway”

“Lethis hand in between us, surprised when I stopped him “Babe?”

“It’s not always about that It can still be a close with you, is all I need,” I said, bringing him down for another kiss, slow and sweet “I love you somy heart swell

After the Great Orgasm Hiatus, which in my head is hoas officially known across the land, was she always there for me? Of course not, not every time But mostly she was there, and ht G with her Those were the nights I damn near passed out

But while I loved the countertop sex, and the shower sex, and the kitchen floor sex, and the stairway sex—well, one night of stairway sex—the quiet sex was stilldown on me, inside me, all around me And if on occasion the O stayed away, it was okay

I knew she would always return

Si a bottle of water with hi the relations; he’d attacked once and was almost punted So now he took cover away fronal that he could cole

As Simon passed me the bottle, I turned on the news to check the weather for the next day to see if I’d need an umbrella Each on our own side, with Clive in between us, atched the forecast Our hands were clasped on the pillow in between

Pretty fking great

• • •

August

“Go ahead, I know you’re dying to say it”

“I don’t think I have to, Caroline Yourit all”

“No, no, I know you want to Go ahead”

“Fine I told you so”

“Feel better?”

“Yes”

“Good Now shut up and let et back to my noodles”

Sihed as I slurped up ht I didn’t like Vietna it in Vietnam made all the difference

Once again, being Siirlfriend had proved to be a windfall He’d invitedon a trip in Southeast Asia: Laos, Ca in Vietnam I couldn’t join him for the entire journey, but I was able to raphed for National Geographic We toured cities and villages, sandy beaches and quietfood every day, and loved our way through every night

Our current state of a a wonderfulon I gazed at the tiny islands, which broke the surface of the water like the backs of dragons swooping up fro, and to cool off fro heat, Simon had taken a dive off the back of the boat Water trickled off his skin, his cargo shorts stuck to his legs, and his shirtless torso ood