Underwater via @19syllables

Cara woke up the following morning in the hotel, and felt like she had emerged from the sea. Wild dreams even after a lovely night with Damaris, Damaris who was sweet like a seashell out of a Botticelli painting, when she licked her on the sumptuous sheets.

But now walking down the streets of New York City leisurely–later she would see one of the clients that she promised Damaris that she would see in her place. Her phone buzzed as she looked at her lipstick in a Fifth Avenue store window, she saw the name on her watch–immeadiately she clicked decline.

Ted.

Aptly named after Ted Hughes the poet—Ted was the epic type of ache that would have been a book of poems if she was Sylvia Plath. He was what made her feel like she was emerging from underwater…

Cara had loved him so much, that it felt like she could not breathe for her love. She could not do anything but love him, and he broke her heart time and time again.

He was so damned beautiful, and when he made love to her it was so otherworldly that she felt like she was floating the entire time. She was with him until he dropped her…

Last night with Damaris had been a sweet distraction. Neither one of them had wanted to be alone. Damaris tasted like a sweet seashell, and when Damaris tasted her she felt like melted ice cream licked as it dripped so not a bit of its sticky sweetness would be lost. Their loneliness sharpened their desire for each other.

Ted had been everything to Cara, the first man she had loved so completely and having to let him go was hard–made her nights even harder.

She had not slept with anyone since she left him, until last night with Damaris. He kept showing up on her phone, and she kept declining.

Then she bumped into someone as she was declining another call.

Ted.

“Are you following me?!” she screamed, even though seeing him made her warm all over and she knew he could tell.

Ted held her face in his hands, and kissed her right in the middle of the street. She heard her phone drop—and crack—and she did not care. His lips on hers were so soft and fierce at once. Cara pressed her body to his to feel him full-length as she had not for weeks. Her body needed to memorize his again.

As if she had forgotten.

He was hard everywhere, including his face. He wrapped his hands about her neck, and kissed her lips again.

Kissed her goodbye.

She looked around and saw him go back into the car he drove for a very wealthy man, who she had once been picked up by. But she locked eyes with Ted, and that was it.

Stepping to crack her phone even more with her heel, Cara’s cheeks and between her legs were wet and she felt like she was back underwater.

More Masturbation Monday here: