They were a couple, it was easy to see. She blushed when he leaned in to whisper in her ear, and he grinned in response, seeing the effect he was having. Inches separated them as their knees touched, her hand resting gently on his arm. 

While the bar was packed with people, they only had eyes for each other – oblivious to everything, and everyone around them. They were bound to one another, heart and soul, and only a fool could not see it. 

Theirs was a chemistry like wildfire – brazen, bold and out of control. An all-consuming passion of want and need, their connection beyond definition. Between them existed an intimacy fostered over years. Years of laughter, and texts, emails and phone sex. Long kisses and secret nights; moments that alone were simple, but together told a complicated, yet irrevocable love story that spanned decades. 

They met when she was 18, he 20. Two strangers at a college party that found one another between the music. She blushed as he stopped to talk with her, leaning against the wall casually, beer in hand. 

Of course, they didn’t just find each other. She’d noticed him in one of her classes and instantly felt an attraction. She had been staring at the back of his head all semester, fantasizing about ways she might run into him outside of class, while she should have been paying attention. 

Through a friend, she learned his name, and that same friend also told her about the party his fraternity was having. 

She knew his casual stroll by was most likely a setup, but she didn’t mind. Until that night, they’d never spoken. But as they stood there, inches apart, the spark between them was palpable, making her stomach tumble and heat creep up her neck. 

With wide innocent eyes, she listened as he spoke; absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger, hoping he could see just how much she liked him. And judging by the way his eyes flickered as they continued to talk, his sexy lopsided smile growing, she sensed he liked her, too.  

He greeted friends as they walked by, and in those moments when his attention was elsewhere, she took the opportunity to look closer at the face that was always hidden beneath a red baseball cap. He had freckles across the bridge of his nose, which was slim against a strong jaw, and soft, pink lips that made her weak in the knees. 

She swallowed as he turned back to her, hoping he hadn’t noticed her staring. But the look in his eyes told her he had, and he didn’t wait for her to turn her attention elsewhere to do the same. He stared at her, intently, lifting his beer to his lips, his eyes doing the talking.

When she looked at him, her lips tingled, and mind wandered to delicious places, and she couldn’t remember any of the guys she dated in high school ever eliciting that kind of a response. And while she hardly knew him, she knew kissing him would be like heaven and sin combined. She wanted to kiss those lips and feel his body pressed against hers, and the closer he got as they spoke, she thought it may happen. 

But they wouldn’t kiss that night. It would take another encounter between the two, fueled by whiskey and beer, before that, and more, would happen. 

When she left the party, he was talking with friends; clapping one on the back, giving a high-five to another. She figured she was probably far from his mind, their conversation nothing more than a few minutes between co-eds at yet another fraternity party. But it was more than a few minutes to her, and when she went back to her dorm room that night, he was not far from her mind. She fell asleep replaying their conversation, over and over, letting her hand wander down her stomach to the soft skin between her legs, while her roommate lay sleeping in the bed a few feet away. 

She thought of that night often over the years, and while the stretch between their time together could be anywhere from weeks to years, it was the sweetness of that memory that stayed with her. 

Like now, as she closed the door to her hotel room, feeling him come up behind her, she remembered that night, and never in her wildest dreams, would she have imagined it would lead to so many others just like this over the years.

The space between them closed as he leaned in and pressed his body against her, igniting the spark that lay dormant while apart. She knew how badly he wanted her and feeling the effect she had on him filled her with excitement. And she would never tire of the way he made her feel in return – sexy, powerful and desired. He brought out her true self, the one she kept hidden from everyone but him, and in his light, she came to life. 

He kissed her neck while sliding a hand between the buttons on her shirt and she gasped as his hand brushed her skin. She tilted her head back into him, reaching a hand up, grabbing the back of his neck to pulling his mouth down onto her skin. 

He unbuttoned her blouse skillfully, reaching under her bra to run his finger along the smooth skin of her breast, and gripping a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rubbed it gently, stimulating her desire. She moaned as he teased her, his mouth leaving a trail of fire as he brushed her hair aside, and moved his lips to her shoulder, while reaching down to the hem of her skirt. 

She liked to look good for him and made sure, to wear beautiful lingerie under carefully considered outfits that displayed her still alluring assets, while hiding the trouble areas that had cropped up over the years. It excited her to shop for new clothes, twisting and turning in front of the dressing room window to see her body from the angles he too would see her from, and she had bought this skirt with him in mind. Whenever they were together, there was no time to waste. The easier it was to lift, the quicker he could be inside her, and that’s what she craved most. 

After hiking the skirt up around her waist, he slid his hand down her thigh, his touch sending her pulse into overdrive. He loved the duality of her legs – their strength and softness – and she knew the thought of them drove him crazy. It’s what compelled her over the years, to send him pictures of her legs, and nothing else: in the shower, bath or stretched out before her on the bed. She knew he was turned on by the feel of them wrapped around his back, pushing him down into her deeper. So, despite the cold, she slipped into a sexy pair of heels, just for him. 

Slipping his hand to the inside of her thigh – the softer skin more delicate to the touch– she arched her back as he slid a finger under her panty and into the soft folds of her skin.

“Yes,” she gasped, drawing a sharp intake of air

“You like that?” 

“I like you,” she panted, spreading her legs wider as she grabbed his hand, pressing his finger deeper into her. It had been too long since they last saw each other, and the sheer ecstasy of his penetration made her hungry for more.

“God, I want you,” she whispered, his erection pushing against her.

He slid in another finger, opening her up, his rhythm skilled – her legs beginning to weaken in anticipation

“You’re so wet,” he said with approval, his erection growing harder. 

“It’s what you do to me,” she said huskily, wanting him to bring her to climax right there. But she knew he wouldn’t. Not yet. He would wait until he was inside her before making her come. 

Sliding the panty down, he turned her around to face him. They had both aged over the years, but his eyes burned with a fire that was only for her. When he looked at her, she felt wanted and confident. Even now, as she skillfully lifted the toe of her heel and kicked the panty aside, while unbuckling his belt and pulling his pants and boxers down, she did so with ease and assuredness that he brought out in her.

He lifted her leg around him and leaned in, pressing her back against the door. Pulling her bra down, breasts spilling free, he leaned down and sucked the taut skin of her nipple, flicking it with his tongue, as she reached for his cock greedily, wrapping her hand around its shaft.

“You need to be inside me,” she ordered, running her hand up and down its length. 

He removed his hand from inside her, brought it up to her mouth, and ran a finger along her lower lip, watching with lustful eyes as she licked his finger, tasting herself. 

“Please,” she begged, hand still around him, running the tip of his penis against the inside of her thigh. 

His eyes burned as her moist heat made him grow harder in her grasp, and she began to ache, waiting for the moment she dreamed about when they weren’t together.

It could be days, it could be months – at a few points in their lives it had even been years. It didn’t matter the passage of time. When he entered her, it shot a bolt of electricity through her body that erased all rational thought, filling her mind with visions of only of them.

Locking eyes, he guided himself into her, filling her completely with his first penetration. The desire she felt at that moment was overpowering, and she opened her legs as wide as they would go, taking him in hungrily.

“How does that feel?” he asked; one hand on her hip, the other reaching for her hand, pinning it above her head.

She nodded, too caught up in the exquisite pleasure of finally having him after all this time, and as he began to move, their bodies fell into sync; a special rhythm they’d perfected over time. Watching him with thick-lashed fuck me eyes, she drank in the face of the man she loved. No matter how many times they had done this, no matter how many nights they’d spent together, the fact he wasn’t hers, made her need to remember as much of this night as she could, so she could wrap herself in it when he wasn’t with her and her heart was lonely.

Removing his had that had held hers firm, he reached for her other leg and pulled it around him, cupping her round buttocks in his hands, bringing her down onto him faster. She closed her eyes, feeling him fill her, enjoying the warmth that was building as he hit her pleasure spot over and over. 

When they were in college, it was just sex – a physical release between two young bodies. But over time, as they learned what the other liked and feelings evolved, it was much, much more. Sure, there were times when they fucked hard and fast, needing to release the sexual tension that had developed while apart. While at other times they made love slowly, building towards mutual satisfaction. But no matter the intensity, no matter the kind of pace, the feeling of being alone together, bodies fused as one, was beyond words. Every part of her wanted him, and his every touch, every kiss, every penetration, lit her soul on fire. 

“God, you feel good,” he huffed, breath growing labored as beads of sweat formed on his temples. 

“Harder,” she begged, reaching for his lower lip with her mouth, pulling it between her teeth.

He complied, bending his knees, slamming into her with more force. “You like that?”

“You know what I like,” she ran both her hands down his back, nails breaking his skin. She didn’t care he would have to hide his back when he showered at home. Right now, he was hers, and she would stake her claim in whatever way she wanted.

This was what she craved. Them, together; the way it should have been, always. She wanted him to want her so much that he wouldn’t leave her. To crave her so badly so that he could not sleep. To feel her in every part of him, that she could not be shaken from his soul. She wanted him to love her completely, as she did him, and want for her so badly, he would choose her once and for all.

“Let go,” he whispered, pushing into her, their sweat covered bodies sticking together. 

“No,” she bit her lip, too caught up in the perfection of them to release just yet.

“Do it for me,” he ordered.

“Tell me you love me.”

He looked at her, biting his lip as he thrust. 

“Tell me,” she said again, slowing her rhythm. 

“That’s not fair,” he looked at her, eyes heavy. “You know how I feel.”

“I need you to say it.”

“Not during sex.”

“Yes,” she ordered. “While you’re in me. While you’re fucking me,” she locked her eyes on his. She could feel him pulsating; his need for her vibrating inside her body. 

“I love you,” he said finally, pulling her down onto him. “I fucking love you,” he said again, with conviction and promise – the only one he could make.

With his confirmation, she leaned in for his mouth with her own, and kissed him deeply as she swiveled her hips in coordination with his; their tongues dancing with one another. 

Once their mouths parted, he looked at her, eyes full of fire as he slid his finger between the slick slit between her legs, encouraging her building orgasm with his finger. She always came hard when he touched her there while penetrating her, and he knew it. She hadn’t played fair, and he was punishing her for making him admit the one truth he kept buried, because when he said it, he allowed himself to feel it –and when that happened, it had the potential to change his world, and that he could not have. 

A bead of sweat trickled down between her breast and he licked it, then brought his mouth again to hers. His mouth tasted of salt as his fingers played her expertly while thrusting into her harder and deeper. Knowing the exquisite moment of climax was seconds away, she closed her eyes, and turned her head; lips parting as she cried out, her body shaking with each powerful release.

“God you’re beautiful,” he watched as she came, and seeing the woman he truly loved and wanted, biting her lip as he encouraged her orgasm, made him come, too. He released, his body shaking as he filled her.

“I missed you,” he said softly once his breathing slowed, and looked at her, eyes full of everything he wanted but could not say. 

“Me too,” she leaned her forehead to his, breathing him in one last time, before sliding one leg down, placing a foot gingerly on the floor, and then the other. Hours later they lie sleeping side by side, together in every sense of the word. But in the morning, he would leave, and she would follow. They were a couple, only they weren’t. And how badly they wished that was not the case.