We begin in the oversized tub: warm water, bubbles, whirlpool jets, candles all around. Our mouths find each other first, hungry after the long, unintended deprivation. Arms wind around bodies, discovering and rediscovering: touching, groping, teasing, testing, remembering. Before we know it we are conjoined in an embrace that combines osculation, copulation, and — perhaps best of all — cerebration in a way that few even aspire to, let alone achieve. We remain this way, moving slowly, deliberately, even wantonly; and at the same time, minimally; it seems like hours.

We towel each other off, somehow never breaking the kiss, and move to the bedroom to resume our passion.