Push Play – Take 7 | Insert Shot

Take 7 | Insert Shot

 

Insert Shot

a shot that occurs in the middle of a larger scene or shot, usually a close-up of some detail or object, that draws audience attention, provides specific information, or simply breaks up the film sequence (e.g., a quivering hand above a gun holster in a Western, a wristwatch face, a letter, a doorbell button, a newspaper headline, a calendar, a clock face, a key inserted into a car’s ignition).

An insert shot is filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot and is different from a cutaway shot (that includes action not covered in the master shot); also known as cut-in.

In films, an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action due to the different framing.

Michael really wanted to take Lisa to his bedroom and make love to her there, in his bed. He wanted to see her naked body wrapped in those red sheets, wanted to feel her writhe and shiver against him, wanted the scent of her skin to permeate his entire space, so that he could remember every single detail with all his senses, and relive this very moment once she was gone. Because he knew very well that this was probably going to be nothing but an interlude in a life that now only included Lisa on the sidelines. She was no longer center stage, just like he wasn’t the main star in her life anymore. And she would have to leave soon anyway, not a doubt about that either…

However, just like that younger version of himself on the TV screen couldn’t help himself and had to fuck his wife in that bathroom, this Michael too knew he would have to stay where he was.

Not because he was afraid of losing control of himself, no – although Lisa’s first touch on his body had about sent him straight into orbit right away. It was because he didn’t want either one of them to come back to their senses, wonder what the heck they were doing and… stop.

That was the most terrifying prospect.

Michael didn’t want to stop. He wanted to keep going. All night. He didn’t care how utterly wrong this whole thing could appear from an external point of view. These two people – somehow cheating on their respective partners once again. The never-ending cheaters, he and Lisa. These two people who had been each other’s entire world for so long… and who never were able to fully believe there was any real infidelity in their behavior, in the attraction they felt for one another. Or how they acted on it.

Naked. Lying on the soft carpet in front of the plasma TV, the footage still running, although at a much lower volume now. Their hearts racing. Their bodies in a frenzy, looking for that fusion and connection once again. Their hands, their lips, everywhere.

No, Michael didn’t want to stop, and he knew he had to take this moment as it came. The fact that Lisa had immediately reassured him, the moment she had sensed his hesitation, told him that she too wanted what was happening. Well… her hand on his cock also kind of assured him that she was into this, alright.

“Look at me… Look at me…”

Her breathless voice called him back to her. They were both standing on their knees, face to face. His hands were running all over her beautiful body. Her breasts, her flat stomach, the curve of her hips, her perfect bottom. One of Lisa’s hands was holding onto his neck, the other was stroking him in that unique way that no other woman had ever been able to replicate.

Michael struggled to focus and found her face. Her eyes looked huge and sparkled. Her lips were so perfect, red and parted. Ready to be kissed. And kiss her he did until they both were breathless and he was forced to take a break, pulling back and inhaling her familiar scent.

Lisa didn’t let up. Her mouth found his neck, sucked on his skin and he was not surprised when his entire body reacted by shivering. Her grip on his cock tightened, making him moan and he too reached down and in between her legs. There was no doubt she was turned on. Even more, she seemed to be starving for love and fulfillment. And when his fingers found her, it felt like coming home.

“Oh fuck… Shit…” She spoke against his neck as her hips undulated against his touch, then her mouth traveled down, to his collarbone, her gentle bites on his chest, her lips and tongue torturing his skin as he caressed her the way he knew she loved.

“Lisa… Damn… baby, you’re so hot. So…”

“Wet?” Her eyes found him, and they were glazed over and playful. Michael smiled and kissed her again, tasting wine on her tongue and hearing it too in the way she spoke. In that raspy Southern drawl making him go crazy with desire. “Yeah… I know… Shit… Michael… touch me…”

Oh, he wanted nothing else. He wanted to touch her with every inch of his body. Their inhibitions were never high whenever they were together, but them being tipsy certainly didn’t help. Well, no… As a matter of fact, it helped alright.

He pulled her close to him and her grip on him loosened, and he now found himself pressed against her body, his steel massaged by her flat stomach. Kissing him again wildly, Lisa resumed her exploration by tracing his whole outline. Her hands found his broad shoulders, played with the muscles of his back and dipped down to his ass, caressing him with her open palms. Once again, her mouth followed the path south and Michael found himself staring down at her, watching the expression of perfect rapture on her gorgeous face as she kissed down his torso, nipped at his sides making him sigh and moan, her hands on his muscular thighs and on his cock again. This was madness.

Why, oh why, did she seem to be the only woman able to make him reach this level of lunacy? Why did he feel like a barren desert being ravaged by a torrential rainstorm all of a sudden?

His mind just shut off. Closing his fist into her sinewy hair, he guided her head ever so slightly, while his other hand fondled her breast. If this night were all they had, he would make sure they were going to make the most of it.

“Baby… Oh yeah…” He sighed when she started stroking him slowly, her motions accompanied by open-mouthed kisses. “Oh, fuck… There you go. That’s it, Lise… Come on… Take it… I need you so bad…”

His hips moved suggestively and she got the hint. Michael threw his head back and stopped guiding her, knowing very well that she knew what he needed. And she did. Swallowing hard, he kept his eyes closed, afraid he would come like a teenager if only he looked down at the way she was taking him. Never, never in his life a woman had been capable of giving him so much pleasure with her mouth or her hands. No other woman but Lisa was able to bring him to such heights.

There was something, though, in the way she acted… A desire, a passion that felt almost desperate, urgent. Michael was under the impression that baby girl hadn’t been experiencing such a high level of sexual rapture in a while. The thought produced pride and joy, because he too had been feeling just the same way. Finding that ardor again, with her, helped him remember what he had forgotten.

He felt himself twitch and throb in her mouth and knew he either had to stop or try to keep iron control over himself, if he didn’t want this to be over too quickly. Lisa also seemed to sense it and eased up on him, her kisses moving up his torso, once again finding his sides, his abdomen and collarbone.

He caressed her face and she grabbed his hand. Pulling back and straightening up again, face to face with him still, she interlaced her fingers with his, staring at the way their hands looked together for a moment. Then she slowly glanced up at him.

“I love your hands… so much… They are so beautiful… Strong…”

She brought his hand up and gently kissed the back of it, then his palm and fingertips, one by one. Finally, she took his fingers in her mouth and he felt her hot tongue caress him in slow, languid strokes. The sensation went straight to his groin.

“Fuck… Lie down, baby girl…”

Lisa smiled and let go of him, allowing him to do precisely what he wanted with her perfect, lithe body.

Michael laid her back on the carpet and knelt in between her open legs, his hands running up and down her beautiful thighs, her firm calves, then resting on her knees. Instinctively, he glanced at the TV screen. He wasn’t clear-headed enough to remember where or when that footage had been taken, but he saw himself going down on Lisa. He could tell the camera had been placed somewhere… a random piece of furniture, possibly a chair, allowing the spectacle of both of them from a privileged perspective. On the bed, Lisa arched her back and her naked foot caressed his back as he kept his head buried between her legs. One hand was in his hair, the other grabbed and twisted the pillow. She was biting her lips and moaning, her eyes closed, her features showing complete abandon and absolute trust.

God…

Turning to look at his Lisa now, Michael noticed that she, too, was watching.

“Lise… baby…”

Her eyes found him and her hand dipped down, caressing her belly, reaching in between her legs. Her silence and lack of reticence once again called out to him like the sweetest chant. Michael bent down, and the last thing he felt before tasting her sweetness with his tongue were her fingertips caressing the side of his face in a loving, tender gesture that was the perfect antipode of the hot lust they were experiencing.

In a mirror image of what was taking place on the TV screen, Lisa arched against his kisses and moaned out loud, one hand resting on his head and pushing him down and into her, the other suddenly useless and trying to cling to the carpet.

“God… You taste heavenly…” Closing his eyes he sunk into her again and again, reacquainting himself with the sensory experience that countless times had been able to make him feel as if he was floating in another world. Her moans and whimpers, the undulating movements of her pelvis against his mouth and her hand on his head told him that she was enjoying this as much as he did. He let go of all inhibitions, spreading her legs further, bringing her straight to an earth-shattering climax, smiling against her flesh when he felt her cry out and shiver, drinking from her. But still, he did not stop. Turning her around like a little doll, making her lay on her stomach, he kissed a path from the nape of her neck down to her back, vertebrae by vertebrae. Kisses and bites and gentle licks as, once again, his fingers found the center of her pleasure and stroked her, then entered her.

“Oh my God.. Damn it, Michael…”

Lisa was panting. And Michael couldn’t make out the unintelligible words she was whispering, as if she was caught in a silent confession. Her forehead rested against the carpet, and the only thing he knew was that she was urging him to keep going. He pulled her lower body toward him, bringing her to her knees and elbows, and he kissed her buttocks, very gently, his fingers still buried inside of her, his penis straining, on the verge of exploding. He felt her clench down on him, her muscles fluttering. Her legs trembled and she came again, violently, cursing out loud. She was like a time bomb and he smiled again, gently removing his fingers from her, once more kissing her back, up to her shoulders, her neck.

Breathless, Lisa turned her face and found his lips and they kissed, deeply, thoroughly.

“I love tasting myself on you…”

Michael smiled and fisted his hand into her hair, gently tugging as he kissed her some more.

“I know… Come here…”

His eyes closed, he felt her turn once again and rise onto her knees, her arms around his neck now, her body pressing against him. He knew what it meant – and what she wanted. He wanted it too.

He held her by the waist and her thigh came up, sliding against his side, causing his penis to get in direct contact with her warm center. Forgetting all about the lingering soreness in his back, he picked her up – she was so petite, anyway – and she knew what was going to happen. They both knew that dance by heart.

Her legs locked around his hips and her hand reached down, stroking him a couple of times as they kept kissing, then guiding him against her warm center.

“Here… Michael…”

“Oh, yeah… Guide me, baby…”

Neither one of them talked about protection at that very moment, but Michael trusted her and, in all honesty, wanted nothing more than to feel all of her. There was just one thing better than making love to Lisa… and it was doing it bareback. He always wore a condom with any other partner, Zoe included, but Lisa… she was different. She had been his wife, his lover, his biggest love. She was unlike anybody else.

Too hyper-stimulated by the feeling of her tight hotness, he didn’t even consider the issue and just surged forward, breaching her. He heard her moan in his mouth and knew he still had so much more to give her. However, she seemed to be struggling to take him and he slowed down his movements. One of the hardest things he ever remembered doing, as every single part of him screamed to him to just move. But no… he was going to be careful. He didn’t want to cause her any pain. And that had always been true… on so many levels.

Michael pulled back slightly and kissed her sweaty forehead.

“I don’t wanna hurt you…” His voice was very deep, very throaty. When had he become so unable to sound like his usual self?

“It’s OK… You won’t… You never hurt me when you make love to me…” Her mouth was once again on his neck, kissing and sucking. “Move, Michael… Please…”

He swallowed, took a deep breath and withdrew slightly, only to surge forward again and feel himself enter her completely. The feeling was so electrifying that, for a moment, he swayed and about lost his balance. Her long sigh against his skin was accompanied by her muscles trembling, tensing, then finally relaxing.

“Oh my God…” She whispered against his neck. “You just feel so…” She nipped at his earlobe and once again he thrust into her fully, making her gasp. “…So… fucking… good.”

Yeah… she did too. She felt so fucking incredible.

Cautiously at first, he gave her the time to get reacquainted to their unique lovemaking, and only then he started to move for real. Without any hurry. Slow, long, deep strokes that had her moan and whimper, as if she was surprised by the barrage of sensations unraveled by their newfound connection. Once again, he was too. Had it always been that way, with Lisa? Had she always been able to pulverize him inside and out just by clinging to him like this? Just by holding him inside?

Definitely…

For a second, he wondered if him trying to forget all about that was some kind of self-defense mechanism. Then any rationale simply stopped existing, and he got lost in her completely. His eyes open and staring at her beautiful face, he kept driving into her, kissing her, at times just resting his forehead against hers.

He didn’t know how long they made love that way. But sure enough, at one point Lisa stared at him with sparkling eyes and told him the last thing he would have expected to hear.

“Take me to bed… Please… I wanna make love to you in your bed…”

OK… she didn’t want this to end either. Amazing.

Swallowing, trying hard not to burst into flames, Michael managed to stay buried inside of her as he rose to his feet, then slowly walked to his bedroom, holding her in his arms and kissing her non-stop.

Lisa had no idea what madness had been possessing them, but she knew she was totally fine with it. And, in the corner of her mind, she already knew the next day she would probably blame it on the wine they had consumed – knowing well that being tipsy didn’t mean they didn’t know what they were doing. They were indeed in their right mind.

But everything, every single thing that night had contributed to the inevitable endgame. Them being able to talk during dinner. To joke while watching those tapes. To be honest and open to one another. And him being so cute, with that damn cheesecake. So sweet and seductive. Damn him…

And then, of course, the magic combo created by alcohol and that footage… The flame and the gasoline.

Eventually, Michael himself had turned into temptation personified, and that had been the last push over the cliff. He was an incredibly fascinating man, and Lisa had lost count of the times he had been able to charm her. Discovering that he still held that power over her had been confusing at first, then infuriating, and finally accepted as an unavoidable fact of life. In a way it had even felt comforting, and realizing that he wanted her just as much much had acted as the ultimate seduction. She wanted him with every fiber of her being.

The moment they had kissed, and she had breathed him in, Lisa already knew she was a goner. She had also noticed a thoughtfulness about him, an attention that reverberated in every kiss, every look and every touch – so unlike the last time they had made love, when he had felt so distant and remote. Now he was all in – in every sense that counted.

And that was why she had asked him to take her to his bed. Lisa knew this night would come to an end, eventually. And as emotionally charged as it was, it didn’t necessarily mean anything as their current lives were concerned. At the same time, this night was the here and now and she was not going to only live half of it. They were too far gone, and there was no turning back at this point. She had always been a go-getter, and when it came to Michael it was always an all or nothing situation.

Lisa wanted it all.

When he rose to his feet and started walking toward his bedroom, still sheathed into her body as if he belonged there, she held onto him and kept kissing him as if her life depended on it. Sex could be good, but never as soul-shattering as making love to Michael was. Of course, he was a skilled and generous lover, very much in tune with her needs and desires, but there was also so much more about him. The scent of his skin and the way he tasted, the way he kissed her and touched her, the way he moved inside of her and made her his, were as intoxicating as his amazing physical attributes.

Holding her body to him with one arm, he pushed the bedroom door open and Lisa noticed only a small light was on by the bedpost. The red satin sheets on the king-size bed were neat and clean, and for a second she wondered if he had ever fucked that other woman in this room. She immediately chased the thought away.

No, she didn’t want to know. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Kneeling on the bed, Michael suddenly stood still, still holding her in his arms and kissing her for what felt like the longest time. Then he gently laid her down on her back and came to rest on top of her, leaning on the palm of his hands, his torso raised enough to allow him to see all of her. He was the kind of man always in perfect control of every muscle in his body, obviously, and it showed – even during sex.

If Lisa had somehow become accustomed to Roman’s slow, mediocre lovemaking, his body always fully on top of her, his weight almost crushing her, this was completely different and she took a deep breath, tracing Michael’s perfectly defined triceps, then his pectorals, finally his abdomen. All the while, his lower body resumed moving almost on its own volition, with flawless, well-delivered jabs. This felt like coming home, and she wanted to cry. Her eyes stared down, where they were connected and where he moved, and she found herself moaning out loud, the thin layer of sweat covering their skin only increasing her desire. They fit together so perfectly.

“Michael…”

“Yeah…” He, too, was panting and staring down at the way he slid into her, his eyes wide open. His thrusts were powerful, but still measured and controlled. She knew he was trying his hardest not to lose control and go completely crazy on her.

Reaching down, she touched him and herself in the process, and he froze. She saw him close his eyes in absolute rapture and goosebumps appeared on his skin as she caressed him, held him. When he opened his eyes again, she was looking up at him.

“Fuck me…” Her other hand caressed his face. “Fuck me hard, baby. Please. I need to feel you… all of you…”

Something in the way he looked at her changed and his eyes turned into burning embers. He set his jaw, withdrew slightly and then surged forward with determination. And the dance began once again.

She didn’t know how many times he made her come. At one point, she simply lost count as she was submerged by bliss, hitting her wave after wave. Words rolled out of her mouth without her being able to control them. She asked him more, harder, and he gave it to her. She asked him to do whatever he wanted with her, and he did. At one point, he withdrew from her body and made her turn around and lie on her stomach, then pulled her into him by her hips. Standing on her hands and knees, Lisa buckled up for what she knew was going to be a complete catharsis of senses. She loved it when he took her from behind – and she knew he did too.

“Oh yeah… Mike… Give it to me good…”

“Lise… Oh, baby… You gon’ kill me…” And yet she knew he was nowhere near done. “You are so perfect… So fucking beautiful…” His strong hands kneaded her ass and he resumed moving, making her see stars.

For a very long time, he didn’t allow himself to let go, and she knew why. Just like her, he didn’t want this to end. And that was why at one point she asked him to please come- the way he wanted – and then start again. And again. And again.

And so he did.

There was absolutely nothing they didn’t indulge in, that night. Nothing Lisa didn’t allow him to do, not a way she didn’t let him love her and not a way she didn’t allow herself to love him back. Michael’s bedroom became a micro-universe and they were trapped inside, acting as if the rest of the world had been completely obliterated. An utter exuberance of actions took the place of unusually absent words of love. Verbal communication was absorbed and silenced into the physical demonstration of their feelings. Neither one of them dared to say anything – and yet their reticence said it all.

The last time they made love that night, Lisa was sitting on top of him, strangely in charge for once. Interlacing her fingers with him, she brought his hands over his head and he held onto her, allowing her to ride him and have complete reign over his body. His hips moved up, accompanying her movements. Their eyes locked, they breathed one another and it was her turn to control her own pleasure while focusing on him.

She guided him to his climax with a devotion that almost scared her. This was not the way a one-night stand was supposed to be. Or was it? The perseverance and precision of her movements, her hips swaying, her muscles clenching, her lips torturing his neck, her hands everywhere, did a number on him and she felt him pulsing and engorging inside. Exhilarated by the feeling, she kept going and stared at him – so stunning, his hair damp and clinging to his forehead, face flushed, eyes sparkling – as he came so violently that he dragged her with him. It was both beautiful and painful at the same time.

Afterward, exhausted and boneless, she collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily, kissing the damp and salty skin of his chest.

His arms closed around her and he didn’t move for the longest time, allowing her to hold him inside, still twitching with the aftershocks of his orgasm. She enjoyed his sighs and low moans, and waited until his breathing finally turned into something remotely normal once again.

Hours later, as the sun started to rise, they found themselves face to face, turned to a side, their limbs entwined. They were cuddling, their eyes half open. The bed was a mess, the sheets were crumpled – and they both looked tired. But also so wholly fulfilled.

Still staring at her, Michael gently took her hand and kissed it, finger by finger. Lisa blinked, slowly, then rested her palm on his cheek and the lightest grin appeared on her face.

“I love this…”

Michael too smiled.

“What?”

“Your stubble…”

Oh, right. He knew. It had always been a weak spot, for her. Once again he turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand.

Lisa bit her lips.

“Michael… Tonight doesn’t have to be more than what it was…”

His face a calm mask, he sighed and kept staring at her, moving her hand from the side of his face and down to his chest, holding it there.

“And what was it?”

She raised her eyebrows and closed her eyes for a minute, as if she was expecting his question but didn’t really know the answer.

“Well… we were… kinda tipsy. And I think we got a bit carried away…”

“You think?” He couldn’t help but give her a lopsided smirk and she smiled, rolling her eyes. Yeah, well… understatement of the year, calling a sex marathon a mere loss of self-control. An extremely contagious case of temporary insanity.

“Yeah, I do.”

“… And you regret it happened?” Michael looked at her intently, his face grave and composed.

“I could never regret making love to you. Ever.” She paused, seeming pensive for a second. “It was an amazing night, Mike.”

“Yes, it was.”

“What about you? Do you?”

“Do I, what?”

“Do you wish it hadn’t happened…” She lowered her gaze and chewed on her lip.

He touched her chin gently, searching her eyes again. When he found them, he shook his head.

“There are other things I wish didn’t happen. But not this.”

“What other things?”

Shaking his head again, not really finding the words in the tangle of confusion and contrasting feelings that his mind was at that very moment, he could only scoot forward quietly and cover her mouth with his own, breathing his answer into that kiss, which he broke only after they both were once again breathless.

“Other things… It’s complicated, Lise. But no, I don’t regret this at all. I wanted what happened.”

“I did too.”

Closing his eyes when she rested her forehead against his own, he took a moment to regroup.

“And yet we both know… that life goes on…”

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how charged with desperate sadness and longing they were. Lisa kept her eyes closed, not allowing him a clear view of her thoughts or feelings, and sudden heaviness filled his soul.

“Are you gonna tell your girlfriend?”

“Should I?” Once again, his face was nothing but a calm mask.

“It’s not up to me to give you an answer, Mike.”

“What about you? Are you gonna tell him?”

Sighing she backed off a little, but kept her legs entwined with his, her foot gently stroking his calf.

“I don’t know. Maybe… Or maybe not.” A pause. “I really don’t know, right now.”

“I think…” He moved a strand of long hair away from her face. “I think this was something that concerned us, and nobody else. I mean… I don’t wanna sound cocky, because I really don’t know how… how committed or serious you are with this guy, but…” Gosh, how serious could she be? Come on. She had allowed Michael to be inside of her for hours on end, doing to her everything he wanted! He repressed what he perceived as an arrogant thought, reminding himself that his arrogance, too, had contributed to their eventual separation, the previous year. Clearly, he still needed to learn not to take things for granted.

Lisa placed her finger on his lips, silencing him. Thank goodness. He was afraid he would get in trouble if he kept going.

“I don’t know if it only concerns us, but I think it was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time. The other night, at the ranch, we both know we got this close to what happened tonight. I don’t even know how we managed to stop. Well… You did.”

Was there a hint of sadness in her voice? Was she sorry he had stopped? Sure as hell she hadn’t looked like she wanted him to stop at all, earlier. Michael removed her finger from his lips.

“You got no idea how hard it was not to kiss you, that night.”

“For real?”

“Well… Yeah. I mean, can’t you tell?” To make his point even more explicit, he traced her arm, down to her side, the curve of her hip.

She didn’t say anything, but sought his mouth again and they resumed kissing for a few more minutes. It was apparent that they were trying to cheat time, delaying the inevitable. Parting ways – albeit momentarily – seemed to be their specialty.

“You wanna know what I think, Lise?”

“Tell me.”

“I think we needed this, especially after the shit we went through last year…” He frowned. “I think we both needed to remember how good things between us could be. That we don’t always hurt each other. That we can also be…”

“…Be?”

Michael seemed to grow frustrated with his inability to verbally express himself.

“I don’t know. The best we can, to one another… I guess. I don’t ever want your last memory of us to be a fight. I want you to remember how good we could be together. That’s why what happened tonight ain’t something I’ll ever feel bad about. Or something I might feel the need to share with whoever I’m dating now… or whatever. Why should we let this affect anyone else but us?”

Lisa gave him one of her crooked smirks and one of those looks from below her long eyelashes.

“You are a bit confusing. You’re telling me this was some sort of make-up sex to you?”

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“I don’t know. Would it be so wrong if it were?”

“Michael – friends aren’t supposed to fuck to patch things up, are they…”

“We didn’t fight when we were friends. We fought when we were lovers.”

She pretended to be struck by a sudden epiphany, but he knew she was only fucking with him.

“Ohhh, I think I see your point now!”

One more kiss… And this time when he spoke, he did it right against her lips.

“Cool… You gotta go now?”

“It’s about six in the morning, Mike… I think I’ll wait another couple of hours or so… Just to look more… you know… inconspicuous.”

“I think it’s a great idea…” His lips moved to her neck and he felt her arms close around his shoulders, her nails gently scraping his skin. “You tired?”

Barely a breath in between gentle bites.

“Exhausted. You really should let me sleep for a little bit…”

All the while, she pulled him on top of her, parting her legs, cradling his already growing erection against her center.

“Sounds fair enough…”

Her hand ran down his torso, found him and guided him where she wanted him to be.

“Come here…”

When Michael woke up, a few hours later, it was around ten in the morning and Lisa was gone.

Squinting his eyes, he lifted his head from the pillow and touched the other side of the bed. The sheets were cold. It was still surprising how she managed to exhaust him to the point that sleep was never a problem, when they were together. Or whenever he could just close his eyes while lying next to her. In fact, he hadn’t even heard her leave.

His heart sank and he sat up, scratching his head.

The last thing he remembered was Lisa falling asleep right after making love at the break of dawn. When her breathing had deepened and her body had finally relaxed, he was still inside of her. Michael remembered having tried to pull out, and her leg pulling him close. After that, it was nothing but complete darkness and he guessed he, too, had dozed off.

It had never happened with any other woman. To feel so utterly, completely at peace – to the point that he could let go of all defenses and just loosen up. And it was amazing how even the previous night she had managed to make him feel just like that, despite them not being back together at all. How could a one-night stand have such power over a man?

He tried to focus on the reality of things. He and Lisa were not a couple and, as a matter of fact, they had both cheated on someone else. Guilt surfaced the moment he realized that he didn’t feel guilty at all – when he very well knew he should. Then that uncomfortable feeling took the backseat as, standing up, he felt dizzy – his entire body sore and yet so incredibly replenished.

Michael thought he remembered how passionate he could be with Lisa, how different making love to her was, compared to having sex with any other woman. But the truth was that only going through the experience once again had allowed him to fully realize the extent of that chemistry. Her mere touch still seemed able to unleash a blazing inferno inside his soul and in every part of his body.

How was it even possible that such intense passion and connection could be ruined by stupid fights and their profound inability to trust what their spirits knew to be true?

Putting on a pair of pajama pants, he shook his head to himself and grabbed a clean t-shirt from a drawer. He had no idea. He just knew it had happened: he and Lisa had blown their occasion to be a happy couple. One too many times. The fact that their sexual connection was still there didn’t mean shit. If there was something his naive ass had learned, was that real life was not some romantic movie. Reality sucked, most of the times.

True… But how amazing could it be, on nights like the one he had just spent with her?

Groaning, he went to the kitchen and poured himself some orange juice. The first sips were perfect to gulp down a couple of Tylenols, since his back was screaming in pain once again. He drank the rest of the juice while staring outside the window, recalling how many mornings he had done the exact same thing, waiting for Lisa to walk into the room, soft and still half-asleep, and hug him from behind, her cheek resting against his back.

But that was the past.

Now, all of a sudden, even the streets below seemed emptier than he had ever seen them before.