And then, I turn on my phone after work and there's a voicemail from G.

He is yelling hockey stats again, and I can't help but grin like a damned fool.

His excitement is infectious.

I'm still not sure why he's calling me and I am waiting for the day when he stops.

~

Standing at the work table, palms flat on the smooth surface. I am naked, completely so, and comfortable.

I am looking over my shoulder with anticipation, sun shining through the curtain of my hair and turning it to fire and gold.

He pauses, a catch in his voice: "You look very beautiful like that," he says. "You have such a classic beauty."

I smile, a slow cat-like crawl across my face, and say, "Hurry up."

~

Mike sits on the other side of the table, a couple people down.

I watch him as he talks, while other people talk around me.

He is a beautiful man. Thirty years old, barrel chested, black hair in a deep widow's peak.

His eyes are long lashed, and smile constantly.

I want to touch him in his no place so badly, but he barely even acknowledges my existence.

But then...he doesn't really notice anyone romantically. He's about as flirtatious as a fence post.

~

I think about love and lust a lot.

The differences, the similarities.

The difficulty of having a significant relationship without a combination of the two.

Life is so weird.

.

Rosie.

Before&After