The bedroom is dark and silent.  The only sounds are the breaths we take, our hearts beating in unison against the still of the night.  I can feel sweat on your body as we lie intertwined, our arms and legs tangled together.  For a moment we are motionless, enjoying the bliss of this moment.  Then your lips find my own and we share a single, gentle kiss before drifting off to sleep.

I know you’re leaving before the sun comes up, and my dreams are jarring and fitful.  I wake and you’re gone, every remnant of your presence vanished without a trace.  Next you tell me that you’re staying another day, only to disappear into thin air right in the middle of breakfast.  Then you leave without saying goodbye, and when my pained sobs have awakened us both I am relieved to find that you’re still beside me in my bed.  You take me in your arms and tell me everything’s all right, then kiss me until I am asleep.

You’re drying off after a shower when the bathroom light wakes me at four-thirty.  Your lean, muscular body is bathed in the soft white glow of the ceiling lamp.  The sadness of your impending departure is tempered by excitement, and I find myself wishing I had the energy to take you one more time.  I must settle for watching you dress, and once you’ve finished you sit on the edge of the bed beside me.  Words of love are exchanged, and then you kiss me good bye.  I remind myself not to cry as I watch you throw your bag over your shoulder and walk out of the bedroom.

I swallow hard as I hear the door shut.  My eyes feel red.  Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, I move to the window and look down at the snow-covered street below.  Your car sits under a street light at the end of my block.  In a moment you walk into view, and I watch as you cross the street and unlock the car.  At the last instant before you’re gone from my sight, I blow you one last kiss.

-Jill