Alethia moaned deeply with lustful wants. She arched her back and settled her head properly on the arm of the couch, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her body was melting with all the volcanic disaster that Ethan was erupting on her lips, his hands cradling her cheek and neck. The gentle brush of his tongue on her lower lip prompted her to part her lips, and by that a gentle moan escaped her mouth. She raised her lashes and stared faintly into his eyes, then she smiled to herself and urged his body further down so that she felt her nipples poking his chest.When he set her lips free, though she wished he hadn't, she took in a huge gasp of air and swallowed hard. Then she closed her eyes gently as he kissed the freckles on the slope of her neck, making her drowsy with unresolved desires.He was stopping again, restraining himself. Typical of Ethan to leave her stranded each time she felt they could migrate to the next step in their relationship. She breathed deeply and wondered what

Ethan would have made a winning plan for the case by now, but divorce was out of his expertise, and he was careful not to leave any side unturned. He rummaged through the litters of files on the bed and picked one, but while he understood the numerous legal terms and statutory offenses as stipulated by law, it didn't change the fact that divorce was out of his jurisdiction. He breathed deeply, feeling stressed already. He hated bringing work home, more so having to work on a Sunday. But the case was two weeks away, and he needed every tick and tock to get ready.He positioned a pillow behind him and reclined on the headboard, his bespectacled face focused on the sheet of paper in his hand. He read a paragraph and sucked his teeth, then he smacked his lips and dropped the sheet.Ethan removed his glasses and rubbed his lid gently. He was glad when a knock landed on the door--he could use the distraction. And when Alethia came in, he figured he could use her company as well."Are you b

"Ugly things choose to happen to beautiful people?" Alethia couldn't shake the thoughts off her mind. It'd plagued her soul since Ethan worded the phrase. But what bothered her the most was her emphasis on 'choose.' She reckoned that Ethan could have simply said "Ugly things happen to beautiful people," but he'd used 'chose to happen,' and it continued to bother her why.Alethia tossed and turned in bed. The dinner in her stomach didn't seem like it had settled well, and her eyes weren't lusting for the oblivion of sleep. She knew she had to get her answer that night, lest she stay up all night.So she got out of bed and fastened the robe of her nightwear against her waist. By the time she was in the living room, she could hear movements in Ethan's room. She approached and knocked on the door, then she waited for Ethan to open. But when he didn't immediately, she knocked again. She was going to knock the third time when Ethan opened the door, surprisingly in a pair of jean trousers a

Alethia picked up the condom and turned it to every side as she looked. Somehow it looked like an excerpt of a complete story, and she wondered who had authored it, and who must have co-written the story.She got out of bed and went to stand by the window, then she raised the condom as if the daylight flooding in through the window was supposed to give her a clearer view. It couldn't have been her mother's, could it? She tried to convince herself, but there was no point in thinking otherwise when she couldn't even believe it. Alethia reasoned, though, that her mother wouldn't have left a 'male' condom in the book she got as a gift for her. Then, on second thought, if her mom hadn't left the condom there, whoever had left it there must have been questionably affiliated with her mom. There was only one conclusion, and though it was supposed to be in Alethia's favor, she wasn't finding it funny that her mom might have cheated on Ethan.Alethia scrunched up her face and scratched her for

..."If she broke up with Ben, she must be seeing someone else, right?" Alethia stared at the door with the urgency that demanded attention. Emily might not be aware of it, but she was backing Ethan into a corner that he might not be able to escape from should she continue to ask those abrupt questions. And she was getting closer to the truth that even she didn't know existed. Alethia pressed her ears on the door to continue to eavesdrop on their conversations--whatever Ethan was going to reply with? But the silence was long after that."I just hope she would tell me about these things," Emily said. Alethia heard her mom smack her lips, then silence enveloped the mood once more. "Ethan?"Alethia could feel Ethan quivering through the door. The image of him in her head was that of a man who'd been caught red-handed, so he was thinking that the best way to minimize consequences was to come clean. But it seemed too soon to let the dog have the bone. It had dawned on Alethia that it was