(Please excuse any grammatical errors. All short stories by Solovino Reyes are in development and will be edited throughout the year.)

He opened one eye to see her lying next to him. Then he opened the other. The light coming from the window made him squint. In the glow of the sun’s rays he studied her face closely. Enamored by her pout, he looked at her long, allowing his senses to take it all in. He mimicked her breathing pattern and felt connected to her. Under the blanket that they shared all night he held her hand and felt a profound sense of comfort, a feeling of belonging that he never openly shared with her.

His eyelids began to feel heavy again. Slowly they closed, things faded to black, and he fell back into a deep sleep. Sinking slowly, then rapidly, then slowly into himself, his dreams took over.

Solovino, has always favored his morning dreams, as they are the most lucid interpretations of his thoughts: in full color and high definitio­­n sensory perception. All the light in the room, and the woman lying next to him, now materialized before him in a world of perfect dimension and color. Where a single touch from her dreamy double sent electric impulses all over his sleeping being. In this world he made love to her better than he had the night before, absorbing her entire existence in every embrace and penetration. Feeling the natural beauty of his tongue deep in her face.

Last night’s drunken fuck was like a sloppy good night kiss that lasted only as long as schoolyard fight and ended in two people snoring the night away inside a cheap hotel, midst the smell of alcohol, cigarettes and sweat; both too tired and too drunk to complain. The sound of two people fighting next door was their lullaby.

But this morning, in the visions being transmitted to him cerebrally, it was much different. Except for the fact that this too ended much to quickly. The explosion of sensation was overwhelming and sent his body into an upright position. His eyes opened to see an empty pillow next to him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw her purse and clothes were gone from the dresser.

Dammit!

He feelings for this woman were stronger than he’d like to admit. He enjoyed the simplicity of being next to her. It might be another month before he sees her again. As he reminisced about last night’s quickie he was hoping to redeem his sexual manhood.

Lying there collecting his thoughts he heard the shower start. He smiled.