Part 1 -- Aftertaste
The wine bottle is still on the kitchen counter.
Half empty. Room temperature. I didn't mean to leave it out. But I didn't stop myself, either.
The glass beside it is already waiting, like it knows I'll need it.
I pour a small one.
Just to land. Just to sleep.
The first sip is bitter. The second, softer.
I undress slowly. Not like before. Not like for anyone. Just tired now. Loose.
I crawl under the blanket, the room still lit by one low lamp in the corner.
The towel stayed behind.
So did the silence. The breath. The weight.
But nothing followed me home.
My body feels... settled. But not untouched.
Like a book that's been read through too fast. Pages still creased.
I stare at the ceiling. Not searching for anything.
Just letting time pass through me.
Then, finally--I reach over and turn off the light.
The dark feels honest.
My fingers trail down my stomach, over my hipbones, slow. No goal. Just checking.
I let them move between my legs, down the inner curve, between folds still soft from use. I trace lower.
My fingertips pass gently over my pussy, then further--lightly circling the other opening.
I breathe in.
It aches.
Not pain. Not quite.
Just tenderness. A reminder.
I let my hand rest there a moment longer.
Then pull the covers higher. Close my eyes.
Sleep comes. Eventually.
---
Weeks pass. Then months.
I change the delivery address. A new place, closer to work. No tension. No memory. Just transactions. Just barcodes. I never go near the old one. Not even by accident.
Their faces start to blur.
Not completely. I still remember their builds, their gestures. But the edges fade. Scents. Voices. Heat.
It all becomes something atmospheric--background noise. Not gone, just no longer near.
I sleep better.
I don't wake up slick with sweat, or ache for something I can't name.
The shape of them lingers less.
I stop checking shadows.
I stop looking for signals that aren't there.
I don't call it healing.
But it's movement.
I don't write.
I don't plan a return.
But I do think about it. Sometimes. Still.
Some nights, when everything is too still, I try.
Not to remember.
To feel.
I lie back, one hand under the sheet, the other on my chest. My body moves out of habit, not hunger. My fingers slide. Test.
I avoid the memories. I force myself to imagine something cleaner. Softer.
Someone nice. A soft-spoken man. Not them.
Just a mouth at my neck. A bed. A lazy morning. No power games. Just warmth.
I rub slowly. My hips shift. There's heat. Some tension. Almost enough.
But it never lands.
Not in that way.
I stop before it frustrates me. Just lie there, wet but unfinished.
Not broken--just unconvinced.
I roll over, the blanket high between my legs, and wait for sleep.
Part 2 -- Soft Pink Trap
It starts as a night out.
Nothing more.
Just me and a friend. A bar we like. Music too loud. Bodies too close. I chose the dress for the color, not the effect--soft pink, tight, elastic. Thin enough to whisper but not to shout.
I wear it like it doesn't matter.
Which, of course, means it does.
Underneath: a small matching thong. High on the hips.
Lips slightly glossy.
Hair pinned, then teased loose again.
I know the mirror will approve.
At the club, the beat hits first.
Then the warmth of bodies.
Then the wine.
I laugh louder than usual.
I feel it in my shoulders, in the way my hips sway even at the bar.
Not for anyone.
Just because I can.
Then I see him.
Across the room, at the far end of the bar. Ordering drinks, laughing at something the bartender says.
Man #2.
The quiet one.
The watcher.
The one who groaned into my skin and left his cum on my back like a gift.
Tonight he's all motion.
Looser. Louder. A little drunk.
He scans the crowd--men, women, shapes. He's not subtle.
And that's when I feel it.
The shift.
Not nerves. Not fear. Just clarity.
This is my chance.
Tonight, he's simple.
Open.
Drunk enough to follow.
Drunk enough to believe it's his idea.
I finish my drink.
Leave my friend in a blur of color and noise.
Head to the bathroom.
The mirror is kind.
Lips still glossy.
Eyes steady.
I pull my thong higher, tight against my hips. Let it show--just a little--through the pink.
I add more lipstick.
Pull my cleavage forward.
Just a few degrees too far. Enough to rewrite the story.
Then I step out.
Straight toward him.
He doesn't see me at first.
Then my hand brushes past his hip.
Around.
Over the bulge in his jeans.
He jumps.
Turns fast.
Recognition flashes.
Then--confidence.
That's what surprises me.
How quickly he falls into it.
He smiles, lazy. Like he's been waiting.
We talk. Not much. He does most of it.
About his work. His ex. How easy things are at this club.
He thinks our last meeting gave him power.
He buys me another drink.
Then another.
I let him.
Smile.
Listen.
Let him think he's leading.
Then, in the middle of a sentence, his hand slides under my dress.
No hesitation.
He pulls the thong aside.
One finger inside me.
I gasp.
Not out of surprise.
Out of precision.
Because it's exactly what I wanted.
Exactly what I planned.