Bagels

Bagel sandwich. Then coffee, pills and a kiss. All said, it was an inexpensive breakfast. The potato bagel was lightly toasted for a delicate crunch and the turkey sausage offset the sharpness of the cheese and slight sweet of the eggs.

It was easy to distract herself from her plan for the day. She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to stay and build a life together. But she didn't belong here. Not in Denver, not technically on earth.

The ship would be there at noon. There would be no more bagel sandwiches. No eggs, no turkey sausage, no cheddar... And no him. There were men on her planet, sure. But he wouldn't be there and that was the problem.

Reconnaissance had been her objective. Not falling in love. Of course, no one had said that she was forbidden to fall for a native. The pills she took every morning helped her adjust to the much cooler planet and their almost tepid creatures.

According to their first wave of research scientists, the females of the planet ran cooler than their male counterparts. The pills had helped her climatise to her environment. But she still found herself very cold most of the time.

When they'd first met, she told herself that she only desired his warmth. Then, it was his strength. But soon she found herself craving his company and later, craving his caress.

Snow

Have you ever noticed that snow seems to float up when the conditions are right?

Warning, not for kids!

They were looking out the store window, Alice's head on his chest while he stroked her hair. Their makeshift bed of pillows, blankets and their coats were spread out haphazardly; Evidence of the activity they'd just finished for the fourth or fifth time that night. Neither one of them had been able to stop or keep count.

The first time had been a matter of pure desperate lust. They had been like two orphans coming home, or two ships passing in the night, or whatever other symalie for two lovers discovering each other.

The second and subsequent episodes had been slower and more exploratory. They went over their new lover's bodies with wide eyed wonder and fresh passion at each discovery. Each one mentally compiling a list of dos and don't.

Finger

There was a finger laying in the middle of the room. It was no longer attached to its previous owner who was obviously male. There was no trailing of blood or tell-tale drops signalling that the owner had quickly left it behind. Just the finger. Solitary and bloodless. Staring back at the young woman who had discovered it in the middle of her employer's otherwise spotless parlour.