Chapter 1

*Snict* as the key to Marie's house slid into its lock, she couldn't help but notice the euphemism it depicted. The smooth slide of metal on metal, the perfect fit. A quick flick of her wrist and the lock and key both came together, finding fulfillment as the lock sprang free. But when someone had gone for more than 10 years without a significant other, or sex in general, she thought to herself, anyone would notice something like that.

Her hand slipped a little as she grasped the door knob. Her skin still wet and pruny from spending the afternoon in the ocean. While living off the beaten path meant she couldn't pop over and ask the neighbors for a cup of sugar when she needed it, she was able to walk out her front door and be in paradise. But even paradise could have its problems, thus the reason she locked the door every time she left the house. Even if she was just going for a quick swim.

The small town of Angala, South Carolina was about 20 miles away from her front door, and her closest neighbor wasn't even within shouting distance. The rooftop of Mrs. Krann's house was just barely visible past the dusty sand dunes. The isolation had been a huge draw for her to buy this place nearly five years ago. She had wanted somewhere private enough so she could work, yet still be close enough to a hospital if the need ever arose. However, the only major injuries she had sustained thus far had been paper cuts and carpal tunnel.

Ah, the life of a writer.

Glancing back towards the ocean, she took a moment to just take everything in. The briny, slightly fishy breeze that blew around her. The warmth of the sun as it caressed her chilled face and body. The white capped waves out on the water crashing into the azure blue beneath them. As she pushed the door open, she noticed the gritty feeling of the sand that had cemented itself to her feet after she had left the water and traipsed back to her house.

Going out into the water had become part of her normal routine, of course missing a day or two depending on the weather and ocean conditions. She didn't always go for a swim. Sometimes just a leisurely walk up to her ankles or knees sufficed. And sometimes even just sitting in the sand looking out at the extreme vast stretch of water was enough to quell her racing mind.

Today had not been one of those simple, relaxing days at the beach however. Her mother had called. Marie's mother had always been a bit of a worry wart as well a helicopter parent. However, since Marie had moved out of her parent's house to be on her own 10 years ago, her mother seemed to be getting worse. Today's topic of combat had been the fact that Marie was approaching 30 and had not found a husband yet.

"Marie, you don't want to be alone for the rest of your life do you?" her mother had vented. "I need to be sure that you are going to be taken care of when I die." Yeah, in another, like, 30 years mom! Rachel had gotten married and given birth to Marie quite young in life, married at 19 with Marie coming along shortly after that.

"I know mom. I'm just really focused on getting this next book done. After the deadline has passed, I'm meeting some friends for drinks and who knows what could happen!" She tried to sound sincere even though she was lying through her teeth. It was true she had a fast approaching deadline for her next book, Aquarius, was due in about a month. Aquarius was set to be the fifth book in her Constellation Brotherhood series. Each book featuring one god of the zodiac and meeting and falling in love with his intended soul mate. She had started the Constellation Brotherhood series when she was in college, they were her original book babies, and she had been afraid to share them with the world. That was until about 5 years ago when her best friend Ann had gone behind her back and shown a copy of her first book, Leo, to her publishing boss. He had called her the next day with a contract, so in the end it had worked out for everyone.

As much time as she had spent with her characters however, she had only fleshed out about four of them, Leo, Cancer, Aries, and Taurus. She was now onto Aquarius' story and she was hitting major road blocks. The gentle romance scenes seemed tired and repetitive. The language stony and insincere. And the sex scenes were even boring her as she was reading them. And it's not like she didn't do her research for those. She read as much as she could to see if inspiration sparked. Talked to Ann and her other friends for ideas. Had even ventured into watching different types of porn to try and make anything stick.

All in vain!

"I don't believe you! I am over 50 now Marie! I don't have much time left and I want to be able to see and love my grandchildren. When I was your age, you were already 10!" Her mother ranted into the phone. Fuck.

Breath in…1…2…3… Breathe out…1…2…3…

"Mom, I know you are upset and worried but I can take care of myself. And who knows if I even will have kids. If I do decide to have kids, it will be when I decide!" She hadn't meant for her voice to take on a sharp edge, but she was tired of having this conversation. Had even avoided her mom's calls a few times just to try and circumvent the topic all together. "I'm sorry, this deadline is really pushing me to the wire, so I need to get going. I love you." She quickly ended the call. Her mom's voice still coming through in the background as she pulled the phone from her ear, threw it on the couch, and headed for her laundry room where her bathing suit perpetually lived.