I carried what felt like a tower of boxes up the stairs.

"We could have had these moved professionally" Carols strained voice bellowed from above. She dropped a heavy box on the floor and swore under her breath.

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked, joining her in the doorway. She leaned against the door frame and exhaled, wiping her brow. She was dressed in what amounted to casual attire for Carol. She was wearing an oversized, white, linen shirt, tucked neatly into the waistband of high waisted brown tapered trousers. Her soft blonde hair was held up by a blue silk scarf and her full lips held that all familiar shade of red. I had kissed those lips a hundred times, I mused. What a delight to know, finally, that they were mine to kiss without need for reproach.

"Where's the fun in this?" She enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"It's quite a sight for me" I told her, leaning down to pick up a box. "Seeing you all hot under the collar" I added, breezing past her to put the box down in our bedroom. It was easy, now, to flirt openly with Carol. It had not always been that way. No it had taken some weeks, verging on months, for me to be brought down to reality and begin to really see Carol. To begin with that same nervousness would grip me and I'd find myself biting back my thoughts, nervous to make the first move. Carol had always been the aggressor, the pursuer and I had been putty in her hands. Now it was time for me to play a part and truth be told I think Carol liked this new flicker of change in me. She liked the mischief in my eye and the flirtation in my words.

"So…" She began, placing a box down on the carpeted floor before sauntering over to me. She slipped her arm around the small of my back and brought me in close, so close that I could smell her perfume and feel her delicate breath against my cheek. "…It seems as though you've been rewarded handsomely for your work"

"I would say so" I insisted allowing my eyes to appreciatively roam the curves of her body.

"What's my reward?" She spoke breathlessly, peering at me through long lashes, her eyes growing dark with desire.

"I'm here aren't I?" I asked with a coy smile.

She grinned back at me. "That you are" She replied. She slipped and errant hair behind my ear and placed a kiss against my cheek.

"Do you think the neighbours will mind our kissing with the door open?" I wondered aloud, purring like a cat under Carol's touch.

She glanced over her shoulder at the open doorway and shook her head. "You're far too distracting" She muttered under her breath. She walked over to the front door and closed it firmly. In a split moment I felt the playfulness leave the room and Carol grew quiet with its loss. She walked over to one of the boxes and started taking out book after book. There was no explanation and for a dull moment I felt perplexed by the sudden change in her. I was used to Carol growing cold, going quiet and yet it still made its impact known.

I walked over to her and took a book out of her hand. "Carol?" I asked gently.

"We should probably get this all packed away…" She mumbled, distracted, as she began placing books on to an empty book shelf. "…Will these do here? You can move things around if you like…"

"Carol" I urged, taking her hand in my own. She was stiff to the touch.

She looked at me finally and let out a suppressed sigh. "We should be more careful" She reminded me, her shoulder sagging slightly with the weight of her words. "You understand that don't you Therese?"

I nodded my head. I understood it and yet I did not want to understand it. I would never be able to wrap my head around the notion that what Carol and I shared, in all its magnificence, could ever be regarded as wrong. "I do" I replied, simply.

"I worry for you Therese…for us"

"Why?"

She mulled over her answer for a moment. "I can see in your eyes how unabashed you are, how proud you are of us…"

"I can't deny that" I insisted emphatically.

"But, my darling, there may be times when you have to" She whispered, softening to my touch. She moved to wrap her arms around me, pulling me in close. "Believe me i adore your passion and spirit more than you can imagine but we must remember to be careful"

I nodded in to her embrace. "You're right. I know you're right" I kissed her cheek, the tip of her nose and then finally her mouth. "Then there is only one thing for it!" I announced, stepping away and striding in to the bathroom. She followed me with a look of amusement and intrigue. "We must make the most of the time we have alone" I turned on the faucet, watching hot water gush in to the bath. "I shall have to adore you unabashedly in private as much as possible"

Her smile got the better of her as she gave in to the pleasure of my words. She registered the filling bath with an arched brow.

"I see no better way to adore you" I insisted, teasing the tails of her white shirt free. "And no better way to celebrate the occasion" Button after button was popped open to reveal creamy white skin that was soft and subtle to the touch.

"What about the boxes?" She mumbled, voice lost to the sensation of my mouth kissing her beautifully delicate neck. Her hand found its way into my hair, cradling my head as I nipped at the skin of her breast. "On second thoughts…" She gasped at the contact and I couldn't help but smile against her soft skin. "…damn the boxes" She cursed bringing my mouth to hers in one forceful motion, her desire getting the better of her as she slipped into a deep kiss that made my breath catch in my throat and my heart pound with expectation. I kissed her back, hungrily, my hands responding by pawing at the buttons of her trousers. In a, mere, flicker our passion could ignite, from the spark of a match, a small chaste kiss, to a smouldering fire of an embrace. Sometimes I wanted her so badly I ached for her. in a fleeting moment I wondered, would this ever change? Would it simmer down to normality? As she pulled at the buttons of my blouse, never breaking our kiss, I couldn't imagine that we would ever be anything less than on fire. "Therese?" She spoke in to the kiss. Ever distracted by my desire I continued to allow my hands to slip along the curves of her hips. "Therese?" She repeated more forcefully. I pulled away from the kiss in response. "The bath Therese!" She exclaimed. "The bath!"

I tore my eyes away from her flushed face to register the bath water, climbing dangerously close to the brim. I cursed under my breath and moved instantly to turn off the rushing water. I could hear her chuckling as I leant on the tub with a deep exhale. "That was close" I remarked.

"We'll be a while waiting for this to cool" She commented. She allowed her hands to dance on the surface of the scorching water.

"Then I'll have to adore you twice" I teased, allowing myself to be guided in to the bedroom.