This one started with a simple idea—the old classroom trope: two students, too much tension (they are studying Lady Chatterly's Lover, after all), and not enough restraint. I wrote several drafts, always in third person, always at a distance. But I wanted something more intimate, more atmospheric. Second person turned out to be the key. It let the reader inhabit the seat, the stillness, and the slow burn of the story.
There were a few different endings along the way—some obvious, some explicit—but I liked the tension of this one best. The unfinished edge felt truer to the moment.
Have a hankering to revisit college when a pretty co-ed sits next to you? Then I hope you enjoy The Body as Text.
Eric
P.S. The margin, aka comments, are open. Leave your note there; I’ll be reading between the lines.