Kate and I have sort of gone off intercourse. It started when she pulled something in her leg during one of her judo meets. The doctor, with all the seriousness he could muster, recommended going without sex for a week or two while it healed. We mimed acting horror, and then laughed at each other. Still, I wasn't exactly fond of going back to my relationship with Miss Rosy Palm.

As it turns out, Kate being sidelined was one of the best thing that ever happened to me. That night when I went to bed, I expected to stay up a while reading and then fitfully try to sleep, hopefully being able to will my longing erection down. But when I got into bed Kate was immediately touching me, kissing me, gazing up at me with those green eyes that couldn't hide arousal if her life depended on it. I dropped my book and responded.

It seemed to stretch on forever, our nude bodies pressed between the cool sheets while our hands wandered and explored each others' bodies. This wasn't a prelude to anything, just two humans touching and tasting each other. And she tasted divine, in the little sucks and nips I made on her shoulder and neck and breasts. We kissed a few times, tasting our own sweat.

After a pleasant eternity I came in her hands, spilling my seed out onto the bed, seemingly out into space. I hooked two fingers inside Kate and pressed my wrist against her clit as I fingerfucked her. I took one of her plump breasts in my mouth and held tight to it as she spasmed against me, also meeting her release. We fell asleep like that, our bodies pressed together, slumbering in a cocoon of our own juices.

There was none of the stress of fucking, the urgent bumping and grinding and porn star shouts and desperately trying to hold out until she came. This was soft and languid, a mutual gift. It seemed a bit like a warm bath or a long hug, but with orgasming.

After Kate's leg healed we tried fucking again. It was okay, don't get me wrong, but as usual I came too early, clenching my eyes shut in a mixture of euphoria and embarrassment. Kate said nothing, just frantically frigged herself to a belated climax. Even after a long absence, it still felt unsatisfying. I had thought that as the months marched on and we got used to each other it would get better, but all that happened was that we lost the electric energy that comes with a new relationship.

There was a silent agreement after that to return to our sabbatical. It was a weird return to high school fumbling with girls who wouldn't let you go all the way, or with boys who wouldn't leave unsatisfied. Kate said that it reminded her of sex with Annie, which I didn't know how to feel about. At my confused expression she laughed and patted my elbow, telling me not to worry.

Tonight when we go to bed, after a long day of bullshit at work and bullshit on the TV, Kate undoes her pony tail and lets her long brown hair fall down like a starter's flag. I step up behind her and kiss the nape of her neck, encircling her waist with my arms. We rock against each other, enjoying each others' warmth, my cock stiffening between the globes of Kate's ass.

Eventually it gets to be too much and we tumble all the way down to the bed, really just a mattress on the floor, but good enough for us. I pull her blouse up, and she's already undoing her bra, tossing it to the side like a shed skin. I take a moment, as I do every day, to appreciate Kate's breasts – round and plump and responsive to my touch, soft globes topped by shy, stiff scarlet nipples, each just large enough to fit in my hands. My hands are caressing them out of habit, and I enjoy their weight in my hands. Kate is tugging at my shirt, and I reluctantly lift my arms up so she can pull it off me.

Our pants come off as if removed by a third party, and there we are, sexes barely concealed by inadequate underwear. We run our hands over each other, unhurried, stopping to enjoy the goosebumps and coos of pleasure. I find unexpected beauty and eroticism in Kate's fingers, in the scar on her knee, in the hollow of her back. She too is touching me, her mouth fastened on chest, then biting into my shoulders before lapping at my neck. We lose our underwear somewhere in the midst of this, and are now naked as babes. Our hands, as if pulled by a black hole, are drawn to each others' private parts.

I breathe in sharply as Kate grabs a hold of my stiff cock, running her fingers up and down it experimentally, teasing something more. I run my hand through her moist pubic hair, brushing her clit just enough to make her jolt. She gives me a sly smile, that of someone who has the tables turned on them. Kate cups my balls and gently caresses them, while her other hand seems to be everywhere but my cock, finding erogenous zones in my shoulders and legs and chest.

I suppose that I could tease her more, but I have neither the heart nor the willpower. My right hand runs against her pussy lips, and she rubs against me, trying to trap my hand between her thighs. I curl a finger, and she arches against me, desperately attempting to engulf me whole. I lean my head down and suck the tip of her breast into my mouth, flicking my tongue across her pert nipple. The hissing moan that escapes her lips is familiar, but still exhilarating.