Game of Stones

A thought suddenly assailed me, and I stopped.

"Lisa? Are--"

"--Safe," she interrupted without slowing her movements.

The rest didn't take long as my body responded to what became the most pleasurable feelings I'd ever experienced, and her spasms began about twenty seconds later. I rolled off her and squeezed her against me.

"Lisa, what just happened?" I murmured into her ear.

"What I think we've both wanted this to happen, just maybe a little quicker than we'd planned.

"Quicker is certainly true. Are you sure? I mean..."

"Are you sure? I mean..." she echoed.

"I am. I just want you to be too."

"You know," she said as she snuggled in even closer to me and kissed my chin, "I've read about and heard people talk about love at first sight, and I wondered about it, but it was just an idea, and I had no real opinion about it. Then, that first night that I met you, I understood what it was all about. Something inside of me said, 'That's the one,' and I've been anxious ever since to make it happen, praying that you'd feel the same. I was willing to go slowly and nurture things if that's what was needed, but I wanted you."

"And you have me way faster than I thought you would. I think we had about the same experiences that first night. Once I saw you and talked with you, I could hardly wait to be with you again. And, listening to you tonight, I think maybe it was double love at first sight."

"Aren't you curious about me telling you I was safe?"

"I hope you weren't kidding."

"No, silly. I wouldn't kid about something like that. A couple of years ago, just to secretly spite my parents and their ideas that I didn't agree with, I got an IUD."

"Wow, but that reminds me. I asked you what you did during the day, and we got kind of sidetracked on other issues, and I never received an answer."

She kissed me. "Sure you really want to know?"

"Of course, silly." Even in the near darkness, the flashlight having rolled off the edge of the blanket, I could see a big smile forming.

"I'm a writer. I write short stories and novels. I get names from the stones and create stories in my head from them. Some are dark and mysterious, as you'd expect from a cemetery. Others are romances. A few are tragedies when I find a name, and the dates tell me they lived a very short life."

"So, if I search for Lisa Boswell, I'll find your stories and books?" It was hard to imagine that she was a published author.

"No, I use a pen name, but you'll know it soon. And you can help me write the amazing romance of Lisa and Tony."

"I'm an engineer, Lisa. I don't think I'll be any good at writing."

"We'll see. Either way, you can help me with Tony's feelings and thoughts when he meets Lisa."

"I'll try."

"But at last, my game of stones is complete, wonderfully complete, and you need to get back to work."

"A reluctant okay. You can walk back to the office with me, and we can talk a little more. There are a lot of details we need to figure out."

And that's what we did, figured out a few details regarding two lives that would now be spending their time together.