Under a Winter Corona Sky

It's been a while since I've published here. Kindness, please. This is a sweet heat story compared the level of previous works but yearning with need and with the undercurrent of more to come. Happy Valentine's day to you, whenever you read this. I would appreciate your contest vote and welcome your comments.

-- a woman who believes in artistry and sensuality.

Under a Winter Corona Sky

Clasping her arms around herself, Allie tilted her head up to the stars. The night wasn't that cold. She'd just needed to be held; something that evaded her most of the time since the "Shelter in Place" order came. Who knew the colder months would close doors all over again?

Breathe. Just breathe.

The stars were thick with the hint of a cooling fall breeze flowing over the deck, immersing her in the scent of outdoors, mint, and herbs she'd planted in the boxes during the summer. Alone in her apartment, Allie had always been thankful that her deck overlooked the greenery of a town square. Every night when it wasn't raining or snowing, she would step onto the deck and turn to the stars.

Maybe it was something she learned from her mother. Maybe it was just filling her lungs with fresh air, after hearing yet another newscast painfully reminding her of covid-19 tragedies. Maybe it was something else. When she was little and her mother was alive, she would look up to the stars and whisper her wishes.

Allie gripped the deck rail and repeated the words, aloud. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might..." Breathe, Allie. "I wish I might have company tonight."

No one witnessed the tears that flowed.

*****

Way back at the beginning of the shutdown, which felt like a lifetime ago, Allie had been a lively supporter to friends, calling them and cheering them on. Shared moments over online videos bolstered each other. Summer brought more connections, time outside, visits and meetings with her friends; socially distant but so welcomed.

Then the cold breezes came. Winter meant their chats changed back to Zoom sessions and occasional Quarantini nights, laughing and drinking away their isolation. Allie researched dating during covid-19, sharing and discussing the possibilities with her girlfriends.

"Why don't you try it too, Allie?" Tyler asked. "You could Zoom instead of going out."

"Me? Naw. I'm just helping all of you." Allie shrugged and sipped her wine.

"C'mon. Let's all try and report back next week. Share the fails."

"Or better yet, successes," chimed in Liz. "Gawd, I would love to have hot conversation on the phone with some foreign-accented guy."

"I'll take any accent, including Jersey shore, if it meant I didn't need B.O.B.," added another friend.

"Wait. Who's Bob?" Allie asked.

"You know... Best Orgasm Buddy. Bob. Mine's blue and buzzes."

They burst into giggles. The conversation sank further into the depths, leaving all five girlfriends in fits of laughter. It also left Allie with just enough support for her to take matters into her own hands. She did so that night, her hands traveling where an imagined man's hands would. They stopped short though. She looked at her purple toy and tossed it aside. Not even her "BOB" would help. She needed something real.

"They're right." She yanked off the covers, and with only a nightie and slippers on, she stomped out onto her icy deck, and spoke to the stars. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have you work your magic tonight. Bring me a man. No, make it a man to love. That's it--- someone to care for, who would love me in return." She stepped inside and turned back. "Thank you, stars. And no tricks please. A real man."

She crawled back into bed, sleeping more heavily than she had in days.

*****

The next day, Allie went against all dating and selfie advice. No Instagram filters. No head tilted upward with a slimming pose. No flawless make-up and perfect lighting. Fearlessly, she posted a less than flattering picture of herself on the dating app and left the message: "This is the real me in the morning. I'm looking for a real guy to talk with before I go crazy locked up in my apartment. We all work remotely now. Who says we can't talk and play, too?"

Replies came in. She expected a few lewd comments, but the level of replies was disheartening as a dozen dick pics pinged on her phone, some with comments. "Play with this." "Messy hair? I'll mess it really good for you when you go downtown on my..." The comments made her cringe.

With her finger ready to delete the app, one last message pic came in of a friendly faced man. His hair was dark, sticking out in random directions, and his chin covered with prickles from a few days without shaving. The best part, he was holding up an equally scruffy dog. The message? "Bed head competition is on over here. Who's the winner of cutest scruff?" He left a private text request on the app.

Allie took a chance and texted him, "Not sure. Maybe the dog?"

"No fair. Sebastian always looks like that. I put in two days effort in sweatpants and no shaving to get this look."

"Only two days?"

"Okay. Three, but I have to shave it off for a Zoom meeting at 2pm. Keeping the sweatpants on though."

Giggling, Allie typed in the text. "Too bad. I was hoping you'd take them off." The second she pressed send, her face flushed red. What did I just type?!

The reply came back. "Grin. I think this play/talk thing sounds very interesting. How about a talk/date after work hours? Heading to a very cold shower now. Are you in?"

Allie's eyebrows shot up. "The shower?"

"The talk/date. But hey, the shower too."

"How about 7:00pm post shower?" She offered.

"You're on. I'll bring the towels."

"Skip the towels."

"You're definitely on. See you at 7:00pm."

"Not what I ---" He clicked off the app before she could clarify. The call that night was the banter she'd hope it would be. They even shared cell phone numbers. She tucked under blankets that night feeling lighter than she had in weeks.

*****

They spoke again the next night, and the next. Allie's breathing thickened, deepened. The crisp sheets caressed her naked skin under thick winter blankets on a January star-filled night. Her phone rested near her pillow, face flushed at Calvin's whispered words. They'd given up on crackle image video and traded to cell calls for these late-night moments. Each call became more intimate. Each call made when Cal was able to pull from his work and drawn to her.

"Oh gawd, do you know what your breathing is doing to me, Allie? Is your hand skimming down your body like I asked?"

She could barely speak a hushed, "Oh, yes," hissing out the last word. His directions became more explicit and her responses less verbal, flowing into sighs with his moans joining in.

*****

Talking to Cal became her salve. It revived her spirits. The nights sparkled even on starless evenings. The days quickened, especially when Cal assured her, "When this whole covid thing is over I'm going to take you out on a proper date. Better yet... an improper one." Heated shivers rolled through Allie at that.

*****

Days rolled into a couple weeks. Cal's phone had shown the signs of aging, not holding the battery charge. Waiting for the latest model mobile, he simply "borrowed" his roommate's phone for facetime.

"C'mon Rob, just a few more minutes bro."

"Don't bro me. I need it," he said with an attempt to dislodge his phone from Cal's hands.

Cal pulled the cell phone out of reach. "Naw uh," Cal joked.

Rob leaned into the image, smiling with a mop of curled dark hair. "Can you tell this grunting man that I need my phone back before I go?"

"But it's Allie. Don't make me hang up on someone who's cute."

"I won't." Rob stumbled on his words. "I mean, yes, 'course you're cute. You're beautiful as ever. It's just..."

Did he blush? She laughed with her hair threatening to spill from her haphazard ponytail.

Rob continued, "...just that, well, I need to walk Sebastian and I have a business call I'm expecting."

"Ugh." Cal groaned, unrelenting pulling the phone closer. "Just one more minute or five."

Allie tittered with flattery. "You heard him, Caveman. Charge your phone and call me later."

"Okay, okay. What I really should do is fill my car with gas and drive all those miles straight to you."

"What you should do is get ready for work." Rob called into the phone. She could see him gathering the dog leash in the background.

"I am. Allie readies me for my day at the pharmaceutical labs. She fills me with all sorts of distracting thoughts."

"Do not."

"You could if I had more privacy," Cal said motioning to Rob in the background who quickly stepped out of frame. "I would have loved to describe every last detail of what I would do to you if you were in my arms."

"I'm still here, listening." Rob called out. Sebastian barked. "Would you like me to describe...in detail... what Sebastian will do on the carpet if he doesn't get a walk? Say goodbye to beautiful Allie for now."

"Goodbye for now, beautiful Allie."

Allie hung up with a smile that permeated her whole day. It was the first time Cal had called her beautiful. The word swirled happily through her thoughts.

*****

Later at night, she got a very descriptive text involving little to no clothing and her legs in a gymnastic pose with Cal between them, promising hours of delight. They both knew he wouldn't even be able to talk the next day since he was working late in the Pharmaceutical lab, something that happened more and more frequently. Still, they found a way for a brief video here and there.

Two days later came the mid-day text. He was flying to a covid-ridden area. He'd call in a couple days. "Don't worry Princess. I'll cover every inch of myself with plastic protection." It followed with, "Kinky, huh?"

A week later Allie's spirits faltered. She admitted so on the Quarantini Zoom session with her friends. "He hasn't called, and I can't reach him. I know there's security protocol but still..."

"Didn't this happen before? He disappeared when his cell ran out of batteries?"

"Yes," Liz chimed in. "You had to call Sebastian instead."

"Sebastian?" Allie laughed. "No. That's the dog. Rob's the roommate."

"Well, call him and see if he heard anything from Cal."

She did just that only to learn he couldn't reach Cal either. "Hey, Allie, I have to walk the beast. Try not to worry. With his hours, he goes MIA sometimes." Sebastian barked in the background. "Gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow."

The strange thing was that Rob did call. And the following nights after that. He encouraged Allie to go for more walks and would join her, though miles away, walking Sebastian.

They'd call and walk, talking for long minutes, sharing the bits of nature that surrounded each. Rob had an ease and warmth that seemed to encourage and envelop her.

Late one evening a video chat came on. "Hey there Allie."

"Hi Rob. Oh, I see Sebastian wagging," Allie adjusted her video camera.

"Yeah. He's unloaded. It was a two bag walk tonight." Rob moved in closer to the video camera.

"TMI." Allie cringed.

"Right. You're telling me. Anyway, I uh." Rob's expression darkened. "I heard from Cal. He uh... had covid."

"Oh no." Allie's heart raced. "Is he okay? Was he in isolation?"

Rob didn't answer and turned away, drawing in a breath.

"It's worse isn't it?"

"Als, Allie." He paused. "I don't know how to say this, but he's moved on."

"Moved on?" Allie collapsed onto her sofa. "He's... dead?"

"What? No! No." His breath quickened as did his words. "He does this. He crashes with people, and moves on, leaving others to pick up the pieces. Namely me."

"What?" Her voice was barely audible.

"He's out west coast. He took a new job and a blonde. He left me with his dog and a lease I'm not going to renew."

"But I thought Sebastian was your sweet scruffers. You were always walking him."

"He is now." Rob petted Sebastian before looking up. "I know you must be..." He shrugged, wordless.

"Numb." Allie answered. "I'm numb and dumb."

Rob took a beat and then smiled. He had a kind, sincere smile that spread across his whole face. "I always thought of you more as Snow White than one of the dwarves but okay."

"Huh? Numb and dumb weren't dwarves."

"What about goofy?" He grinned into the camera.

"Dopey."

"Who you calling 'dopey'?"

And there. At that moment when her heart was supposed to break, it filled. She found herself smiling.

*****

The predicted snowstorm came early February, but nature was kind enough to decorate the leaves lacy white before the heavy winds and icy rain came, whistling and rattling windows. Allie heard a dog bark in the distance but ignored it, instead finishing her report. She and Rob, who she dubbed her secret "Bob" to her girlfriends, called minutes before her deadline.

"Can't talk now, you handsome lug."

"Don't call Sebastian a lug."

"I mean it. Call back in half hour. I have people to call. Reports to send."

"Okay but first, tell me you're not allergic to dogs."

"I am not allergic to dogs. Love them. Now shoo, Rob." She hung up before there were any further objections.

Exactly a half hour later, a knock came at her door. She grabbed her mask and opened the door a crack. "I didn't order anything today, whoever you are."

"I know but I came anyway. Surprise."

Allie opened the door further to see a very wet Rob and dog dripping in the hallway. Sebastian bolted into her apartment, leaving Rob shivering in the hall, holding windblown broken flowers. "Care for some company?"

Allie's jaw dropped, hidden in her mask. She didn't move.

"I quarantined for two weeks and tested to be sure. I'm clean. So's he..." Sebastian shook his wet fur, sending droplets flying. "Sorta." Sebastian panted, wagging his wet tail against her.

"How? Why? When?" Allie stayed locked in place, her mind whirling.

"Before you ask anything more, Allie Sherlock, since I was changing apartments anyway... I thought... why not move close to you? As in an apartment a few blocks away, near the other park square." His eyes shined hope and something more.

Without another thought, Allie leapt up and grabbed Rob, pulling him into a lung-emptying hug. Without letting go of her, he carried her into the room. She clung to his cold wet ski jacket; the Valentine flowers crushed between them, dropping a trail of wet petals, some sticking to them. Sebastian let out a woof, and scampered in, settling on the deck doormat.

Rob's gaze glued to hers, and without another breath, he kissed her. It melted into a lingering, pulsing kiss that cascaded through her. Unaware of when her feet touched the ground, or the door had closed, she breathlessly turned to the window.

Looking out to the early stars, she swore she saw one twinkle. Or was it just a gust of wind? Their first meeting marred by icy rain, though as Allie remembered it, was the perfect night her Bob became real. Her Valentine wish was more than answered.