She danced for him, as she often did. He loved it when she danced. It had taken him a while to figure out what he enjoyed most about it, despite the obvious.

At first he thought it was her body. She had a gorgeous body. She was not what anyone would call thin, but she wore the extra pounds well. The bulges that most women tried to work off at the gym only made her more attractive, and he told her so. She kept herself fit, but she wasn't obsessive about her body, and so he tried not to be.

If not her body, maybe it was the way she moved it. She was sinuous and sexy as she contorted herself--undulated here, gyrated there. She took belly-dancing lessons, and she was a quick study, a natural. These dances were the only moments that she allowed herself to show an erotic aspect of her personality.

Maybe it was what she wore, and what she didn't. She slept in pajamas--cute pajamas, with animal characters or cartoony designs on them. He liked the feel of her skin through the thin silk, cotton, or flannel cloth, the heat of her body, and the agonizing seconds required to undress her each night. He also appreciated that childish streak in her, so he bought her new pajamas whenever he saw something she would want.

When she danced, she wore only the pajama bottoms. His favorite was the pair with the penguins.

Eventually he realized that what he enjoyed most about the dancing was that she did it for him. While she danced her eyes were completely on him and he saw the dancing for what it was--a gesture of love as much as desire. He didn't need the dances to excite him when they were together, but he hoped she could see his own love for her reflected in his face while he watched.

When the music ended she would climb into bed with him, climb over him, dragging her body slowly along his until they were face to face. Then they kissed.

As much as he loved it when she danced for him, he loved it even more when she stopped.

E.C. Myers considers his writing an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation, the products of which have been sold to publications such as Flashquake, Son and Foe, and Fictitious Force. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers' Workshop and a member of the excellent writing groups Altered Fluid and Fangs of God.

For more information about him and his work, visit His Website.