...On Fridays

He stepped back inside the hotel room and let the door swing slowly behind him. He stood, eyes closed and motionless, as the door completed its journey and latched itself, ending a moment in his mind much sooner than he had ever anticipated. Thoughts and memories raced through his mind at a pace that dizzied him. He could still see her eyes, hear her voice, and feel her touch as if she were standing right next to him.

He broke from his trance and walked over to the bed. He crawled on top of it, sat centered in the bed, and slipped back into his trance. He was sure he had never felt this before, this blend of love, passion, confusion, and doubt. He remembered the moments in his mind; maybe not as they actually happened, but as he remembered them, until his head and heart ached. He sat there for a better part of an hour, just remembering, thinking, wanting, and wishing his way to emotional exhaustion. He let his body fall back into the sheets and pillows of the hotel bed.

The sheets smelled of her. There was no escape.

He knew one thing for certain. He knew he would never look at a Friday the same way again.