Diamonds are nothing
Compared to your beauty
I would come forward now
If ‘twas not for my duty
The paper slipped from my grasp and
drifted toward the garden. When I went to retrieve it, it had landed in the
middle of my forlorn daisies. Apropos, I thought, as I scanned into the distant
past. Duty, my ass! The last time I saw
him was on another Valentine’s Day. At the time I thought his gift of daisies
was sweet. If only I had known then what I knew now.
A distant shriek brought my
attention to the street. “Watch out—it isn’t human!” I heard someone yell and
then the sound of running feet. Ohmygod he was
here! I ran into the house and slammed the door behind me and then stationed
myself behind the sheer curtain in the picture window. When I saw the feathery
white wings I was sure.
These
silly people and their superstitions, he thought to himself as he approached
her house. If it wasn’t for me who knows how unhappy everyone would be. Yes, he
thought, I may not be that handsome from certain points of view, but I
certainly have had my way with the ladies. And they like it, there is no doubt.
Even this one, who I pretended to love so long ago. If only she really was my
lost love, he thought sadly to himself, wiping his eyes. He shook himself to get rid of the memory,
making the feathers on his wings fluff
up. As he rounded the corner the garden came into view. The iris were full of
ire this morning, he thought, watching their angry purple expressions as their
stalks bent and twisted in the breeze. He smiled at the sunlit daffodils
dancing in a wild riot from one side of the garden to the other. The lily’s,
loquacious as always, all began to speak at the same time.
“Hello,
my friends,” he said when their lilting voices had died down. He dug his bare into
the soft earth as he turned to take in the garden, sudden horror replacing his
smile. “But what has happened to the daisies?” he cried. “My gift has
deteriorated and is close to death!” He bent to examine the blackened stalks,
the white petals turned drab. A sudden warmth on his back brought his gaze
toward the house and he glanced up to see her silhouette in the window. His
eyes met hers and he stared until she turned away. She looks the same, he thought, getting up
off his knees and brushing away the mud.
A large knot took up residence in
my solar plexus as I watched his approach. The sight of his well-proportioned
naked body was nothing new, but I had to admit it had a certain effect on me. I
did not want to open the door when I heard the knock but something propelled me
there. I swung it open, surprised as
always by the languid expression in those angelic eyes of his. He pulled the arrow from his quiver and aimed
it at my heart. “No, not again,” I cried, but it was already too late. It had
pierced the flesh and I was no longer able to resist him. He took me in his
arms and I tasted his sweetness as his mouth met mine.
“I love you, Psyche,” he said as he
picked me up and carried me toward the bedroom.
His wings brushed against my skin sending shivers up and down my spine. “My name is not Psyche, but if you
want to call me that it’s fine with me,” I murmured into his neck. He cradled
me against his well-muscled body before he placed me down on the bed. I lay
helpless as he unbuttoned my blouse, his eyes staring into mine. He was methodical and careful, his fingers warm against my skin as he helped me out of my
clothes. When I lay before him like an opened present, his eyes narrowed, a
cat-like smile hovering around his full lips. A blush crept from my neck into
my cheeks, the heat making me tingle with anticipation. And then Cupid, in his very adult form, lay down
beside me and I was lost, just as I had been fifteen years before.
Very nice!
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