(Author's Note: The following story is based on real events from my life. I wrote the original draft after the events of act three, while everything was still fresh and clear in my mind. I guess I knew it was something special and unique that wasn't likely to happen again, and I wanted to remember how it all happened. Even today I vividly remember the little details of these moments, and I hope this story brings to life something of the feel or spirit of them. If you're intrigued and maybe feel a little tingle of anticipation at the end of each act then I've done my job well. Hopefully, that'll be the case. There actually is a fourth act (more correctly, the continuation of the third act) and if someone out there would like to know what happened immediately afterward, I'll write it. This is my first submission here, so I would definitely welcome any comments or suggestions you have. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed living it.)
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He knew her ears were sensitive.
He knew this because one night -- not too many evenings ago -- he found out for himself in a most unexpected manner. You see, it was most definitely not like he was trying to find a sensitive spot on her body. They were friends, you see, and he certainly wasn't pushing the unspoken boundaries that separate "friends" from "lovers". Oh, sure, there had been brief episodes of almost-naughty, almost-sexual banter that had led to a few moments of sexual tension between them, but it really (he firmly reminded himself every time he caught himself wondering if she really was as enchantingly, wickedly beautiful without her clothes as he imagined her to be from time to time) wasn't like that. No, it simply wasn't like that between them at all, and that was that.