The door clicked shut behind her as she surveyed the tiny darkroom. Two bulbs dangled from the ceiling, swinging gently in the air and casting rippling shadows across the concrete walls. A large wooden table and a small sink took up most of the floor area in the converted maintenance room. Chemical containers on the wall shelves glinted in the light of the bulbs. The college dorm had recently converted this area for use by student photographers, and she had spent hours developing pictures here for classes.
Today, though, her mind was not on her work. An approaching project deadline had forced her out of her dorm and down the hall to the darkroom, but she was in no mood to concentrate on the task. She was still reeling from ending a year-long relationship a month previously, her emotions still conflicted and unresolved. She desperately missed his voice, his arms around her, nights of passion in her bedroom. Her friends had prescribed a regimen of hunting for new boys, but her heart wasn't in it. One night stands might work for ditzes, she thought, but she needed something deeper than that. Still, she felt starved for the passionate sex that she had grown accustomed to. She didn't particularly like feeling horny all day – it interfered with photography, for one thing – but she couldn't shake the feeling.
Today she wore a brown cashmere top, a gray dress skirt, and her customary black boots. Though she told herself otherwise out of modesty, she knew that she looked stunning, the outfit perfectly matching her long black hair and green eyes. She ran a hand slowly up her thigh to where the skirt ended, shivering from more than the autumn cool. Perhaps she would indulge herself with a man tonight. She closed her eyes as her body ached with pent-up desire. Yes, she needed a fuck. Badly. It had been too long.
Half an hour later, she was hard at work on her project. The windowless room was pitch black, the only noise filtering in through the ventilation ducts. Her hands carried out their tasks from muscle memory as her mind wandered. It was so easy to lose oneself in such a dark, quiet room, she thought.
The door opened quickly and someone brushed into the room.
"Excuse me, I'm using this room!" she protested, whirling around. The door shut just as quickly as it had opened.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see a sign on the door," said a man's voice. "I left a box in here yesterday... let me just grab it and I'll be out of here, OK?"
"Mhmm," she said, a bit annoyed with herself for not putting up an "In Use" sign on the door. Hopefully nothing was ruined by the light.
He reached around her shoulder, grasping for a box on the shelves. In the darkness, he misjudged her position and their bodies met. His hips nestled firmly against hers, pushing her forward slightly. She was still bent over her work. Her eyes closed and she inhaled involuntarily, a tiny "Oh!" escaping her lips.
