Jessica sighed and looked sharply at Danny when he winced. ‘God Danny, those bruises look so painful,’ she murmured. Danny nodded. ‘They hurt li...ke hell,’ Danny grumbled. Jessica frowned a little and crossed the space between them. ‘Jess, what are you doing?’ Danny wanted to know. Jessica smiled and kissed him. ‘I forgive you Danny and I’ve missed you,’ Jessica murmured. Danny stared at her. ‘I love you Danny,’ Jessica said softly, undoing the knot in the sash of her robe before she let it fall. Poor Jasmine.’ ‘I know,’ Camilla whispered. ‘Poor Calina, Candice, and–oh, God–sweet little Li-ping.’ She fought back sobs. ‘I assured her we were finally OK in Bob’s van, and then she got killed with her mom half a week later.’ ‘And Dora, don’t forget. They found and killed her, too.’ ‘At least they didn’t get us. I prayed for our protection. I was never really religious, but with all that danger, I’ve never prayed so intensely in all my life.’ ‘I’m sure all your intense praying was also you. Allison's eyes got big when she saw the bottle so I held it out to her. She took a sip between 'yeah' and 'uh-huh' and handed it back. I took the bottle back and headed for the living room. Then I stopped and went back. I handed her the bottle and went out back to recover the textbooks and homework I had been working on when she got home. It had only been... I looked at the clock. Three hours! We had been going at it for three hours! No wonder we were thirsty.I put my school stuff on the desk. I lower my eyes, but she whispers.“Look at me.”And as my eyes meet hers, an exquisite sensation of pain and pleasure combined startles me in all its delicate intensity.She steadies me, left hand on my shoulder, the hard points of her nails digging into the skin.In the mirror, her right arm is draped over my shoulder. A finger caresses my cheek and then it is gone.The sensation returns and now I understand.She is tracing the tip of her finger along the first of the stripes she has drawn on my.