ed to
be too many arms and legs and sharp corners for comfort, or when they
found a contortion that did not create interferences with limb or corner,
it was a strain on the spine or a twist in the neck. After a few minutes
of this coeducational wrestling they decided almost without effort to
return to the original routine of kissing. By more luck than good
management they succeeded in an embrace that placed no strain and which
met them almost face to face. They puckered again and made contact, then
pressure came and spread out the pair of tightly pursed rosebuds. Martha
moved once to get her nose free of his cheek for a breath of air.

At the rate they were going, they might have hit paydirt this time, but
just at the point where James should have relaxed to enjoy the long kiss
he began to worry: There is something planned and final about the quick
smacking kiss, but how does one gracefully terminate the long-term,
high-pressure jobs? So instead of enjoying himself, James planned and
discarded plans until he decided that the way he'd do it would be to
exert a short, heavy pressure and then cease with the same action as in
the quick-smack variety.

It worked fine, but as he opened his eyes to look at her, she was there
with her eyes still closed and her lips still ready. He took a deep
breath and plunged in again. Having determined how to start, James was
now going to experiment with endings.

They came up for air successfully again, and then spent some time
wriggling around into another position. The figure-fitting went easier
this time, after threshing around through three or four near-comforts
they came to rest in a pleasantly natural position and James Holden
became nervously aware of the fact that his right hand was cupped over
a soft roundness that filled his palm almost perfectly. He wondered
whether to remove it quickly to let her know that this intimacy wasn't
intentional; slowly so that (maybe, he hoped) she wouldn't realize that
it had been there; or to leave it there because it felt pleasant. While
he was wondering, Martha moved around because she could not twist her
neck all the way around like an owl, and she wanted to see him. The move
solved his problem but presented the equally great problem of how he
would try it again.

James allowed a small portion of his brain to think about this, and put
the rest of his mind at ease by kissing her again. Halfway through, he
felt warm moistness as her lips parted