I have got my fever down from red to orange, and while I may still be mostly sinus pain, snot, and suicidal ideation, I am going to attempt coherent engagement. Probably not philosophical engagement, though.

Those quoted words are key, I think, to why the story of yours I recently held up as 'quality erotica' has such quality, and why it made such an impact on me. That story — at least in my memory — was nothing but an honest, unapologetic, unalloyed expression of the narrator's desire, expressed with a power that had nothing to do with physical control.

I don't know whether my slight 'detachment' from the story — the idea that she wasn't speaking to me — is biologically or culturally encoded (maybe/probably both) but the power of desire sparked across that gap.

Also, Medium should pay you what you're worth, but you'd probably need to take Coach Tony's job before that happens.