Ice…water transformed by the absence of heat, hardened, made brittle, translucent, a distorted glass, smooth, denying friction, traction…a substance that demands wariness …

…but in the hands of a skilled lover, a very evocative, provocative tool…rough becoming smooth as it meets temperate, exposed skin, teasing a reaction, exhilarating, stimulating, tracing the arch of the back, the length of leg and arm, the curve of the throat, teasing and heightening the sensitivity of nipples, genitalia…the cool, now becoming wet mingling with the warmth of tongue and lips enhancing those excited, oh so special erogenous places…

…but this morning my lover is the wintry bitch that is a northern Alberta morning in February, layering ice on sidewalk and street, challenging me, daring me…