She’d woken up early this morning after a restless night to find that her period had started. Her cycles were always difficult, due in large part to the IUD device she used for birth control. She’d been cautioned by the nurse at the free clinic about the various side effects of the device – heavy bleeding, painful cramps, unpredictable cycles, headaches – but had opted to have the thing inserted anyway. She had developed severe allergies to three different brands of birth control pills – migraines, rashes, nausea – and had consulted with the clinic nurse for alternatives. The IUD had seemed the least complicated at the time, despite all of the unpleasant side effects.

Tessa hadn’t been in the least surprised to realize that today was a Wednesday, and as the day unfolded her misfortunes continued to pile up. The bus she’d caught to work had broken down, and by the time another one drove by it was packed with other riders and she’d had to squeeze herself in. She had been ten minutes late for work by then – though Kevin had still arrived a few minutes after she had – and while Andrew hadn’t chastised her, she knew he’d been displeased by her tardiness.

She’d spilled hot tea on her hand, causing a painful little blister to form. The assignment she was working on for another of the managers had baffled her, and she’d been forced to ask his very haughty PA several questions about the project. Tessa had been made to feel like an idiot after the condescending way the PA had spoken to her, but at least she had managed to complete the assignment after that.

After arriving in late, she hadn’t dared take more than a few minutes for her lunch break, and when she’d returned to her cubicle she had overheard Gina and Alicia making snide comments about her – more specifically, about what she was wearing today.

“I asked her where she bought that sweater, and she was actually naïve enough to admit it was from Ross Dress for Less,” Alicia had sniffed in disdain. “I wouldn’t dream of setting foot in a place like that, much less buying anything there.”

“Her tights have a bunch of little snags in them, too,” chimed in Gina. “And don’t get me started on those shoes. I’m surprised the heel hasn’t fallen off yet they’re so worn down.”

“That ugly sweater looks like it’s a size too small for her. But maybe she likes it that way, so that she can show off those big boobs. Ugh, it’s rather vulgar, don’t you think?”

Tessa had forced herself to bite her tongue, though it had been mighty tempting to let both of the gossipy bitches know that she’d heard every hurtful word out of their spiteful mouths. She’d given a little cough as she approached so that they were aware of her presence, and it had made her stomach churn a little in revolt as the two-faced cats smiled at her with almost sickening sweetness.

The rest of the work day had passed with relative calm, except for the fact that she felt awful from her period. The heavy bleeding made her feel lightheaded and chilled, and the painful cramps were nauseating. No matter how much herbal tea she sipped it did little to ease her distress, and for once she left the office on time, longing to curl up on the sofa, watch TV, and eat comfort food.

The bus, of course, was late and it had begun to rain hard, so that by the time she stumbled into her drafty apartment she was cold, exhausted, and hungry. She took a shower, hoping it would penetrate her chilled bones, but the tepid water and barely existent flow only made her feel colder. Tessa bundled into her warmest sweats, turned up the heat – though the ancient radiator didn’t do a whole lot to raise the temperature in the apartment – and heated up some leftover white cheddar macaroni and cheese.

She was beginning to feel a little bit better until she opened up her email and read the message from Peter. And what had already been a rotten day became that much worse, as she realized she would be alone for two or three more days.

Peter had been gone for weeks already, and she knew he would only be back home for barely a week before he had to leave on a new assignment. At least, she consoled herself, he would be in town for Thanksgiving – a week from tomorrow – and they had been invited to celebrate the holiday with one of Peter’s co-workers. But right now that was of precious little solace to Tessa, who’d been struggling mightily with loneliness and depression for days now, and there had been several occasions when she’d had to drag herself out of bed and go to the office. The urge to simply curl up in a little ball, pull the covers up over her head, and sleep the day away had been strong, and it terrified her that all the signs were beginning to point to her succumbing to the throes of depression.

She longed to discuss her situation with Peter, but knew that it would only worry him to realize how sad she was when he wasn’t around. And the last thing she wanted to do was give him cause for concern or make him feel guilty. Tessa reminded herself yet again how much her husband had sacrificed for her over the years, how he was finally getting the opportunity to live out his dream, and no matter what the cost to her might be she wasn’t going to spoil that for him.

She typed out a brief reply to his email, wishing him a safe flight home and assuring him that everything was fine – even though it really wasn’t. She brushed away tears impatiently, scolding herself for being a weepy, emotional basket case, and found a sitcom to watch that put her in a better mood for a short while.

There was half a pint of ice cream left in the freezer, but she shuddered at the thought of eating anything cold, and instead made herself a cup of herbal tea and dug out her “emergency” stash of chocolate. Her period was making her feel bloated and achy and downright miserable, but even half a bar of her favorite mint chocolate didn’t do a whole lot to make her feel better. Her breasts were swollen and tender, and she was more on edge than normal. The hormonal fluctuations she always experienced during her cycles seemed more intense than ever before, and Tessa somewhat ashamedly realized that she was – well, horny.

It had been longer than she could remember since the last time she and Peter had been together – weeks, maybe even months – and the experience had been as brief and unfulfilling as always for her. She wanted – needed – something she couldn’t even put into words, but just knew that her young, healthy body was practically screaming for physical contact, for affection, for release.

Tessa tossed and turned in her lonely bed as she struggled to fall asleep, gasping as the ultra-sensitive point of her nipple made contact with the mattress. Her hand drifted up to cup the heavy weight of her breast, her fingers plucking at the hardened peak in a desperate attempt to find some sort of relief. The pleasurable sensations rippled through her body until her other hand was cupping her sex. Her eyes were tightly shut as she rubbed a thumb over her clit through her nightgown, whimpering softly as her hips began to move in sync with her hand. She imagined a larger, masculine hand between her legs, stimulating her towards orgasm; pretended that it was his hand at her breast now, his thumb rasping over the nipple. And as she felt the orgasm begin to peak, she could almost picture his darkly handsome face in front of her, could practically hear his deep, arousing voice whispering words of passion in her ear.