Through the
Leaves

Every night, Rachel takes her usual spot on the back steps, hidden by the fence's broken slats, watching the performance that's become her secret obsession. The widow two doors down – a curvy, forty-something silver fox named Margot – fucks her younger boyfriend like she's performing for an audience she knows is there. Rachel's learned their rhythm, the way Margot's thighs tense before she comes, the quiet gasps she lets out against his neck. But tonight, when Margot opens her eyes mid-ride and locks onto Rachel's through the leaves, everything changes. She doesn't stop. Doesn't look away. Instead she holds Rachel's gaze while she takes her pleasure, coming with her mouth open in a silent cry aimed straight at the girl on the steps. The next morning, a note appears under Rachel's door: "If you're going to watch, at least come say hello. — M" What starts as an invitation becomes a lesson in hunger from a woman who knows exactly what she wants — and who wants to teach Rachel exactly how to take it.