"Hey look Katy, there's a car boot sale at number 31! let's go and check out what they've got!"

"Oh no! You can't mean it Babs! There's not enough room to turn around in the flat as it is. Surely you don't want to buy any more junk."

" I wish I could make you understand why I love secondhand stuff so much. To you it may be junk, to me they're treasures, full of memories. I love imagining what history they've had, and I get a real buzz out of buying something beautiful for a few pennies into the bargain!"

"Hmmm...well just remember I have to live in the flat too, and to me they're only extra things to dust. Please try to control yourself this time."

"OK, I promise I'll only buy something if it really speaks to me!"

"The trouble is, everything seems to speak to you, and it always says the same two words, "Buy me!"

Babs laughed. She knew she'd never get Katy to understand her obsession with buying second-hand bric-a-brac but she was a good friend and stoically suffered her treasure hunting. Anyway today she wasn't just browsing, but was looking for something particularly special for her boyfriend Joe. It was his birthday in two days time and it was a double anniversary as her special birthday present to him the year before had been herself. It would be a hard gift to follow.

As she looked through all the things on offer (and Katy was right, a lot of it was junk!) her mind wandered back to the previous year.

She had spent most of the day in the kitchen. Instead of going out for a meal she had offered to cook one for him. They had been seeing each other for six months and she had wanted his birthday to be one to remember. Katy was away visiting her parents in Liverpool so they had the flat all to themselves. It would be the first time that they would be alone together and they both knew that the evening wouldn't end with dinner.

She looked at the open hearth in which the logs were glowing softly. It was hardly ever used and she hoped that they wouldn't end up with a chimney fire but it provided a really romantic atmosphere. One she associated with old movies and legendary film stars like Dirk Bogard and Clark Gable. To add to the mood she decided to dim the lamps and light the perfumed candles she had bought at a second hand market the week before. They were very old and had a beautifully heady scent that she had never smelt before or since. She looked at her watch again. It wasn't like Joe to be late and she was just beginning to worry that something may have happened to him when she heard the knock on the door. She rushed to open it and was greeted by what seemed to be a huge bouquet on legs.

A large grin appeared from behind the foliage and a voice said, "I hope you like them - they don't like me very much!" For him to get within a few inches of what seemed to be half of Covent Garden's stock was the act of a hero as he suffered from terrible hay fever.

She quickly took the flowers from him and, holding them at arm's length, gave Joe a long birthday kiss. It would have been longer still if Joe hadn't suddenly gone into a fit of sneezing. She decided that the flowers would have to go and, telling Joe to hang his coat up, she took them into the kitchen, put them in the sink and firmly shut the door on them.

By this time Joe was sitting on the settee. His eyes were still watering, but the sneezing seemed to have eased off.

"You are silly," she smiled. "You know what flowers do to you!"

"Well, seeing as the era of rescuing damsels from dragons is long gone I suppose that fighting dragonsnaps is as near as a boy can get these days!" Babs laughed. She was used to comments like that. Joe was a fervent role playing addict, as was she. They had actually met at a local computer shop and spent many happy hours together playing adventure games. Yet none of them were as exciting as the game they were planning on playing that evening.

"So," said Joe. "What culinary masterpiece have you prepared for us?" He sniffed the air. "Can I smell chicken?"

"Oh my God. Dinner!" A horrible thought hit her. She couldn't have. Even she wasn't that scatter brained. But she had. In all her efforts to make this the perfect romantic evening she had forgotten to turn on the oven.

Joe burst out laughing. "You don't know what a weight that is off my mind!"

"What? I don't understand."

"Do you know the reason I'm late?"

"I thought you must have missed the bus or something."

"No. What actually happened was that mum asked me round for a birthday drink, and had decided to cook me my favourite meal! I couldn't refuse to eat it. It would have hurt her feelings. And she'd gone completely overboard. I'm absolutely stuffed! I was really dreading having to eat a second one here!"

"You mean you wouldn't have said anything and eaten it anyway?"

"Of course. How could I let you make all that effort and then not eat it. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Oh - you sweetie you!" and jumping on him she kissed him hard on the mouth. Unfortunately for her the old settee - one of her jumble sale finds - was just not up to this unexpected assault and with a creak the whole bottom suddenly gave way, depositing them both on the floor. After the first initial shock they both collapsed into fits of giggles. They were still entwined in each other's arms and in between giggles they exchanged kisses.

Gradually their giggles subsided and their kisses became more urgent. This wasn't exactly the romantic scenario that Babs had planned. But then, perhaps neither of them were really made for romance. Whatever the case the urgency of their kisses and the proximity of their bodies were heralding the inevitable. Soon they were completely naked and their hands were discovering each other's most intimate secrets. Unfortunately Babs was also discovering the unsuitability of a nylon carpet as a lover's bed. Despite the desire she was feeling she just couldn't ignore the effect friction was having on her naked skin. Why was real life so annoyingly unromantic she thought? Hay fever, collapsing settees and carpet burns had never played a part in her fantasies. Everything had been perfect. But as she looked into Joe's eyes, which were full of love for her, she suddenly didn't care anymore. All that mattered was the figure lying beside her and whispering in his ear she took hold of his hand.

Their naked figures threw erotic shadows on the walls of the apartment as they walked hand in hand towards the goat skin rug lying in front of the open hearth. The flickering firelight reflected off their bodies, though a secret observer might have been fooled into thinking that the heat was emanating from the lovers themselves. Naked and vulnerable neither of them had ever felt so close to another being. Sinking to the floor their bodies merged into one. Babs whimpered softly as Joe entered her. This was the real essence of romance. Finding the other half that made you whole.

As they came down from the heights and collapsed into each others' arms a slight breeze from the open window caused the candles to flicker, throwing strange and mysterious patterns on the walls of the flat. The perfume from the burnt down candles filled the air and Babs knew that she would remember this moment in all its intensity for the rest of her life.

With a jolt Babs was again back in the present and so vivid was the memory that she could still smell the perfume in the air. Yet was it a memory? She was sure she could really smell it. This year she had been planning on recreating that first evening together - perhaps without the mishaps this time around - and the only things she was missing were the candles. She hadn't been able to find any with even a similar perfume and had given up searching but if she wasn't very much mistaken...Moving away some of the "junk" on the table in front of her she found herself staring at a whole box of the very same candles. Enough to rekindle a memory for many years to come, though she now knew that true romance didn't depend on external factors such as scented candles - but came from within.

About the Author: I was born in England - but after marrying a Dutchman I now live in the Netherlands. An ex-English teacher, I spend my days looking after my two teenagers and four cats. I also do some voluntary work teaching kids drama, though there's not a lot to teach - it seems to come naturally to most of them! I started writing erotic stories and poems in my free time about two years ago and even my mum enjoys them, which gives a hint that I tend towards the romantic in my writing style! I've had a couple of stories accepted in anthologies such as "Tears on Black Roses" and "First Times" and one of my poems will soon be appearing in J. C. Wilder's new book "Shameless." Homepage: Dutch Hutch http://iaehv.nl/users/hdh/