For Week 13 of 52 Love, allow me to revisit Lucian’s bag of tricks. While the main character in my story battles to avoid a romance with the man in question, he shows up on her doorstep and surprises her with a sunset picnic—romantic on its own (and a topic I may cover in this series). As if his many charms weren’t challenging enough to resist, before the light fades, he pulls out a favorite book from his youth and tempts her with the aural pleasure of his mellifluous voice while he reads it to her. Spoiler alert: By the end of the picnic, she is putty in his lap.
Though you may not possess Lucian’s cunning finesse, you can show genuine love through the same tactic. Reading to your partner brings you closer as a couple. This shared intimacy taps into your sapiosexual cells by intersecting your intellectual attraction with the physical and emotional draw you have to one another—a powerful experience that will bind you together.
The subject matter doesn’t need to be romantic. Read any type of narrative you like. The act of sharing a story together mirrors the closeness of making love. Regardless of the topic, this intimacy stimulates romance.
Reading the story aloud will increase your own enjoyment too. Slow your pace. Breathe in the experience as your tongue lifts the words from the pages. Appreciate the language choices, the rhythm of the sentences, the flood of emotions now shared with your lover. Emphasize the sensuality of the act by wrapping your arm around her while you read. Snuggle close so she can savor the hum of your voice vibrating through your chest, the thrum of your heartbeat as you share this adventure. The endorphins released from this loving act will help you both sleep better, either from the comforting lull of warm affection or the night of passion your unity inspires.
If you try this intimacy tip or have a better recommendation, let me know in the comments. For weekly suggestions on how to show your partner love, sign up for my blog, 52 Love, in the sidebar. (This post was updated since its original publication on April 3, 2019.)
Hey Tonya-
Yet another lovely piece, as I was reading it I vividly remembered and felt the way I did when I read Classic Science Fiction to my second husband who loved for me to read to him, he told me that he loved the sound of my voice and the breadth of my vocabulary I would occasionally peak at him and he would have his eyes closed I once asked him why did he want me to read him to sleep (a lot of times I read to him in broad daylight) he told me he wasn’t sleeping he was seeing the story which moved me deeply and I grew fond of that genre( I wasn’t before I met him) I discovered a plus for me-the vocabulary used by those writers was intoxicating to me. Thank You for re-igniting those memories for me!
-Valerie
Always happy to reignite passions. Thanks for reading!