At Work When I Needed Him Most

I work retail, standing behind the counter day in and day out. It's tiring and draining, but my boyfriend understands and we make it through together somehow. Yet last week, he was away on a business trip for days and left me with a nagging feeling of inadequacy that grew more unbearable with each passing hour. I felt so lonely at the store, surrounded by aisles and shelves, nothing to ease this gnawing hunger but my own hand and the fantasies playing in my head about him, which only made it worse. On the fourth day, as a rush of customers flooded in, I found myself slipping into a booth near the back, pulling up my skirt just enough for me to rub against the rough surface underneath, the sensation raw and biting through thin fabric, building to an edge that was all mine to claim. He called later, and I pretended it never happened.