Lifestyle
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Summer’s a time for meeting new people (or rejuvenating a long-standing relationship), getting away and enjoying the outdoors. If you’re planning to take a weekend trip to a lakeside cottage this summer, here are some suggestions for a more sensual, romantic time away together:
- Pack for good sex. Bring a small bottle of silicone-based lubricant (it lasts longer for sex under water), a swimsuit and candles to set the mood in your bungalow on the lake. If you’re saddled with roommates or too-close neighbors at home, now’s your time to bring the too-loud-for-home vibrator you’ve been wanting to try.
- Bring along some bedtime reading in the form of erotic short stories you can read by candlelight or fireside. Check out Jenna Jameson’s short stories or edited volumes by Rachel Kramer Bussel.
- Drink up! Why take chances on what the local stores will have to offer in terms of beverages? Bring a bottle or three of your favorite wine and two glasses (or plastic cups) for toasting.
- Get on the water. Whether it’s in a canoe, kayak, paddleboat or by the force of your own swim strokes. Find a remote area and let your swimsuit fall to the side, or take it off for some skinny dipping fun. It’s not even necessary to have sex – even the feel of each other’s naked bodies can be enough to enhance your arousal and desire. Have a waterproof camera? Take a souvenir photo for keepers.
Having time alone together is important at all relationship stages. It can help two new lovers to bond and create their own shared memories. Time alone can also help a committed couple remember what it’s like to just be together without the stresses of work, family, pets or noisy upstairs neighbors. Whether you have a day or a weekend together this summer, at a lake cottage or at a nearby park, try to find a way to make the best of it.
Debby Herbenick, PhD is a sex researcher and educator, a widely read sex columnist and author of Because It Feels Good: A Woman’s Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction. Follow her on Twitter @mysexprofessor.
