It’s been ten years since the day she left. I haven’t been the same since. I’ve been surfing friends’ couches to get through college, running in place through women’s desires with motives insincere. Three glasses of wine and a cozy fireplace brought our lips together to hear what our tongues stumbled over ten years before. But now, her kiss dripped with vulnerability, so I pressed firmly and held her even tighter until she sighed in the arms of protection, changing us completely.

(© 2022 AC)