ROSALINE

Facing Gerald wasn't difficult because I didn't get to do it. By the time I got downstairs, he'd already left for work. My stomach folded, creasing with anxiety and that bit of nervousness that I hadn't hoped to feel. That I didn't want to feel. We kissed yesterday, so what?

It was just a mere kiss, and I was being dramatic for thinking it was more, for wanting him this bad and consistently making excuses for it. God. What have I become? I could still feel the ghost of his lips on mine, every stroke of his tongue and its disrespectful slides in my mouth.

The way he held...