VEDA

When I woke up, the sun was shining through the window and Luca was no longer in bed. I rolled over with a yawn, feeling the sting of air hitting the small cut on my jaw that hadn’t had time yet to heal, and slowly blinked my eyes open as memories of last night came rushing back. My cheeks burned as I remembered how I’d lashed out at Luca. The crazy thing I’d become in his arms as he’d pushed through the wall I’d built up around myself.

Something was very different now, though. And it wasn’t just that I was physically satiated. There was shame for how I’d...