Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Alive.
Unexpected.
It wasn’t a thunderbolt.
It wasn’t dramatic.
It was more like a quiet internal click. Like a piece falling into place.
Like recognition.
Oh, there you are.
Where the hell have you been all this time?
And every hour we spent with each other only reinforced the belief that she was who I hadn’t even known I was looking for.
She wasn’t anything like the women I’d known.
She was confident, but quietly vulnerable. She was extroverted, but introspective. She never met a stranger… but never seemed to let anyone know her.
Except me.
She let me in.
We talked until our jaws hurt.
Laughed until our cheeks ached.
Shared visions.
Made plans.
Got married to solidify them.
And then there was only more fun, more laughter, more joy.
Until the next morning.
And our celebrations had erased it all. I’d never known memory could be such a cruel thief.
But she looked at me like a stranger. Like a complication to deal with, not a choice she’d made.
The worst part wasn’t that she wanted out. It was that she didn’t remember why she ever wanted in.
Something in my chest caved.
Because she was right there in front of me, alive and breathing, and yet I’d never felt a loss so sharp.
I knew she wasn’t running from me, not really. She was running from something she no longer remembered choosing.
Which was why I’d dug my heels in, why I’d refused to sign the papers.
I wanted there to be time for her to choose me again.
Clear-headed.
Inhibitions fully intact.
Because I could live with her anger, but I couldn’t live with her uncertainty.
I wanted a Yes remembered.
I wanted her to wake up one morning and realize she wasn’t trapped; she was home.
“What?” Layna asked, looking over at me, smile wide.
“You’re exquisite.”
Her cheeks bloomed.
“You have to think that. You’re stuck with me now,” she said, flashing her ring finger.
“I’m not stuck,” I said, reaching to pull her closer. “I’m exactly where I wanted to end up. You’re the one who took some convincing.”
She laughed at that.
“You’re lucky I came around.”
Luck had nothing to do with it.
I’d always known it was a winning hand.
I just had to wait for it to play out.
XX
CLITONIA AND LIL Dicky
a short story
Alexis
"This is ridiculous," Willa grumbled, looking up at the building in front of us. "We've had the sex talk like five times with our parents. And we've both had unrestricted access to the internet since forever," she added.
She was eighteen and full of opinions, but with absolutely no experience. I know. I asked. In my humble opinion, it was the duty of a best friend to make sure they could talk to you about things like sex. Even if it got weird.
Meanwhile, I was genuinely curious.
Because things with my long-term boyfriend and me were barreling headfirst toward something serious physically.
And while all our talks with my mom absolutely covered the basics, it was still Mom, y'know? There were some things you didn't want to ask your mom or hear from your mom, no matter how close you were. And thanks to all the fake nonsense to be found online, I wanted to make sure I got my information from a reliable source.
Enter our aunts.
Not by relation, but family nonetheless.
Aunt Autumn.
Who owned the store right in front of us.
With what looked like a giant penis sculpture inside the front door.
And a giant flower. Oh, nope.
Yeah, that was not a flower.
Okay then.
Maybe Willa had a point. This could be incredibly awkward too.
I mean my cheeks felt a little red just standing out front a place called Phallus-opy.
"We have to do it. Our moms told us it's something they want for us before we go off to college," I said, shrugging.
"Okay then," she said, linking her arm with mine. "We will get through it. Besides, Aunt Autumn has always been really chill. It won't be that bad. Speaking of," she said, nodding toward the pretty blonde making her way toward us through the store.
"Don't come in the front door," she told us, turning, locking the door. "You both look like you're still sixteen years old, and I don't want anyone thinking I let underage girls in a sex store. Oh, the scandal!" she said, clutching her invisible pearls while fanning herself. "Okay. So, we ready for a little talk?"
"As ready as we are going to be," Willa said, giving her a firm nod, ever the serious student, taking more after her high-achieving mother. Me, I was all my father. Light and easy and always after a good time.
"It won't be so bad," Aunt Autumn assured us, giving us a warm smile. "How are Amelia and Shoot?" she asked, looking at me.
"They're good. You're saving me from having to have this talk with them again," I told her as she led us down the side of the building.
"While I fully believe it is important to be able to talk about sex with at least one of your parents, as a former teenager, I totally get that," she said. "Willa, how are Elsie and Paine?" she asked, pulling a door open.