Fall

Winona

He backed away from me after he saw my face. He stared at me with this inquisitive look that seemed mixed with a little fear. I taunted him a bit, telling him to deliver the goods and the home run.

He shook his head no and told me to get ready for a night with my friends.

Our relationship was wobbling on a balance beam, and neither of us knew which side we wanted it to fall on. He’d started to become my friend, and I didn’t have a lot of those—not men, at least. If we were going to continue down this road, the lines needed to be clearer, and I was sure he felt the same.

I let my curls fall loose in the shower and air dried them after. I pulled on a cut-off sweatshirt that hit just below my breasts and some matching pants. It wasn’t a night for me to go all out. It was a night to chill, to try to relax with those that supposedly wanted to be around me.

Or it was a night I needed to feel comfortable in my clothes because everything else was going to be uncomfortable.

The first kn