Only With Me

Looking back, I shouldn’t have sent a half-naked photo to the group chat. But when someone asks about a specific horse saddle, I caution them to be careful or their ass will look like mine—covered in bruises. While everyone makes inappropriate jokes, a guy who recently joined shows concern about my well-being. Turns out, “bruising like a peach” isn’t normal. One innocent photo turns into more and soon we’re texting every day. The only problem—I have no idea who he is or his age. Even so, I find myself smiling at his messages and wanting to know more about him....

Looking back, I shouldn’t have sent a half-naked photo to the group chat. But when someone asks about a specific horse saddle, I caution them to be careful or their ass will look like mine—covered in bruises. While everyone makes inappropriate jokes, a guy who recently joined shows concern about my well-being. Turns out, “bruising like a peach” isn’t normal. One innocent photo turns into more and soon we’re texting every day. The only problem—I have no idea who he is or his age. Even so, I find myself smiling at his messages and wanting to know more about him. Until the time comes when we’re supposed to finally meet and he stands me up. At the advice of my best friend, I sign up for a dating app because I’m not about to let one guy ruin it for me. But one after another, they either stop responding or block me. After stumbling across my sister’s older ex-boyfriend on the same app, I ask him for advice. I beg him to teach me how to please a man and how to have more sexual confidence. When he reluctantly agrees, things evolve between us, lines get crossed, and I find myself falling for the wrong person. Except, I can’t shake this uneasy feeling about the mystery guy from the group chat—the one who never showed up. But people don’t just vanish without a trace in a Southern small town.