Page 27 of Tossing It

“Don’t send them home. I want to hear more stories about you.”

“They won’t cloud your good judgment?” I ask. “Send you running to the hills?”

She shakes her head. “They only add to your appeal.” Her eyes dart to the side and she gets a far-off look in her eye. “A shame I don’t have any siblings to appeal on my behalf, huh?”

“Nah, they’d probably be hot older sisters and I’d go after them instead.”

Malena laughs, a soft smile pulling up one corner of her mouth. “That’s not funny.”

One finger under her chin, I tilt her face up. The setting sun blazes through the house and into my bedroom through the open door like a fiery reminder of what this woman is doing to my life. Setting everything on fire. Bringing me to life by singeing me from the inside out. Leaning into me, she kisses me, allowing her tongue to twine against mine. A battle. A duel. My wits. Her kiss. Malena is in my space, a place no other woman has been. I want to scream it from the rooftops and also bury it like a skeleton. When you become attached to things, they become weaknesses—a guise of security.

I’ve seen it before, with friends, with enemies. A lump forms in my throat, as I pull her closer, wrapping her in my arms. She’s safe. The kiss finishes slowly, our chests pressed together.

As she catches her breath, her forehead against mine, I suck in air.

I breathe in love. I exhale pain.