Out on a Limb

by Hannah Bonam-Young

“Okay, fine. This one is different, though. He even has a dead mom,” Caleb adds far too excitedly. “Oh, bonus!” I say, matching his energy. “I love when their mom is dead. It makes things so much easier around the holidays.”

orphaned men >>>

She’s wearing bike shorts and a cute, oversized sweater with the word Velaris written across it. I think that’s from a favourite book of hers, but if I ask, we’ll never get out of here on time.

i would unfriend her so fast she has terrible taste 😗

“You shouldn’t call her that,” Bo says gently, leaning forward in his seat, his hands clasped between his knees, wringing. “I mean… sorry. You can call her whatever you want. I just…” His voice trails off. I feel a twinge of guilt and unease pull my lips askew. “Sorry,” I offer simply. So he’s not over his ex, then. The sudden pang of sadness thrumming around my chest is unexpected. It’s not jealousy, I don’t think. Or at least, not entirely. It’s more complicated than that. It’s wondering if during one of the more meaningful sexual experiences of my life, certainly the most pleasurable, my partner was thinking of someone else. Wishing for someone else. If I was just… there. Available. Overly willing, throwing myself at him until he gave in. It’s the crushing weight of questioning whether he wishes I was her. Them having a baby. Them sharing a home. It makes me feel like a trespasser. Inferior. “I shouldn’t have called her that. We shouldn’t call her that. You’re right.” I can tell Bo’s choosing his words carefully as he sets his emptied mug down on the coffee table. “It shouldn’t upset me. It wasn’t exactly a good relationship. She, uh, Cora… things between us were not great.”

bitch if you don’t stfu, we get it you’re a “nice guy” 🙄

I think I’ve maybe already said too much, actually. Reducing Cora to this caricature villain instead of someone Bo shared years of his life with. Despite how she’s treated Sarah or me, I don’t know Cora all that well. Clearly, Bo does. And clearly, he loved her.

you know enough

Everything in my life felt unstable and untethered, and suddenly, there was this woman I love telling me she was choosing to stick it out with me. I wanted that stability.”

“i love” 🤨🤨🤨🤨 eat dirt

I feel a thrum of energy pass through me from head to toe. It hits my chest with a gentle but noticeable blow. Love. In the present tense. Bo loves Cora.

he can go to hell

“She’d already ended things before, though. I was the one who tried to fix it every time—why we kept getting back together.

lovely 🙄🙄🙄🙄 love hearing this shit in my romance 🥰 🥹

I think I could be content, even if Bo’s heart is in two places. Honestly, at this point, I think I’d happily settle for half of his affections. I have a feeling Bo would love me better at half capacity than anyone else ever could.

pathetic! STAND TF UP…this is so embarrassing for you