Mangled

by Argentina Ryder

A mixture of excitement and fear coursed through me as I wanted to reach out and touch his stubbled cheek. I had never experienced this kind of longing before for a man—much less my best friend—this desire that went beyond friendship. It was a completely new and uncharted territory, and it terrified me. I didn’t know how to get that genie back in the bottle—and I don’t know if I even want to.

“Leo,” he said again, his voice filled with a mix of uncertainty and intensity. “I’m not crazy, right? There’s something going on here.” I looked into his hazel eyes, bright and hopeful, my reflection shimmering back at me. It was there, and it was real.

Leo didn’t step back, so I took a deep breath and stepped even closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Tell me I’m wrong and I won’t say another word.” Seconds ticked by like hours before Leo spoke. “You’re not wrong. I feel it too.”

With my heart racing, I leaned in, my breath hitching slightly as I dipped my head and softly brushed my lips against Ben’s. The kiss was brief but tender, and it took my breath away.

“I’m scared of how real it already is,” I replied quietly. “But if this doesn’t work—” “It has to,” I murmured. “I can’t go back to what we had before, Leo. Not after kissing you and touching you and sleeping next to you, your warm, strong body covering me like a blanket.” I leaned in close, our foreheads touching as I spoke. “I don’t care what your family thinks, or what my friends say. I need this. I need you.”

In the end, that’s not what’s important. It’s what you do once you’re together that matters. How you make it last.”

“If you asked me to move to Phoenix with you, I would say yes,” Leo whispered,