Snapshot

by Kay Cove

He sets my hands back on the table so gingerly, the way you’d lower a wounded baby bird back into its nest.

“Ah, damn. I can be less attractive if that helps? Maybe chew with my mouth wide open.” “That’d definitely help.” “Wear khakis with a brown belt and black suede shoes.” She laughs. “Getting warmer.” “Skip a few showers and cut my toenails at the kitchen table.”

“For what? Your honest feelings?” he asks. His smile is small, but he tries. “How about this? Do you want me to break your heart so you don’t have to break mine?”

I breathe him the fuck in and let my legs go completely numb. Just one tiny moment. This moment belongs to me.

“I kept you. It’s as simple as that.

“Choose love over fair. Over duties. Escape, Dex. Do you understand me? Love, love, love. Fight for it. Obsess over it.