Don't Be In Love

by Liana Cincotti

“Isn’t she pretty?” she asked Dorian. ​“She is very pretty.” He nodded. His eyes met mine. It was so earnest that it was painful to absorb. Brown orbs swirling with a palette of golden watercolors that threatened to pull me in.

This.

Side effects included: staring longer than usual, counting the number of moles on his neck and the outgrown curls above his ear, and having the urge to ask why there was always paint under his nails.

Crushes were exciting because they were completely fictionalized. They led to unreliable, energetic lust.

“It’s love. Everything about love is embarrassing. You’re pining over someone who’s across the room hardly thinking of you. That’s incredibly embarrassing. But I also think there’s something romantic about being secretly fond of someone in a way that only you know.”

this.