The No-Judgment Zone

by Ellie K. Wilde

he looks like the kind of guy who’d patiently help your grandmother cross the street one minute and fuck you dirty on the floor the next.

It’s a damn reflex at this point. I don’t remember how it started. But it’s a reflex, and the second my lips hit her forehead, the second I pull back to absolute crickets at the table, I know I messed up. Committed a fatal error. It’s inevitable now, the onslaught of questions from the two hyenas across the table, Jude and Theo, watching the whole thing unfold with their eyebrows trying to climb the stairway to heaven.

“Jenna, I have a hard time picturing you getting married because I wouldn’t have you to myself anymore. And I have a hard time accepting that there’s a guy out there who’s worthy of my dream girl.”