Arrows Through Archer

by Nash Summers

“Tell me how I look, Mallory.” I’d said it surely, without hesitation, my voice calm and even.

People fall into each other in different ways. Some people fall together in laughter, surrounded by energy and joy. Some fall into each other in passion, unable to keep their skin from touching. But Mallory and I fell into each other slowly, gently, tentatively, like almost everything we did. We were quiet and fluid.

And then as we stood there, almost touching, Mallory pulled me closer still. “Dance with me,” he whispered into my ear. The warmth of his breath pressed against the side of my neck, causing me to shiver. Mallory didn’t lead and neither did I. But we did dance together, swaying side to side, back and forth, with my head barely resting on his shoulder and his cheek pressed into my hair. We danced until the needle on the record player began to skip and the melody of the song became ragged.

I thought he wouldn’t come back and he’d turn and leave me standing there in the middle of the living room, heart split in two. But he didn’t. The music stopped and there was nothing but silence and the crackling of the fire. So, when Mallory came back to me and wrapped both his arms around my waist, pulling me to him, the universe was swept away. Our eyes locked and he inched toward me slowly but surely. His nose brushed against mine. His hair tickled my forehead. And then when I closed my eyes, he pressed his lips against mine.

“What are we doing, Archer?” Mallory asked. Falling in love, I thought. But instead I said, “Kissing.”

So he did. Again, for long minutes that weren’t nearly long enough, Mallory kissed me.

“You don’t think what we feel towards each other is worth taking a chance on?” I asked. He paused briefly. I watched a hundred expressions flicker across his face. And then, “No.” “No?” “No.” That was all it took to break my heart. A two-letter word. Not a death in the family, not a sibling disowning me. A two-letter word from the man I loved.