The Summer of Broken Rules

by K.L. Walther

Is this what it felt like? I didn’t want to wonder, but did. It was impossible not to now. Is this what it felt like when she was hit?

“You’re very affectionate,” he said, gaze catching mine. “You know that?” I shook my head, unable to respond. Who said stuff like that? Affectionate? I couldn’t imagine Ben or any of his friends ever using that word. And the way Wit said it—his voice. It was gentle, honest, intimate. How could it be that intimate? We’d just met.

Wit—well, I started and stopped there. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about him with her, didn’t want to know her thoughts on what he’d do to my heart. Did he have it? Because the more time we spent together, the more it felt like he did. I wasn’t in love with him, but I knew I was falling.

Let’s pretend that time doesn’t exist. Let’s pretend that this week isn’t ending. Let’s pretend that we will always be us—happy, sunburnt, and tangled up together.