The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

by Danielle Dawsen

“Are you aware that you have a type?” “Uhm,” I paused, “I haven’t given it much thought before.” “Well, allow me to explain. In seventh grade, you dated Jenna Myram. She’s white, has brown hair, and green eyes. Freshman year, you dated Sienna Hale. White, brown hair, green eyes. Sophomore year, Megan Clarke. She also has brown hair and green eyes. Then fast-forward to now. I have all of those things, too. At first, I assumed that you just had an alarmingly specific type, but then I realized that wasn’t necessarily true.” “Okay—so what if I like white girls? What does that have to do with anything?” I was getting frustrated. She glared at me, forcing me to close my mouth once again. “Rafe.” Her tone was sharp. “Don’t you get it? Can’t you see what I’m getting at?” “No, I don’t!” I didn’t raise my voice, but anger seeped through my words. “I have no clue what you’re going on about!” “Think about it for a minute! Who’s the person you never shut up about?! Who’s the person you put before everyone else? Who exactly is the person always by your side, who just so happens to have all the exact same features as your exes?! Brown hair and green eyes.” She took a breath. My mouth slightly parted, beginning to sense the direction she was going in. “Can you see it now, Rafe? You’re only dating me because of my physical traits. You only dated all those girls because of their appearances... you’ve only dated girls that look like Aspen.”