scrolling through his phone.
A few girls stand nearby,
pretending they’re not watching him,
probably hoping to get clipped
by a passing SUV
so he’ll mouth-to-mouth them back to life.
He's wearing a navy button-up?—
humbly untucked?—
dark grey trousers,
bright white sneakers,
glasses on,
hair styled, then wrecked.
Oh my God,I mouth,
then immediately spin in the other direction becausenope,
nope,
nope.
Abort.
I duck into a side alley like I’m being hunted.
Which I am.
By my own fucking heart.
What the hell am I doing
walking into something I can’t undo?
I pace the sidewalk, muttering to myself.
“It’s okay to want this.
“It’s a fucking date, for fuck’s sake.
“Not a forever.
“Don’t be a little bitch, Allison.
“Grow the fuck up.”
But I am a little bitch.
Because he makes me laugh,
