Stace

"I used to just sit there in my room, staring at myself in the mirror. I’d think my hair will be perfect even if my clothes aren’t. I’d look so long sometimes that I’d start to feel like I was floating there, floating on top of the mirror like it was water. I still get that feeling sometimes." She’s looking away, out the picture window at the slowly swaying trees in the valley. "You know, it’s funny, I had this dream last night, this dream I used to have all the time back then – I’m in a life jacket, in the middle of the ocean. There’s nothing around, no ships, no land, no people, nothing, just water, and I’m floating there, all alone." Somehow her chair’s a lot closer than it was and her arm is next to mine on the table. "I don’t want to be alone, UBU."

She stands and I follow, her hard knees pushing against mine, her hands on my ears as she lifts my face to hers, my lips against her chin and then her mouth. I’ve kissed her before, way back in high school, but it still seems familiar as she tilts her head, her cool tongue snaking into my mouth . We descend together down on our knees and then topple over onto the plush carpet, the only sound the water slapping against the drain of the pool and our caresses and small cries. She pulls away and leans on one elbow, slipping the black strap of her bathing suit off her shoulder.