Fallout (Crank 3)

“I don’t … I just … never

talk about it.” That part is true.

You don’t have to talk about

it. Sorry I brought it up.

He kisses my forehead, down

my left temple, the corner of

my eye. Some weird instinct

I never knew I possessed turns

my face into his, and suddenly

we’re kissing a for-real, deadly

serious kiss. His lips are soft.

Warm. Yielding. His tongue,

when it comes, is gentle. Inviting.

My own tongue is accepting and …

SURPRISE NUMBER THREE

Some totally foreign parts

of my body awaken suddenly.

Oh my God. That’s what it’s all

about! We are kissing. Tongue

on tongue. I can’t believe it’s

so easy. So wondrously,

perfectly, impossibly me.

I am breathless, but I don’t

want to fight the sensation. For

once, not breathing feels right.

I am tingling, too. But in

all the right places.

I DARE

To open my eyes, only to find

Bryce staring at me.