we need?”

He nods in a peal of mildly amused laughter. “That was pretty great.”

While I turn, the coffee percolating at its leisurely pace, I bring up

the last concern in my mind. “What was your relationship with

Farrah like?”

Undesirably, his brows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“I told you my relationship with Ryan, and of course, everyone in

town knew just about everything about us. But I never really saw you

and Farrah together.”

“Well, that’s because we dated right after high school ended.”

“Okay, so that’s something. Tell me about it.”

He seems uneasy again, and with the talk of his addiction still fresh

in both of our minds, I decide to not push it further with him. At

least, not for right now.

The coffee pot beeps, killing the turbulent silence between us, and we

sip on our caffeine while remembering the relationship that used to

be, the ones that will be, and the false plays of ones that we seem to

be stuck in. Feels only natural to try and move on a little bit more

after tonight has gone the way it has.

After all, we are engaged now.

WHISPERING WILLOWS

Leah

Although the thought of having a bottle of wine together and spilling

our secrets to the moon sounds like a magical night together, all of

that changes when faced with an ex-alcoholic who doesn’t like talking

about himself in any capacity. I wish I had the strength to keep my

mouth shut like Percy Elrod, but my words and opinions are like

semi-trucks on ice roads.

They’re hauling ass, and they can’t brake for shit.

Instead, we sip from coffee mugs and have a campfire under the