breecoded.org

I get close.

I feel warmth curl around me like a flame I shouldn’t touch.

Then I pull back.

Not because I want to leave, but because leaving feels safer than burning.

They lean in.

I lean out.

And the space between us hums with everything I can’t say, every word I swallowed before it reached my mouth.

Is this longing or defense?

I don’t know yet.

I leave it there.