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“I’m so sorry”

“Sorry?” I breathe out “For wh—”

And that’s when his body wrenches with a spas into the condom

11

ROMAN

I cannot look at Lilly

Can’t be around her after I humiliated myself, this entire week a practice in circumvention and evasion

She coo out of it

I even catch a whiff of her presence or i arrival, I pack up my shit and scram

I came in under a minute

Show irl square in the eye after he comes inside her after thirty seconds, and I will bon to him

Metaphors for puh ineering project It’s no use

Pump and dump

Three-pump chump

Single-barrel action

Tossing my mechanical pencil onto the desk, I stare out theinto the backyard There’s an alley at the very end of the property where the garbage cans are stored and get picked up on Mondays, and I watch as a wo canister and tosses in a bag I decide toroom

“Ro deal…” Lilly reached forrappled for my underwear I couldn’t look at her then either, huas so I could…you know…”

I lay in bed next to her that entire night—through the night until the sun came up and she slowly calanced atfor

I didn’t

I squeezed , not wantingmyself away

Waited until she’d risen and gotten herself dressed then tiptoed out of the roo over toa kiss on the side of my neck, lips warm

So kind and caring

I lay there like a coward

How the hell do I fix this?

It’s been four days