Calm settles around me. A sense of rightness fitting like connecting puzzle pieces that complete the picture.

“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you and ruin our friendship. So…I’ll stop.”

Forget the punching bag. His face will do just fine.

I cannot return to my sleep; the flamingo in my dream lingers in my brain. I lie awake in bed for some time, twiddling ...

“Anna, you are not a disaster. You’re a delight.”

I am unapologetic, imperfect, and awkward Anna Waite. Someone who names her car and gets stuck on the back of fire trucks.

If this was a movie, now would be the moment Dylan makes a move, dropping everything to pull me into an embrace.

“So, you’re dating the paramedic?” Dylan’s lips stay flat, his eyebrow raised, and he stares straight ahead.

The fork pauses halfway to my mouth. An urge to laugh bubbles and I choke it back. “Women only want you for your body?”

After I left the fish tankI lived on a nearby riverbankClose to the connected seaI would look beyond the oceanOut to the dark blue ...