“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.

Eyes ruby redHe lays in my bedGets in my headWants me dead He lures me inWith his musical hissAnd numbs my heartWith his poisonous kiss Coils around myBody just rightSqueezing and crushingWith all his might Until I cease to seeDanger in his hugsLoss and fearWill fill my lungs The coolness of his skinPulls me inNow I have lostMy second ...

“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?”

THE (NON) DATE WHERE I TALK TO KIRAKids gather at the splash pad below a suspended bucket. It wobbles, teetering with water until it slowly tips. High-pitched squeals and boisterous laughter crescendo as the cooling spray offers relief from the oppressive heat.Kira sits across from me at a table, watching the gleeful strains of summer ...

A Woman’s a Lotus planted firmly, deep into the water yet unattached, her leaves – they float above all.   She rises, holding chin up, and smiles through the day.   Outside temperature may be 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but she regulates the temperature of her flowers at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, bringing warmth to all, regardless ...

We’re mirror images, him on one side, me on the other, tilting toward the hunk of wood that serves as our confessional.