Natalia, my best friend’s sister, weaved
through my thoughts.
Opposite reasons collided
with logic like an instrument
with a darker purpose.
Natalia’s growth caught my
attention until lust warmed
her presence.
Come hell as it will,
I had to have Natalia.
I spilled a confession.
Pure love guided me
through a dancefloor
of excuses.
Mark’s family lived next door.
We’d been best friends since
we crawled out of the womb.
Our last school
year fell upon us,
and his sister
started college.
I was 18.
Natalia was 19.
As a kid, she was knees and elbows.
Nothing attracted me to Natalia.
She’s the crush my insecurity pushed away.
I teased her because I knew she’d never date me.
But when she arrived home for winter break,
I did a double-take.
Natalia’s chest and hips filled out.
Her oval green eyes captivated
my gaze, drawing me in only
if she knew how.
The names I called her
washed across my face.
Mark asked my sister
on a date before either
of us knew anything about me,
pulling an emergency
parachute for a soft landing.
No one would have guessed
I’d fall for Natalia, not me.
Natalia played hard to get,
but I played harder.
I asked her once about seeing
a flick.
Natalia tucked her long, blonde
bangs behind her ear,
leaving it an open question.
My parents traveled to New York
and left me here in Seattle.
The day drained me,
and I closed my eyes
as darkness cloaked
the sky over a sliver moon.
The rain rattled the windows,
rolling off the tin roof.
A knock at the door startled me
like lightning in a jar.
I shot upright and pushed my feet
into my slippers.
I fished under my bed, grabbed a bat,
and approached the door.
I flipped on the porch light.
Natalia stood.
Her arms looped around
her waist.
I swallowed hard.
Her mascara trailed her cheeks
with the raindrops hitting her face.
“Gonna invite me in?” Natalia said, wiping her face and laughing through tears.
“Only if you promise to come into my life and never leave,” I said.
Natalia blushed. “Deal.”