Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then I added, “But I don’t want to be the person you reach for just because Michael made you feel unwanted.”
She nodded slowly.
“That’s fair.”
“And I don’t want you waking up tomorrow wondering whether you made a mistake.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“That’s fair too.”
I returned to the floor beside her.
We drank terrible coffee in the middle of the night and talked about everything except the kiss that hadn’t happened.
When I left, she walked me to the door.
“Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for stopping.”
I swallowed.
“You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“I think I do.”
She watched me for a moment.
Then she said, “I’m beginning to remember who I am.”
I smiled.
“Good.”
“And whoever I become next, I want it to be because I chose her.”
I knew then that whatever I felt for Karen was no longer a passing attraction.
