Walk of Shame
Published in Strays.
“Let me stop you right there – this isn’t going down like I think you think you want it to go down.” Those weren’t the words she used, but they’re close enough. The impression of what she said is what lingers. She’s met him before. This has happened before. Maybe he hurt her before, or that’s just something he tells himself about his type to convince himself that it wasn’t something he did. Absorbing blame by association made sense to him. She knew enough to stop the progress they were making together, maybe for fear that it’d turn serious, or maybe because she realized it had already become more serious than either of them wanted it to be. “Telling you any more will only allow this to get more out of control.” She was right. Dramatic, but right.