When you can feel it building up...

She has so much to say, but she promised not to talk that way anymore. So the words pile up on the tip of her tongue. Ready to spill out at any given moment.

The crash and burn...

She can't bear to watch the crash and burn. So she turns her head— fighting every urge to look hard and close. Just in case there are any survivors.

Between her fingertips...

He never liked smoking. Even secondhand smoke tickled his lungs and upset his stomach. He didn't like the lingering smell. The Surgeon General's warning plastered on the side of the pack— confirming his thoughts that no good could possibly come from it. But, there was something about her that caused him to rethink his stance. Watching her smoke on the rooftop— noises from the city her soundtrack— he was mesmerized by the way she blew smoke through subtly parted lips. How it curled in the air above her head. The shape of her hand as it held the cigarette— delicately, with purpose. He never thought smoking could be sexy. But, in that moment, he would have bought her a pack without hesitation— a small admission fee to this private show.

The way change hits you...

As she sat alone on her sofa, she realized that nothing had really changed. But the feeling of weight bearing down on her chest was a sure sign that everything had changed.

Fancy footwork...

Lying so convincingly for so long and with such ease that even she is fooled.

The grass is always greener...

He specialized in keeping up with the Joneses. Standing outside he saw the cable man attaching a dish to the roof of his neighbor's house. That's where it began. He had the same setup the next day. When his son came home boasting about the neighbor's television, complete with surround sound, he spent his lunch break the next day walking the aisles of Best Buy and by that night their entertainment center put movie theaters to shame. Next came the pool table in the game room. The sprinkler system. The art deco lawn furniture. The granite countertops. The convertible. The swimming pool. And just when his family thought it could go no farther, when their house had more amenities than a five star Caribbean resort, he hoisted himself up on the slats of the fence, and peered over into the neighbors' yard. "What honey?" his wife asked. "Do they have nicer lawn furniture? A bigger pool? What?" And he answered, "No, our furniture is better by far. And our pool is much bigger. But," he said defeatedly, "Their grass is slightly greener."

One of my favorite...

StoryPeople entries. Have a wonderful weekend!

I don't want anything from you, I said, unless you want me to want something from you & she smiled & said, I knew you were in one of those moods.

All she leaves behind...

She hops lovers the way Hawaiian tourists hop islands. And in her wake, fractured shells wash upon the shore, left for others to pick up. For fear of turning to salt, she never looks back. Far too taken by her next move to consider all she leaves behind.