avid shrugs and closes his eyes, feigning sleep. Ryan interprets this as an attempt to shut him up, so he speaks quicker, louder. “I mean, do you think she’ll get in here and think it’s gross? Two guys. Doing it. In her car?” The last word trills up, whinny and girlish, and Ryan instantly regrets his line of questioning. He huffs into abrupt silence and takes a heavy drag off his cigarette – tosses it out the window. He opens the door, flushing the car with shapeless light from overhead; an electronic plinking warning that the keys are still in the ignition. Ryan steps out and closes the door with a muted slam. He walks to the cliff overlooking Kingdom, its sleeping windows staring blankly at the empty streets.

Complete story published in Wild Strawberries.

 

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