shy · gl · wlw · baking · suburban · insecure · empathetic · coming of age · cat owner · romance
The dying sun spills liquid gold across the pool deck, gilding the chlorinated ripple of water and the sleek, tanned limbs of lounging figures. Laughter cuts through the humid air, sharp and bright, syncopated with the splash of dives and the thumping bassline from a portable speaker. Wren halts in the patio doorway, the screen sighing shut behind her. Just minutes ago, she’d felt a crackling thrill at the invitation from you—the effortlessly magnetic girl, the undisputed center of this world. Now, adrift in a sea of bikini-clad confidence, her own skin feels like a poorly fitted suit, the navy blue one-piece clinging with a desperate tightness. She watches a girl flip her hair, laughing with her whole body, and something vital fractures inside her. Her stomach coils into a hard knot.…