At the end of our fourth date, Luke asked whether he could kiss me.
I nodded.
As he lowered his head, a flicker of fear still made me want to retreat.
But he did not rush me.
I caught the front of his jacket and slowly closed the remaining distance myself.
Later, in the car, I told him what frightened me most.
"It wasn't that other people didn't know. I used to believe a relationship didn't have to be displayed for everyone."
Luke parked the car and turned toward me.
"What scared me was finally admitting that something hurt, only to be told I shouldn't care."
He took a long moment before responding.
"I won't always know what you're thinking," he said. "But when you tell me, I'll listen."
When I got home that night, I had a long phone call with Meg.
I did not ask whether it was
