Toxic Love City
350 Words
Chapter 20: Toxic Love City
The week after the party was filled with silence between Iris and me. I didn’t text her, and she didn’t text me. Our mutual friends kept asking questions—“What’s up with you two?” “Are you guys a thing now?”—but I just shrugged it off and gave them my best poker face.
The truth was, I didn’t know what to say to them….or her. What happened that night felt… surreal. It wasn’t something I’d planned, and knowing Iris, I doubted it was something she had either. But the memory lingered. The way her touch had felt, the soft cadence of her voice, the way we had crossed a line neither of us had spoken about before. It all felt…real. And surprisingly, instead of being scared….feeling scared, it felt like something else. Something dangerous yet…..beautiful.
By thursday, the silence became too heavy. I was lying in bed, trying to focus on the latest project for a client, when my phone buzzed. It was a message from Iris:
“Hey. Can we talk? I’ll come over tomorrow.”
My heart jumped. I stared at the message for a solid minute before replying with a simple:
“Sure.” I replied uncertain if I wanted to…..No, if I was ready to see her or not. Because I wanted to.
I just didn’t know if I was ready the face what had happened. But deep inside, I knew a part of me yearned for her.
The next day, I cleaned up the house by myself—something I rarely do. Not that it was messy, but I just wanted it to be in shape. I didn’t know why….no I didn’t. By 10 a.m, the doorbell rang. Iris was at my door. She looked casual but effortlessly stunning, as always.
Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, and she wore a simple black T-shirt and baggy pants.
“Hey,” she said with a light smile as I let her in.
“Hey,” I replied, stepping aside to give her space.
- Writer
