mom caught me with carla inside that sticky sweet june that made me think that summer was a girl with a sunburn smile and eyes like parched dirt. it starts with the sereneness of the stagnant lake water, releasing soft whimpers as the boat leisurely swims through its dross colored tranquility.

i sit at one end of the canoe (that we found at the docks, and with a saccharine giggle carla decides that we should "borrow it!") and body propped up against the edge, trying to seem cool as cigarette smoke curls out of my mouth.

carla sits at the other edge, a luxurious smile on her decadent face. a ruby robe of silk covering a black bathing suit spilled around her body like the river itself. she lays on her stomach elegantly, her head on the bow of the boat propped up by her tawny arm. her fingers skim the warm waters underneath her, dancing against the repose of the lake.

she's not looking at me, but i am: i always find myself admiring the way lovely blonde curls melt alongside tawny skin. she turns the sun into an artist; and on its blue canvas she causes erratic streaks of cerise and orange. she lets out a girlish sigh that makes my blood boil.

a long story cut short, by a mother ransacking for her missing son; rejuvenated anxiety brought up her throat like bile— mom found us swimming in love. my hand was on her hips and she was kissing me so gently, an archangels kiss that makes the magisterium blush, that makes me bleed into her arms.

another short story? mami wasn't fond of the raw effeminate sinners smile that i carried on my face as i waved carla goodbye, trudging through the muddy marsh drunk with love and internally bleeding. in fact, she was mortifyingly jealous that i could love through cynical clove of darkness that followed the two of us around like flies in a morgue. it's not my fault she feels dead inside.

// thank u sm for 900 !! i honestly don't deserve this <33