Ocean Waves
We can lay here next to each other; both of us on our backs, staring up at the ceiling.
We can make conversation. Words flowing effortlessly between us. Story swapping, like interests, and shared experiences. Or even differences.
Especially differences.
Trying to coerce the other to try something the other enjoys. Read this book or story; watch this movie or show.
It was easier before. When it was words typed by anxious thumbs, with imaginary voices.
But now it’s real. We’re here.
We’ll fall silent, as all easy things must make way for the complicated things.
We’ll continue to stare up, but peripheral vision tells a story about our nervous fidgeting. What happens next?
Eventually, maybe it was simultaneously, heads turn inward for eyes to meet.
Lips moisten, but throats dry.
Minds buzz with anticipation. What’s the next step?
Our chests rise high and fall. Ships riding ocean waves in a storm. Deep breaths.
I won’t make the first move, because that’s how it happens. That… is the beginning of the end.
That’s how you get hurt.
You wonder what that means for you. If you make the first move will you end up the one with a dagger through your heart?
No one can promise the future.
What if you grow indifferent? And I’ll probably never truly be free. And distance.
Shit!
So, it’s back to the ceiling. We can wait for the easiness to return. Wait for the storm to pass, and those ocean waves to calm.
Biographical Note: Jasmine Cartwright is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in Creative Writing. Her passion for fictional storytelling started when she was seven-years-old, and she started working on her first novel in 2016, which she hopes to release in December 2022. When she isn’t sitting in front of her computer writing the stories of her beloved characters, Jasmine is spending time with her family, which include her fiancé and ten-year-old son, and traveling to visit friends and gain inspiration for her stories. When asked about her particular style of storytelling, Jasmine says, “I write stories about people who find happiness at the most inconvenient of times.”