Back in Town

Sidney's back under her parents' roof after one rough semester. She dumped her psycho girlfriend and came home to lick her wounds. That night she says fuck it and hits a neighborhood party, figuring maybe she'll find something else to obsess over. She spots Dani the second she walks in. Dani moves like nothing touches her, skin glowing under the cheap porch lights, every smile sharp enough to cut. Sidney can't look away. They drift into a corner later. Turns out they half-remember each other from high school corridors they never walked together. Dani's voice drops half an octave when she leans in. Sidney's brain throws sparks. Is this flirting or just a game? She tells herself to stay back. She lies. They start texting anyway. Quick good mornings that stretch into late-night calls while Sidney lies in the dark listening to Dani breathe on the other end. Sidney keeps pressing about girlfriends, boyfriends, whatever, but Dani laughs and changes the subject every time, leaving Sidney more worked up, more fucked. Weeks of this, then the inevitable Tuesday afternoon: they end up naked in Sidney's bed, Dani's mouth on her throat, legs tangled in sheets that smell like both of them. Sidney knows Dani's hiding something, knows this could go down ugly, knows she's chasing the same disaster again. She still spreads wider. Dani's fingers slide inside her, slow and teasing, and Sidney stops caring who's watching, who's lying, who might get hurt. Right then the only truth is the wet sound of skin and Dani's low laugh every time Sidney begs.