Long Distance

It was absurd how much she had planned this one detail: the blue hour, when the light fell through the blinds and turned the dust in the air to gold. Lena stood in the doorway, her hands buried in the pockets of her oldest, softest … Read more

I had forgotten how overwhelmingly tall he was. That was the first thought that shot through my mind when I saw him standing on the platform. Not the blue eyes I knew from a thousand video calls, not the crooked grin that had haunted me … Read more

The smell of wet asphalt and freshly washed denim seeps through the crack in the door before I even see him. It’s that specific scent of rain on warm skin that makes me catch my breath. I’ve imagined this moment so often, in sleepless nights … Read more

It smells like rain and cold asphalt when I open the door – but beneath that lies a sharper, sweeter scent. His skin, mixed with the aroma of train travel, sweat, and fatigue. Four months we’ve whispered only through screens, our voices muffled by cables … Read more

“You look different,” he whispers, and I feel the heat rush to my cheeks—a burning red that creeps up to my hairline. The screen flickers, his voice slightly scratchy, rough from fatigue or something darker hanging in the air between us. I lean back, the … Read more

“I can’t take this anymore,” Lena whispers, her gaze boring into the camera. Her breath fogs the display as she moves closer, lips slightly parted. “I know,” Tim says, his voice rough as sandpaper. He sits in his study, the pale light of a desk … Read more

I had looked forward to this moment so much that now that it was here, I felt like turning around and running away. There he stood, at the end of the long escalator, among all the faces that were just passing through. His smile was … Read more

What if he doesn’t come? I banish the thought immediately as I stand on the airport parking lot, waiting for his taxi. Three months we had only seen each other through screens, chased our voices through phone lines, described our bodies in text messages—every syllable … Read more

The smell of rain on his skin was the first thing Lara noticed as she opened the door. Ben stood in the dim light of the hallway, his shoulders slightly damp from the drizzle that had been hanging over the city for hours. His smile … Read more

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” His voice sounds hoarse, breathless, as if he’s thought of nothing else the entire drive. I stare at the screen, my heart hammering against my ribs, and between my legs that familiar, hot throbbing begins. We haven’t seen each … Read more