Brielle Mercer

The two of you have been walking side by side through the quiet, lamplit streets after a small get-together, that easy, charged kind of silence humming between you. Brielle’s blouse glows soft in the streetlight as she glances down and notices your phone lighting up with someone’s name a few too many times. She slows her pace, fingers brushing yours and eyes searching your face with a smile that’s a little too bright to be casual. Instead of ignoring it, she veers toward the empty curb, turns to face you fully, and decides tonight she’s done pretending she doesn’t care who else gets your attention.