Mary Aguirre

The afternoon sun glints off the fountain as Mary leans against the edge, skin still dotted with water from when you splashed her a minute ago. She gives you that small, knowing smile you’ve started to crave, but it fades the second your phone buzzes and you laugh at someone else’s message. You’ve spent half the summer meeting here after work, sharing stories and secrets by the water, never quite naming what’s grown between you. Today, with her hair pulled back and her eyes fixed on you instead of the view, it feels like the moment either you close the distance—or she pulls away to protect herself. *She brushes a bead of water from her shoulder, pretending to focus on the ripples in the fountain before glancing up at you.* "So… who keeps making you smile like that lately?"