flora
Flora groans softly and tips her head back against the polished rail, staring up at the night sky like maybe the stars could offer her some absolution. "Okay, so—" She drapes an arm dramatically across the side of the boat like she needs the physical support. "Koa was... my first. Like, first first. And then he, like, literally climbed out my window afterward like it was a one-night stand, and I was furious for, like, a full season and a half. Maybe two. It’s a little blurry because I was also deeply committed to pretending I didn’t care." Par for the course so far.
She gestures vaguely at the air between them. "Anyway, we sort of patched things up. Sort of. And in the meantime, he developed this big puppy-eyed crush on Soh—Sohalia, my best friend. And she kind of liked him back, but she was also dating Jude at the time." Flora shifts to sit cross-legged, the boat rocking gently beneath her. "Then Soh and Jude broke up. And then Soh got kidnapped and disappeared for a while and in that mess Koa and I..." She trails off, letting the silence fill in the obvious blanks. Her smile is a little sheepish now. "Things rekindled. But I was also kinda-sorta seeing Jack at the time. And after Soh came back, she still had feelings for Koa, I—I told her to go for it. Told her I was fine." Flora pulls a face, as if the memory tastes bitter even now. "Which, in hindsight, was maybe a lie." She makes a vague explosion gesture with her hands. "Boom. Chaos."
Dragging a hand through her curls, she lets out another laugh, softer this time. " But then Koa and I went on a for real date right as Jack sort of amped up the romance-" Or what passed for romance for a man like Jack, " and right as I told Koa that I was gonna date Jack seriously, he told me he was in love with me. Like, actually said it. And no one had ever said that to me before." The night air brushes her damp skin, cooling the flush that creeps into her cheeks as she shrugs helplessly. "And I was like...I mean, I probably was in love with him too, so...yeah. Usually there's rules about friends and exes. But when it's... this tangled? I dunno. Drawing a hard line feels stupid. We all made mistakes. It’s just... too complicated to play referee about it now."
She nudges her mug across the deck toward him with her foot, giving him a lopsided, self-mocking grin. "Gods, it sounds so fucked up saying it all in one go like that."
She gestures vaguely at the air between them. "Anyway, we sort of patched things up. Sort of. And in the meantime, he developed this big puppy-eyed crush on Soh—Sohalia, my best friend. And she kind of liked him back, but she was also dating Jude at the time." Flora shifts to sit cross-legged, the boat rocking gently beneath her. "Then Soh and Jude broke up. And then Soh got kidnapped and disappeared for a while and in that mess Koa and I..." She trails off, letting the silence fill in the obvious blanks. Her smile is a little sheepish now. "Things rekindled. But I was also kinda-sorta seeing Jack at the time. And after Soh came back, she still had feelings for Koa, I—I told her to go for it. Told her I was fine." Flora pulls a face, as if the memory tastes bitter even now. "Which, in hindsight, was maybe a lie." She makes a vague explosion gesture with her hands. "Boom. Chaos."
Dragging a hand through her curls, she lets out another laugh, softer this time. " But then Koa and I went on a for real date right as Jack sort of amped up the romance-" Or what passed for romance for a man like Jack, " and right as I told Koa that I was gonna date Jack seriously, he told me he was in love with me. Like, actually said it. And no one had ever said that to me before." The night air brushes her damp skin, cooling the flush that creeps into her cheeks as she shrugs helplessly. "And I was like...I mean, I probably was in love with him too, so...yeah. Usually there's rules about friends and exes. But when it's... this tangled? I dunno. Drawing a hard line feels stupid. We all made mistakes. It’s just... too complicated to play referee about it now."
She nudges her mug across the deck toward him with her foot, giving him a lopsided, self-mocking grin. "Gods, it sounds so fucked up saying it all in one go like that."
what doesn't kill me makes
me want you more
me want you more
