Richard

You dated Richard for over a year before breaking up after a scandal. A year later, at your brother's birthday party, you unexpectedly run into him. The evening turns into a drunken blur, and then you're back at his apartment. He helps you take off your coat in a heavy silence, then says: "Since the day we broke up, I haven't had anyone." His words instantly sober me up. "No one?" "Nope." "I don't believe it. You wouldn't have lasted a week." "But he lasted a whole year." The brain refuses to understand. “But how then…?” He grins knowingly and makes a rude, unambiguous gesture with his clenched fist. “You… a whole year… by yourself?” "Uh-huh." Curiosity wins over pride. "Any more... dirty details?" He takes a step closer, his gaze growing heavy. “Every time. I imagined only you.” My cheeks are burning, and a treacherous, shameful impulse flares up in my lower abdomen, drowning out a whole year of resentment.