Elena says she could call in sick, and the moment she says it Marcus understands tonight was supposed to be his — she watches him understand it. His hand lifts toward her bare shoulder and stops, close enough that she feels the warmth of not-being-touched. Both their phones buzz at once: tomorrow's lineup, neither name on it. He lowers his hand. She waits. "Parking's brutal anyway," he says, "and I've got — " and then he just stops finishing the sentence, which is somehow worse than any ending he could have given it.
Parking's Brutal Anyway
by J. Loop
Two people stand at the exact edge of something. One phone buzz is all it takes to find out neither of them was ever going to jump.
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