SHAPES UNSPOKEN

- 6 -

HAPPY READING 🥰

Annabelle Inniss

Ever since that first late-night call with Sean, I haven’t been the same.

It’s embarrassing how easily he slips into my thoughts. I could be reviewing press drafts at work or walking through the busy streets of Georgetown, and suddenly I’ll catch myself smiling like a fool because I remembered something witty he said.

For the past week, our calls have become routine.

Morning texts.

Midday check-ins.

Late-night conversations that stretch longer than they should.

It feels effortless talking to him. That’s what scares me.

I lie on my back, staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily above me. The Guyanese heat wraps around me even at night, but that isn’t what has my body warm.

It’s him.

There’s a small, persistent voice in the back of my mind telling me to slow down. To be careful. To think logically.

He has baggage.

His marriage isn’t finalized.

What if I allow myself to fall into this and Cindy decides she wants her husband back? Where would that leave me? I refuse to be someone’s placeholder. I refuse to be the woman in the middle.

But then I remember the terrace.

The way his fingers brushed my cheek.

The way my breath caught when he leaned closer.

The way my entire center pulsed in a way it never had before.

I had wanted him to kiss me.

Badly.

That realization still shocks me.

I’ve never reacted to a man like that.

My first experience with intimacy was nothing like the fantasies I had growing up. In college, I gave in to pressure from my then-boyfriend, John. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t romantic. It felt rushed, overwhelming, and painful. I remember lying there afterward, confused and disappointed, wondering why something that was supposed to be beautiful felt so wrong.

Jinette and I had promised each other we’d wait until marriage. I broke that promise.

And I regretted it.

After that, I closed that door. If I wasn’t deeply in love, I wasn’t going there again. Simple.

When Jinette married Brian, I quietly asked her what it was like. The way she described their connection—how he took his time, how he made her feel cherished and safe—it sounded like something out of a novel. It made me realize I had never experienced that kind of tenderness.

I’ve always wanted love.

The kind that feels steady.

The kind that feels intentional.

The kind that feels like home.

Sean already found that once—with Cindy.

No matter what’s happening between them now, they once chose each other. Built a family together. Shared vows.

Can something like that really just end?

If they wanted to, couldn’t they fix it?

And if they do… where does that leave me?