Maria’s longtime girl crush makes the first move.

Sheila was the girl who I hung out with when I visited family in Connecticut. She was tall and fair and liked to wear her hair in two long braids. She was the same age as me, and her hair was the color of lemon cream. I crushed on her for ages until I turned twenty-one. That was the year my crush became my lover.

We were out on the lake with a bunch of other people, but Sheila and I had gone out to the float alone. Her swimming in crisp even strokes, me doing the breaststroke because it was the only way I could swim with any speed. She was like some mythical mermaid. I felt like the beast that attacks the submarine in the horror movies.

We pushed up onto the worn wood and immediately sprawled on our backs. I flung an arm over my eyes to blot out... Read More