Page 85 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

My hands found his waist, gripping, slightly pushing, needing something to hold onto as Kyle pushed himself in.

A pained moan escaped my lips.

“Shh.” Kyle undid the button of my shirt, exposing my chest. Then suddenly, his head dived, and then I felt his tongue toying my nipple.

“Holy fuck!”

I took my hands off his waist and found the side of his face.

“Kyle.” My breath broke, feeling him slide fully into me.

As our bodies found their rhythm, a question surfaced in me: how did two people, once separated by circumstances, became one again?

At that moment, I found no answer.

I just let him break me again—but this time, it was my body, not my heart.

By the time my friends and I settled into Sunday brunch in Abacca, everything felt deceptively calm.

We were seated outside, tucked under wide umbrellas that softened the late morning sun. The air felt warm on our skins, but not suffocating. Plates were already spread across the table—Andi with her avocado toast topped with perfectly poached eggs, Honey picking through a croissant like she was judging it, Mel cutting into a stack of pancakes with unsettling precision, and Andre nursing his coffee like it was the only stable thing in his life.

Everyone had barely taken a bite when I said, “Kyle and I had sex.”

No warning.

No lube.

Just violence.

Andi gasped—sharp but delighted. “Oh my God!”

Honey followed, clutching her chest like she’d just witnessed a proposal. “What?”

Andre choked mid-sip, coughing into his cup as he quickly set it down. “Jesus, James!”

Mel didn’t react right away. She just froze with knife still in hand. Wide eyes locked on me. For a second, I genuinely thought she might launch herself across the table.

“And…” I added, like this was a casual follow-up and not a second explosion, “I don’t know… maybe we’re getting back together.”

That was the one that did it.

Mel stood.

No dramatic sigh. No speech. No eye contact.

She just grabbed her bag and walked away.

We all watched her go.

Silence.

Longer silence.

I blinked. “What’s up with her?”

No one answered right away.

Andi slowly took a bite of her toast, chewing like what I did was completely normal behavior.