Her breath caught in her throat when they kissed, but it was over too soon and he was pushing her away. She felt it like a painful sinking feeling in her chest, that rejection. She wasn’t used to being told ‘no’ for anything, especially this. Had she been sober, she would have appreciated what he was doing and seen it for the right thing that it was, but in this moment, it just hurt. Tears stung her eyes that she tried hard to blink back. A sharp intake of breath was slowly sighed out. “I…” she started, but couldn’t find words, and emotions were jumbling up inside of her - shame, guilt, anger, despair.
“Uhhm,” she hesitated, clearing her throat and stepping away. She swayed slightly, but kept her balance, wrapping her arms around her waist protectively. “Thanks,” she managed, not looking at him, “for walking me home. I should…” she gestured with one hand to the door to the second floor apartment behind him, shifting her feet and then taking one step towards it, and then another.