Sleep ignored Nina's instruction until nearly two in the morning around me. Every attempt to close my eyes replayed the first crooked contact, her laughter, plus the second kiss beneath the awning. My mouth remembered more confidently than the rest of me nearby today.
Morning arrived through a message received at six forty-three during that exchange. Nina had sent no photograph, only a question carrying more consequence than the kiss itself. I read it twice before sitting upright inside the quiet room around us.
{Nina: Did last night make you think we are together now?}
The honest first response was partly during those difficult seconds around both of us. Public dancing, two kisses, plus Olica's reluctant approval resembled the beginning of a relationship from every story I had consumed. Nina had not used girlfriend, exclusivity, or any promise beyond discussing what changed.
