1
c h a p t e r o n e
U
nplanned
A u t om at i c T r a n s m i s s i o n
I’ve never been a girl to make plans
Beyond about a week in advance
Some girls have their whole lives
Laid out like a spreadsheet
Instead I lay myself out
Samir’s fingers tracing
The curve of my naked hip
On a blood-spotted white sheet
Are you okay
? he says, wide-eyed
Neither of us expected our reunion
To find us tearing at each other’s clothes
In the narrow staircase.
He rested his hand on my thigh
As he drove us home from school
And I slid his fingers up and up until
His face flushed hot.
We kissed at the mudroom door and fell inside
Latching the lock behind us
