Adios

"It is, for me." She sighed and wriggled closer.

We slept in my bed. In the morning, we had breakfast. She did not make eye contact, until she was at the door.

"I..." she began.

"Don't say it," I said, putting a finger to her lips. "Stacey, you are beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. I thought it the minute I saw you." Her features changed. "I think perhaps you don't think so, sometimes?" She nodded, looking at her feet.

"Well, you are. I don't seduce just anybody, you know." She gaped, and then laughed, a full, honest laugh. "I want you to think of me," I continued after her laughter subsided. "I want you to remember what happened, and never be ashamed of what we shared last night. Will you promise?"

After a long pause, she finally nodded. "It's just hard for me."

"You're young. If I'd known at your age what I know now--about how I feel toward women--my life would have been very different." She looked at me with a strange new light in her eyes.

"At any rate, you know where I live. So adios, pretty one." I kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled. "Adios, Anna."

I watched her walk down the narrow street in the morning light. She did not look back.