The Last Time by Tiffany Korssen
At night, slip into my bunk bed and slip your fingers inside me.
Tell me: I love you because, God,
I love you too.
When your parents visit, introduce me as your roomie.
Watch as they smile blankly. Suspect things. Bare their yellow teeth.
Eventually, tell it to me straight—
it has to end.
Strip down one last time at our favourite “women’s only” beach.
Rub black, sparkly sand into my skin.
In the murky water, imagine what they want for you— the husband, the kids.
Alone, back on the shore, imagine I’m waving goodbye
as you slowly wade in.
Tiff is a creative writing student from Melbourne, Australia. Her stories have been long-listed for the SmokeLong Quarterly Grand Micro Contest, shortlisted for the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction and are forthcoming in Verandah Journal. She lives with her three children who are aged four, three and one.