Loving Cousin

"Sweetie, if you've found the man you wrote about in your journal, you'll have to fight me for him," she said with a laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"He's real," I said, because I knew in my heart he was.

"And so am I, and I'm getting real hungry. Want to share some fruit with me?"

"Sure," I sighed. "Do you have any cottage cheese?"

Getting up, she started pulling out a few things from the fridge while I grabbed a couple of plates and spoons. We put some cut fruit, cheese, and French bread on plates and sat at the table, eating together like it was a normal day. Except we were naked under our robes, and I was struggling with the change in our relationship. She was the same old Jules, but everything else was different. We'd kissed like lovers and talked like old friends. It hurt my head to think about what I was feeling for her. I was still angry at her for what she'd done to me, still wounded by her ultimatum, and yet I wanted nothing more than to be exactly where I was.

"I did