Sweet Contradiction by Peggy Martinez

be the winners this year. Evidently it was a pretty big thing to win the title of Salem’s Pie Pig. Who knew?
    A profound weight had been lifted off of my heart by the time we left the Wright home. I guess stereotyping can go both ways. Did that mean I would be comfortable going to church and hearing hour long sermons? Absolutely not. But at least I could feel more comfortable around Matt and his family—and that’s all that was really important to me right then.
    “Hey, where are you right now?” Matt asked from beside me.
    “Just thinking about how much I enjoyed time with your family tonight.” Mrs. Wright was something else. I smiled as I recalled how she managed to get Hunter to do what she wanted without him ever realizing it. She had mad momma skills. “I’m also wondering if I should be concerned that you carry around an inflatable bed for your truck.” Matt brought our intertwined hands up and kissed the back of my knuckles, raising little goose bumps along my arm as he did. My eyes left the beautiful starry sky we were lying under in the back of his truck bed to find Matt gazing fixedly at me. My breath caught in my chest and I reached up to push a wayward lock of his hair off of his forehead.
    “I’ve never taken a girl out like this before, sweetheart. You’re the only girl I’ve ever wanted to sleep under the starry night sky with. You make the stars shine a little bit brighter and the night bloomin’ jasmine smell a little bit sweeter.” My heart fluttered wildly at his words. No man had ever said such beautiful things to me before and I knew no man ever would again. Matt was one of a kind and every time we were together I fell a little more in love with him. I leaned over and kissed him gently, savoring the feel of his lips against mine, the complicated woodsy scent of him, and the way his arms held me gently as if he were touching the most precious thing on earth.
    “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I do right now.” I murmured against his lips. “I’ve never felt more alive than I do when you’re touching me, Matt.” I melted into him as his mouth crashed down on mine, his lips soaking up my confession and his body showing me exactly how he felt. No matter how many years I live, I will always remember the tiniest details of that night out in the middle of a field, miles away from another human being. How the stars twinkled just for us, like a million, tiny, flickering candles lighting the night sky. How even though the evening was cool and flowers scented the air around us, that it was Matt’s embrace that kept me warm and his scent that lingered more vividly than any flower ever could. How that as we made love to each other, the world fell away and nothing else mattered except the rise and fall of our synchronized breathing, the wildness of our hearts, beating as one, and the words I love you floating all around me, planting themselves into my heart, as Matt whispered them into my hair.

he cloud of contentment and peace when I woke up in the next morning quickly faded as soon as I got a look at the puffy, dark circles under Jen’s eyes. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring out into space and I could see the stress and strain of all the she had endured etched clearly onto her face.
    “Jen?” I asked softly. She jumped and then shook her head gently to clear it, managing a small smile. I went in and sat cross legged on the bed beside her. I pushed a strand of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. I sighed deeply and took her hand in mine. “We’ll get through this. We’ll call today to make an appointment and then we’ll go together.” Jen sucked in a breath sharply, her eyes widened and then she released her breath with her shoulders slumping a little.
    “How long have you known?” she asked, deflated.
    “Since yesterday morning.”
    “How?” She chewed her bottom lip.
    “I found the letter in your night stand when I was searching for my