Gemotions

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. Across the table, James looked appropriately mortified. He’d confessed, his voice barely above a murmur, that he and *I* had been seeing the same woman. I stared at him, my mind unable to fully grasp the situation. I fiddled with the straw in my half-empty glass of soda, the sound grating on my ears. The restaurant, which had moments ago seemed cozy and inviting, now felt like a prison. My heart pounded, a frantic drumbeat against my ribs. I felt a pressure building in my chest, a tightening that made it difficult to breathe.