Gemotions

The cheap beer tasted metallic, but Sarah barely registered the flavor. She swirled the contents of her glass around and around, watching the bubbles rise and pop. It had been a long week. When Michael showed up, she'd been hopeful. Now, though, an unsettling vibration was running through her. Her palms were slick.

He was late, which was already a bad sign. But the smile that finally graced his face, the casual way he reached out to pull the chair at the table, made the skin on her arms prickle. It was the same smile he’d offered to the other woman, the one he’d called “sweetheart”. The woman stood up at the door, her eyes widened.

"Michael?" The word, uttered with confusion, broke the dam. Sarah felt the muscles in her neck tighten as Michael froze, color draining from his face. She wished for the floor to swallow her.