Sterling kissed my hair before walking out of the bathroom. My mind wanted to know what he was going to say, what warranted discussion over make-up sex. My body was on the brink of not caring. After the evening we’d had, the mood wasn’t exactly erotic. Tender would be a better description.

The anger and rage from downstairs had dissipated. The tenderness didn’t forgive that the anger had occurred, yet the current climate counterbalanced it, much as in nature. Perhaps ...