PORTCULLIS was published in a print edition of Washington Square Review.

First time we kissed, he ground his lips against mine. I could feel his hard teeth behind them like croutons. I can understand a thing or two about that ex of his, I thought. But I showed him how I like to kiss and he was a fast learner. There was always a funny taste, though, like he had egg whites for saliva.

Author’s Note: This story struck me like a lightening bolt, and I wrote the draft in twenty minutes. I was about to graduate from my master’s program in fiction, so it was a complete thrill to see PORTCULLIS in a journal along with writers Sharon Olds, Charles Baxter, William Maxwell, Philip Dacey, and others.