In the morning Alex was alone. Jessi had left before he woke up. On her side of the bed only aluminum wrappers from convenient store hot dogs remained which had been folded into morning stars to decorate the space where she had slept. Next to the wrappers sheet of paper from the Yellow Pages were frayed and folded into daisies. The litter of his world was a garden in her wake.

            Alex crossed his hands on his bare stomach and waited for enlightenment. Dolly had suggested that losing his virginity would fundamentally change him by bringing an end to the mystery of sex. In bed, he was saddened by the fact that she was wrong. The restlessness remained. In the days to come he would create new roles for himsel...

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