The words are clinging to his tongue,
refusing to fall out.
His breath stutters.
"Sono incasinato di brutto?—"
Jaw tight, he shakes his head.
“Sonny, I?—”
He’s trying to say something, anything.
There’s a second that passes
where neither of us moves.
Where it's only our breaths
beating against each other.
Then he breaks,
taking my head in his hands,
yanking me close as he leans in,
and kisses me?—
the only thing that won’t fall apart in his mouth.
All panic. All ache.
His lips latch onto mine
like I caught him mid-collapse,
breath shaking, kiss trembling,
tongue hot with the taste of me.
He breathes in deep,
filling his lungs with me.
Then his lips melt,
tongue falling heavy,
sinking until I’m dizzy.
And when he breathes out through his nose, the world stops spinning long enough for him to be okay again,
for the kiss to spill warm,
all the way down,
flooding me head to toe.
