He kissed her forehead, sweetly.

I remember her.

I remember her long, wavy hair,

Soft against my nose as she pressed her forehead to my lips,

Smooth skin warming my insides,

Small hands laced together in the small of my back,

Pulling me into her.

 

She giggles ’cause it tickles.

I remember that too;

Laughter tumbling musically out of a delicate mouth,

Like so many chimes in the wind,

Interrupted periodically by a tiny snort.

She hated that, I loved it;

It was adorable, and only more-so because it was involuntary.

 

She pulled back to look up,

A smile reaching her eyes.

I remember being captivated by those eyes,

Hazel and deep,

Windows to her soul but with signs in them saying:

“I love you forever”

And I trusted those signs,

Because when the corners of that beautiful mouth

Pushed those gorgeous eyes up,

The skin in the corners crinkled up

And

I

Melted.

She didn’t even need to wrinkle her nose,

But she did,

Just to prove that I could, in fact, fall deeper in love.

 

And then she was tilting her head,

And I was in the past,

Remembering.

She’d tilt her head to the left for a kiss,

An odd quirk that forced me to notice more deeply

The closed eyes with those long lashes,

The parted lips revealing sparkling teeth

And bubblegum tongue

As she cupped my cheek in one hand,

Running her thumb through my beard

While the other hand pulled me endlessly

Closer,

Deeper in love.

Sometimes she’d park it in my back pocket,

Just to prove she could arouse me more,

Just to claim me as her own,

Just to lock my heart up and throw away the key.

I remember her.

 

And now I’m in the present,

And her hand is in his pocket,

And I can’t tear my eyes away,

Though my stomach is clenching,

My teeth are gritting,

My heart is pounding,

My throat is closing up,

Choking back a thousand shouts,

And my will is wrestling with this primal instinct

To go,

To protect her as my own,

To fend off this challenger,

And it’s an even match.

 

I’m frozen in place,

But I remember;

She

Picked

Him.

I will be forever hers

But was she ever mine?