He Left

 His hasty departure was a red flag from the start. I wasn’t sorry to see him go, but the look on his face told me something was wrong. Some part of me knew I should find you. Walking down the hallway I noticed your door was open. I did not see you at first in the darkness, but I heard you. The quiet sniffles of a troubled heart. I whisper your name and the sniffles stop, you compose yourself quickly and stand.

“Everything ok?” A foolish question I know, but what else could I say as we stand there in the dark. My eyes have become accustomed to the lack of light and I see you, holding yourself tightly as if you want to pull yourself inward and disappear, and you nod your head slightly.

“What happened?”

“We kissed, and he left,” you say, your voice choked with tears.

 I gather you up in my arms, broken heart and all. Time stops as we stand together. Finally, you look up at me and I look down at you. I lose myself in you at that moment, trapped inside those beautiful eyes. Without a single thought towards the consequences or reprisals, I lean in and kiss you gently on the lips. For a heartbeat you don’t move, and the consequences come flooding back. What am I doing, I’m such a fool, you’ll never speak to me again, you’ll probably slap me. Then, bliss as I feel the pressure of your lips on mine. The moment lingers on and on. When we separate I look once more into your eyes and burn this moment forever into my memory.

“Never settle for anyone. Not for him and not for me.”

 You fake a smile and nod slightly, knowing it hurts me to say those words. We squeeze each other once more, end our embrace, and I leave your room. I lose my balance for a moment as the earth starts to spin again, and I walk out just as everyone thaws out of their moment frozen in time. Everything is as it was and the moment, no matter how long it was to me, is now just another moment past to the rest of the world.