Kiss Me

"Kiss me," you say, bringing your slightly bloodied lips closer to mine.

I turn my head to the side, you paint my cheek. I smile at you, my teeth biting down on my own lip, the blood welling up to match yours. This is our war paint. The bitterness we feel pushing out from under our skin. This is our battleground.

You push the boundaries. I resist. You come in closer, begging for just one kiss.

You don't hold me in place, though you could. You don't force me, though it would be easy enough. We have played this game before and you know that I will cave. We'll taste each other, drinking up the anguish. Disappoint has a taste and arousal has a scent.

Your eyes darken. They sparkle like opals in candlelight. I kiss them, leaving my stain.

"Kiss me," you say, your eyes begging me. You don't love me. You never have felt those feelings for me. You never will. We always play this game because you get beat up. We always pretend because we do love each other.

I finally let you kiss my lips. I let our blood mix. A bond we renew week after week.

You never close your eyes, though your mouth plays at love and your hands wander the terrain of my body. It is precious space that you wish you could give seed to, but I was never meant to be yours.

I never tell you the truth of this game.

With each bloodied lip and black eye, we fall into this place. The place where I fall more in love and you fall more out of step with you. You love me. You always have. But we weren't meant to be lovers. Never meant to be one.

"Kiss me," you say, the words a prayer to let it end. Your forehead touches mine.

It never does, though. They push until we break. Is there anything left to fix? Is there not a point where we all reach our ends and the rope slips with nothing but emptiness to catch us?

You let your hands fall to your sides, utterly defeated by the world.

We are left with the pieces, the darkness filled with small flickers of defiance and hope. Hope is a cruel word, it cuts without a knife. Yet, it remains. Burning through us as we color each other with our war paint.

"Kiss me," you say. I close my eyes and give in. After all, what else is left to do?