Page 24 of Patrick

“Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson… Oh my god, it includes This is My Wish for You. This is perfect. Have you ever read this poem?”

“Better than that. I can recite it for you.”

Her mouth opens, and a warm smile spreads wide. If it’s not my ego getting the better of me, I’d think that’s astonishment written on her face. As I stare, I realize she’s wearing no makeup, no false eyelashes, or extra color on her eyelids like most of the girls on campus. The creamy skin, mesmerizing golden hazel eyes, and sensual pink lips are one hundred percent Fifi, authentic and open. Matching her astonishment, my eyes track hers, as if attached by some kind of invisible thread, and I start reciting.

“This is My Wish for You.

Comfort on difficult days,

smiles when sadness intrudes,

rainbows to follow the clouds,

laughter to kiss your lips,

sunset to warm your heart,

hugs when spirits sag,

beauty for your eyes to see,

friendships to brighten your being,

confidence for when you doubt,

courage to know yourself,

patience to accept the truth,

love to complete your life.”

Her lips part, and she touches her chest over her heart, and my blood starts roaring—not in a good way—it’s the kind of rush that accompanies that bad feeling that I have when I know I’m in deep trouble. Way over my head and about to drown.

But when she leans into me and presses her lips to mine in a soft, tender kiss, the roar becomes a growl, the primal kind I recognize. Her kiss says more than thank you, It says I think I could fall for you and—shit. Maybe I’m the one who could fall for her.

I pull her close and deepen the kiss, and I know I could fall, always knew I could. I’m so deep in pleasure I don’t even flinch when she drops the book on the floor. And when she pulls her lips from mine to glance down at the book, I whisper, repeating the lines from the poem in her ear, nibbling between words.

“This is my wish…”

She shivers and turns back to me, her mouth meeting mine, and that’s when I devour her and she devours me back. That’s when we start to really get to know each other.