“Okay. So, when did we say we’d meet them?”
“7:15, I think.”
“And how long does it take for us to get ready?”
“Like, 10 minutes.”
“And how long does it take to get there?”
“15 minutes.”
“So when should we leave?”
“6:50.”
“Good. And what time is it?”
“7:30. I know, but it’s not hard really, we just have to build a time machine. Future engineers of America.”
A wry smile stretched over his face.
“No, we’ve got to just get up.”
“But I’m so cozy.”
“I know”
We lean into each other.
“See? Wouldn’t you much rather do this than go out in the cold?”
“Okay, that’s it. We’ve got to get up. Now.”
“But I don’t waaaaaant to.”
“Me neither, but we said we’d go.”
“Okay, five more minutes.”
“No. You have to start thinking with the brain in your head and not your brain here.”
He points to my chest.
“What?”
“The brain right here.”
“What??”
“The brain betwixt your boobs.”
“... really?”
“Yeah.”
“Seriously? That’s what we’re going with?”
“Yeah.”
“Y’know, there’s a word for that.”
“I know.”
“Say it.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Fine… the brain in your haht.”
“The brain in my what?”
“Haht.”
“Are you trying to say the word--”
“Yes, I know. Sometimes the Bronx accent comes through, and that’s one of those words where I just say it weird. Haht.”
“You lived on the upper east side.”
“Don’t judge me. Haht.”
“Heart”
I smiled and watched his face contort as he attempted to say the word.
“Haht”
“Heart”
“Hert”
“Now you’re saying ‘hurt.’ Like you’re in pain. Or like you’re from the deep south.”
“Huuuurt.”
I stifled a giggle.
“Heart”
“Hart”
“Heart. Just say it.”
For just a moment, time stops.
Our legs, our arms, our souls intertwined.
Drowning in his eyes, and he, in mine.
A thought flashes in my mind
I’ve never felt this deeply.
The moment shatters when he placed his hand gently on my chest, and just barely whispers

Heart