she smiled at me and took my order, her blue eyes and tight frame in the short shorts and too tight t-shirt balancing out the long blonde hair and all too kissable lips

her accent singing with kentucky sweetness as she smiled and reached up and softly turned my earring, lamenting how it had gotten off center

and in that touch a spark of tense excitement flowed from her hand into my head and down my limbs that i kept from showing the kinetic joy in her contact

she told me her name was miami and asked if i had ever been there

i smiled and said i spent a couple months there a while back and she glowed as she talked of white beaches and too much drink and sun

she has a mole on her lip and it seems deliciously kissable, but that’s not how i react even though my eyes give away my bastard brains intent and i feel my irises go to pinpricks as chemicals surge

she asks if i ever wanted to go back to miami and i feel the double edge of the question hanging between us like a raw sexual phantasm of need

i nod, afraid to give voice and hear a crackle of desire, and the room seems to hush as i realize she is staring at me and i cannot look away

like old money she says, standing too close to me, i’m confused and she clarifies, your eyes are the color of old money

i laugh and blush and say no, they’re more brown than green and she begs to differ, old money with gold specks, a treasure and my face burns a the hotter as realize she isn’t just standing too close by leaning in for a better view

she realizes her entrance into my bubble and shifts slightly, not pulling back but asserting her entry in more form fitting slouch

what’s your favorite part of miami she asks breathlessly

and i can only stammer her eyes and clarify the nightlife and she nods and bites her lip at me which makes those same orbs send knives of intensity into my own as i try and watch every move she makes from bite to stare and back

the rest of the group sits in silence as we dance without moving and she snaps to reality and takes our orders and walks with a swishing movement that seems to be part strut and part seductive dance

every chance she gets she comes back and brushes accidentally against me and i begin to scope out the bar slash restaurant for any wayward glance at her i can steal

when the meal is done and my testosterone levels have nearly gone back to normal, the hairs on arms no longer seem like porcupine quills she comes back with our bills

i reach for my wallet as i flip the piece of paper over and the total is three hearts and nine digits that my mind cannot suss a dollar amount from

and written in cursive is a message in pink ink

there are parts of miami you never knew you wanted to see, call me and maybe we can schedule a special tour

i leave a tip on the table and take the bill i doubt i can afford and the guys give me shit as we walk out into the rain and she yells she hopes to see us again

my face burns so hot the rain seems to evaporate off of it and a chorus of laughter surrounds me

and all i can feel is her hand twisting my earring as we drive back to work, yet i can only wish it had been yours and it all feels so bittersweet and forlorn in it’s own sad way