Forehead Kisses

She calls me every morning
on the way to work.
Usually to bitch about him.
To tell me what an asshole he is.
Tell me how she hates him.
Tell me how he's such an ass.
Tell me how she is so tired of it.

But today she tells me
he had a headache
and he asked her to
kiss him
on the forehead
and make it better

She also tells me that
she didn't want to do it so
she barely leaned her face against him
before walking away
just to play nice

Which is fine and I'm glad about it

But it doesn't change
the fact
that he asked
her
for that comfort
for that affection

And I want to rip his lying tongue
out of his mouth
and beat him with the bloody stump

Because that tongue
when it is not on me
or in me
is telling me
that he no longer loves her,
is no longer attracted to her,
doesn't have a connection
with her

So why the fuck
is he asking her
for forehead kisses

And of course,
I have to continue the conversation
with her,
as though it means absolutely nothing
to me,
and my heart is not
trying to pound out of my body
and shatter
into a million broken pieces

I asked him later,
eyes salty and stinging,
why did you ask
her
to kiss you
on the forehead?

He stutters,
stumbles over his words,
says
I don't know what happened.
She just asked if I wanted a kiss.

Bullshit I say,
don't fucking lie to me.
You asked her to kiss you.
Why?

He sighs and says
I don't know.
I was feeling bad
and she was there.

And I say, were you feeling bad
because you treated her like shit last night?

He looks at me scowling and says
I don't know
maybe

And I say please.
If you still love her,
if you still want her,
if you are still seeking affection
from her,
please
please
please
just tell me
and we can stop
and go back to being
just friends.

I can handle the delicious tension
between us
when we don't give in
to the need
to touch each other

I can't handle
him
still wanting
to touch
her
too