Gum & Candy

It was one of those moments where the world stops.

Her smile is the glimmer of a ghost and I'm the one haunted. I catch sight of it, fleeting, and she leans towards me with eyes locked on mine. Our noses almost touch, and she reaches up with a single finger, tracing along my lips. Weary lids close and she inhales deeply.

"What kind of gum is that?" She whispers, and I'm caught short in a surreal moment. I didn't expect her to speak at all, and that question was never what I would predict, should she say anything.

She leans closer, and the kiss is something we both will into existence. Our tongues touch nervously. The last time we did this, MTV regularly showed music videos.

Some memories step back into reality with little coaxing, and our kiss grows from a tentative, beautiful thing into a monster of barely restrained passion. Suddenly we can't breathe enough of one another, and need stretches beyond reason.

One of my hands find the back of her neck and hers pull me closer. I feel her lipstick stain my mouth and I don't care; we are all, we are enough.

I pause, gasping, and pull away. Our foreheads rest against one another, and we stare into the past. She grasps my forearms and laughs quietly.

"Wow," she grins.

"Yeah," I agree.

"To be continued?" she whispers.

I smile sadly and look down at her dress. "When you get back from your trip, sure."

Self-consciously, she smooths her bodice and reaches for the lipstick on the dressing table. Makeup reapplied, she looks at me in the mirror's reflection.

"I haven't had Juicy Fruit in forever," she smirks while she chews.

I laugh, and step out of the bridal suite and find my seat on her side of the aisle.

I'm pretty sure she popped my gum on the march out of the church after she said I do.