skin soup

the two of us stood facing each other, soft doe eyes counting down the seconds before i whipped open the door and let in all that frozen air. the deck amassed a fresh layer of snow, wood planks hiding rusty nails and large splinters. goosebumps blazed across our skin, both of us in swimsuits. we raced to the hot tub on the opposite end, clambering over each other, desperate for the freezing hot sting of the water. shivering carapace, afraid of the frigid atmosphere, lowered into a boiling basin. she hissed as she descended and the sound was gobbled up by bubble jets churning human soup. steam pealed off her flesh, i watched her breathing slow.

she looked at me, the corner of her mouth tugged down, “do you want to kill me?❞

“no.❞

“what do you want then?

from this, from us, from me?❞

i imagined, like i had many times, telling her the truth. as the thought emerged, so did it sink below the surface; replaced by the wind catching on all my surfaces as i lifted myself from the tub. the rose color on her cheeks matched my toes in the snow. i imagined a darker red coating our bodies and threw myself into the mountain of milk-white powder, leftover heat melting me a cocoon. water breaking and tumbling told me she had left the chlorine broth. her feet crunched the snow as she came to peer over me. my back was beginning to burn. i could smell her lipstick. red cherry. i got up from my grave reaching for her face. i kissed her. worshipping this girl like she was my GOD and i was a sinner praying at her pew. i kissed her and it was a prayer,
“i want to eat you.❞