My December

Can I Have A Kiss?

Can I Have A Kiss?
Excuse me for this
I just want a kiss
I just want to know what it feels like to touch
Something so pure
Something I'm so sure of
What it feels like to stand outside your door
I'm unworthy
I can see you're above me
But I can be lovely given the chance

Don't move
I want to remember you just like this
Don't move
It's only a breath or two between our lips

I know why you left
I can't blame you myself
Must be hard living with ghosts and such an empty shell
I tried to warn you
I've been a mess since you've known me
I can't promise forever
But I'm working on it
If I can't hold you
Can I give you a kiss
Can I have a kiss

I see that you're torn
I've got some scars of my own
Seems I want what I know is gonna leave me hungry

Don't move
I need to remember you just like this

I know why you left
I can't blame you myself
Must be hard living with ghosts and such an empty shell
I tried to warn you
I've been a mess since you've known me
I can't promise forever
But I'm working on it
If I can't hold you
Can I give you a kiss
Can I

All I have
All I can give to you I will
Just promise this
If I can't have forever
Can I have a kiss

I know why you left
I can't blame you myself
Must be hard living with ghosts and such an empty shell
I tried to warn you
I've been a mess since you've known me
I can't promise forever
But I'm working on it
If I can't hold you
Can I give you a kiss
Can I give you a kiss
Can I, can I
Can I have a kiss
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Word Count: 834

Prudence sat at Kyle's bar, still in her cocktail dress, and she sipped coffee and watched Kyle clean his kitchen. Her feet dangled from the tall bar stool she sat on. She was happy that she could go to Kyle. Every time she went there, she felt like a kid being taken care of by her big brother.

She sighed and propped her chin in her hand. "Maybe I'm supposed to be alone."

He crouched down to stick his head into a cabinet, searching for something. "Was it really that bad?" His voice echoed against the wood interior of the cabinet.

"No, it was very...eye-opening."

He looked up at her and smiled. "You're not supposed to be alone."

Prudence looked at him, his eyes sparkling a little in the kitchen light. He looked so young, so handsome. She smiled and tilted her head. "How do you know that?"

He stood and leaned on the other side of the bar, across from her. He reached across and put a finger under her chin. "You are beautiful, smart, funny, and incredible. You don't deserve to be alone; you deserve the best."

Prudence's smile faded at the tone of his voice- serious and sultry.

His eyes burned into hers, staying fixed as he walked around the bar and came close to her.

She hadn't yet decided if she should pull back or not before Kyle's lips were on hers.



~*~



Kissing Prudence stole Kyle's breath. She felt so good to him. He'd been waiting so long to touch her that way. He felt the way she tensed against him, but when he slid his hands up her neck to cup her jaw, he felt her kiss him back.

He was on the verge of losing his mind when she pulled back from him. He tried to take a deep breath and force himself to look at her.

Pain lined her eyes, and Kyle took a step back. "What's wrong?"

Prudence ran a hand through her hair and said, "Kyle, don't do this."

He shook his head. There was so much chemistry between them. Had he been wrong to think there was something there? "I thought-"

She closed her eyes. "Why can't we just be friends?" She turned her back on him, and he almost growled in frustration.

"How can you be friends with someone you feel this way about?"

She turned back to him, but didn't say anything.

"You do feel the same way, don't you?" He thought he saw it in her eyes when she looked at him. It was there.

"Kyle," she whispered. "You deserve so much more than I could ever give you."

Kyle was already shaking his head before she finished. "No, no, no. Prudence, that's not true." He followed her to the door, watching as she grabbed her purse and coat.

She spun around once before opening the door. She looked him in the eye, and he could see the sadness and all she was hiding, all she believed was true. "You deserve better." She turned away from him and slammed the door.



~*~



As soon as the door closed, a tear slid down Prudence's cheek.

She stood by what she said. Kyle deserved better than her. She was a mess, left behind by a hurtful man. Kyle needed someone who could love him the same way he loved her, with everything she had.

Prudence wasn't even sure she was still a whole person.

She certainly wasn't sure how she felt about Kyle.

Maybe she didn't want to know.

She drove home and was greeted by the smell of food, announcing Tera's presence. "What are you still doing here?"

Tera stretched out on Prudence's couch. "Waiting for you to get home so that I can hear how right I was about Robert."

Prudence furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Robert? Oh, right." She hung up her purse and her coat. "Robert's old news. I just came from Kyle's."

As Prudence collapsed on her love seat, Tera sat up, concern and interest on her face. "What happened?"

She sighed. "He kissed me."

Tera's eyes got big. "He did?" She smiled and relaxed against the couch. "It's about time."

Prudence blinked at her in confusion. Why wasn't she surprised? "You knew this was going to happen?"

Tera shrugged. "I figured it would happen eventually. The man is crazy in love with you, and I see the way you look at him." When she saw the look on Prudence's face, she stopped. "You did tell him how you felt, right?"

Prudence slouched into the squishy comfort of her chair. "I told him he deserved better."

Tera's eyes grew again. "Prudence! Are you crazy?"

Prudence ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Probably."

Tera cocked her head at her. "Do you have feelings for him? Or have I been reading this all wrong?"

Prudence's head hurt. It was all too much for her. "I don't know."

Now what was she going to do?