Ocean Eyes [Wattys 2017]

Hot Cocoa

The next day I woke with marker on my skin,
the black, permanent kind,
it spelled out an address and number,
a number that ended with five.
When I punched the number into my phone,
I heard a fabric-soft voice answer,
'hello?' she said in a questioning tone,
and my heartbeat turned to a canter.
'Hi there,' I replied with excitement,
my smile stretched from ear to ear,
and I heard a squeal over the line,
'it's you!' her happiness was all I could hear.
With things we didn't talk about the day previous,
we arranged to meet again,
this time at the small cafe on the edge of town,
at a quarter-past ten.
I stood outside fifteen minutes early,
too excited to wait,
and thankfully she had the same idea,
it seemed neither of us wanted to be late.
She wore a yellow skirt this time,
and a white shirt that tied around her tummy,
her hair tied up in two buns,
her Ocean Eyes sunny.
'You look so nice today' I loved complimenting her,
'you did yesterday, too'
I'd never seen somebody smile so much,
as when I added 'I bet you always do'.
The sun brought out freckles I hadn't seen on her before,
and a tan I'd gotten last Spring,
her fingers felt so nice entwined with mine,
as the birds around us began to sing.
We ordered two hot cocoas,
and sat outside in the heat,
but the warmth she emitted from her smile,
was more than enough for me.