A Brief Hesitation

We hug. I feel my heart skip a beat.
And part of me wonders whether you felt it too.
I want you to feel it, but at the same time,
I don't. Your arms still around my neck,
My hands still at your waist,
There's a brief hesitation.
My heart skips again.
I want to kiss you--maybe the cheek; maybe not...
Perhaps your forehead--you are kind of short.
It's cute.
But, no, that's far too risky:
Too much implied, too much I don't mean...
Not yet, anyway.
Or maybe your lips--
That's what I really want.
No, that isn't true either.
I want to see you smile; I want to make you laugh.
But I've already done that.
I've been doing that since the moment I got here.
No, the lips are too forward.
I don't want to make you uncomfortable.
But you're not. That, I can tell.
This brief hesitation
Is awkward, thrilling, and frightening--
But mutual and completely natural.
Not forced.
No, you're not uncomfortable. I can see your smile
In your eyes. You don't show it on your lips.
You don't have to.
I try so hard to read you, but beyond this
I can't.
What do you want?
It would be stupid to start something now.
What do you want?
I want to know how you feel.
What do you want?
We break off our hug and go our own ways.
I didn't kiss you and part of me wonders
If you wish I had
Too...