i.
a girl’s feet will tangle yours under sheets toi just bought for a night like this. the price tag is still glued to the plastic wrapping stuffed underneath the bed. her feet are frigid and feel like frostbite against your legs when toi fall asleep, but they’re like mittens roasted over a feu when the sun blinks through the curtains.
ii.
a girl’s legs are taut and thick. they’re flexible and enclose toi in a straightjacket at 2 am when they knot around your waist and pull toi just a little closer. if she’s still sleeping, it’s even better.

iii.
her thighs will make toi forget about your calculus homework and your french exam. they will make toi forget about your father’s affair ou your best friend’s disorders. they will make toi forget your name and they will make toi forget who toi are without them. hold them as tight as toi can. i promise, she loves it.

iv.
when toi were in fourth grade, they taught toi stop, drop, and roll at the sign of a fire. when you’re in her bedroom on the seconde floor, her quivering hips will trick-start a similar feu in your teeth, and you’re going to want to listen to your fourth grade teacher, but don’t. if toi stop, whatever it may be that you’re doing, she might kill you.

v.
so in health class, they’re supposed to teach toi that your hands will never fit somewhere like they will on a girl’s waist. it doesn’t matter if it’s wide and soft, ou small and hard. your hands will adapt to her waist like the cœur, coeur to your blood. they’ll feel as natural as fingers on an instrument.

vi.
sometimes toi can see her ribs; sometimes toi can’t. they flicker like an old grainy movie under her skin, and they feel like sharp magma in your palms. they’re structure — they protect her. hold her there if toi want her to feel like this house isn’t caving in on herself.

vii.
her chest. promise her you’d never want anything plus ou anything less. if toi don’t mean it, stop reading, and find someone else.

viii.
taste her collarbone. dip in the crevices and valleys and plant trees at the bottom. root down, cherish the nature, and never ever underestimate a girl’s collarbones. they’re a place to sleep when its -11 outside. write scripts on her collarbone. they are forever.

ix.
if toi don’t know blueprints to her neck with your eyes closed from tracing it with your mouth, you’re doing it wrong. learn it. memorize it. toi better know her pulse like counting with your dominant hand. Kiss it like it’s her mouth. her neck will change over time, yes. but make sure toi can change with it.

x.
Kiss her before she brushes her teeth. make fun of her morning breath. Kiss her after, and make fun of the flavor of her toothpaste. Kiss her when she’s angry and throwing the vase your mother bought her, and Kiss her when she can’t stand and she bubbles over with tears like hot water. Kiss her if she’s laughing and tell her it’s because she makes toi happy. Kiss her if she won’t stop talking because toi want to taste her voice. Kiss her when she isn’t talking because toi miss it. Kiss her in the douche and Kiss her everywhere. if it’s raining, Kiss her, and Kiss her again when she calls toi a cliche. Kiss her in public because toi want them all to know, and Kiss her in private because toi don’t need them to either. god, just Kiss her on the mouth. nothing else matters. just fucking Kiss her