Eviscerated

i burst out laughing at a joke meant
for someone else today
and it felt so good.
a weight i didn’t even know i was bearing was finally lifted off
my chest when i looked across the single empty seat between
us to glance at you for the first time
and then cover my face behind the pages of
a magazine to hide a different sort of grin.
life has been a little bit lonely these days
and i had forgotten how refreshing
it can be to casually flirt with
a guy sitting next to you at the movies.
maybe I used to be a little more
happy-go-lucky several months
ago when the world really was at my
fingertips, but moments like these
do help with that ache.

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a/n: it didn't hurt that he smiled back with interest too.