Every once in awhile I would see
Her façade weaken to a breaking point
She would shut down and cry in front of me

She’d let me comfort her
Run my fingers through her hair
Touch the planes of her skin in soothing ways

Listening as I whispered consolations
Completely unaware or perhaps just
Too exhausted to even care

That I was relishing her failure and the
Intimate opportunity it gave me
To touch and try to win her over

Till she reset her mask of power
Forcing her to put me back in place as her
Devoted best friend and hapless desirer