Love was a concept pressed against the pocket of my mouth like a tongue in my cheek, and I kept it tucked away between broken teeth and cracked lips. Love was a thing that always kept me parched, and though it sounded soft coming out of his mouth, when I bit down it was as hard as stone. We didn't know how to love.
Tongue-in-cheek: figure of speech used to imply that a statement or other production is humorously or otherwise not seriously intended, and it should not be taken at face value.