Miss me

April

It was spring. It didn't hurt today, how could it? Lucy, Steph and their friends were basking in the sunlight, the first taste of summer, blissfully drunk and so fond. The sun was setting, but drinks were still being passed around. Idle conversation was being made between the eight girls, laid out on the grass, watching the clear sky, draped all over each other, all tangled limbs and intertwined fingers, always connected. You could barely tell where one girl began and another ended. Lucy's auburn curls mingled with Charlottes straight blonde hair. Steph's head was cushioned on Marie's stomach. Elle and Kate playfully kicking their feet up in the air, playing footsie among the evening sky, arms stretched out behind them tickling that of Liv and Danny.

Danny was in story teller mode tonight, ever the comedian. She was currently in the middle of explaining how she acquired the small scar above her eyebrow; a result of diving headfirst down the stair case at age 8, after her brother convinced her she was a fairy.

Lucy laughed hard, goofy and open mouthed. Steph looked over at her then, cheeks flushed from the wine, Lucy was beautiful when carefree like this. She couldn't stop staring at the way her eyes crinkled, the small dimples in the swell of her cheeks making her eyes disappear. Small straight teeth, smattering of freckles across her nose. Lucy caught her eyes finally, lips settling into a soft, small smile. And Steph was fond, she was so fond. It didn't hurt today, because how could it?

Today couldn't be ruined by the fact that in a few months, none of them could gather as easily as they did tonight. They would be miles apart, with new faces, and new traditions. Perhaps during summer, when they all returned home, they still wouldn't be doing this. But today, that 'what if' didn't matter. Today they were together, and it was lovely. Today it didn't hurt. It was just lovely and that was okay.

Later that night, when the giggles subsided, replaced by yawns and heavy limbs, all girls seemed reluctant to go home. But eventually they did. The cold night air was too brisk to sustain any longer. Lucy fell asleep with the top of Steph's head tickling her chin. They were locked in an embrace, one that would very soon become uncomfortably hot, all dead limbs and stiff joints. But neither girl cared. They didn't dare move, because for tonight it didn't hurt. Not at all.