Shooting Stars

        I woke as the air shifted. Nathan was tucked in behind me, his arm around my waist. I looked up and saw North’s silhouette on the side of the bed. I looked at the clock- 12:45am. Once he knew I was awake, he put out his hand. I carefully crawled to the edge of the bed, careful not to wake up Nathan. North picked me up and carried me out of the room. He closed the bedroom door and began carrying me through the house.

        “North, what are you doing?”

        He put me down near the door and handed me a pair of sweatpants. “It’s a surprise. Put these on.”

        I hopped on one foot, then the other, then pulled the pants up. He handed me socks and my tennis shoes. I plopped down onto the floor and put them on. “What is going on?”

         He shook his head. “It’s a surprise.”

        Once my shoes were on, he held out his hand and helped me up. He held out a warm-up jacket and helped me put it on. He zipped it all the way out, then took my hand and led me outside to his motorcycle.

        “Um… North… the last time someone named Taylor took me on that motorcycle for a ‘surprise’, I ended up in trouble.”

        He handed me a backpack and a helmet. “Put these on. Two differences. Number one- you’re not grounded right now; and number two- Kota and Nathan know what’s going on.” He climbed on and patted the seat behind him. “Come on, Baby. Time’s a-wasting.”

        I hopped onto the back of his bike, wrapping my arms around him. I buried my face in the leather of his jacket and held on as he took off out of the driveway and into the night.

         We drove on for about a half hour. He headed out of town towards the wildlife refuge. He pulled over in  a dark parking lot and killed the engine. He patted my leg, and I climbed off the bike. He climbed off and reached behind me. He tugged on the backpack until I wiggled it off of my shoulders. He unzipped the pack and reached inside, pulling out a flashlight. He slung the pack onto his shoulder, turned on the flashlight, and reached out for my hand.

        “Let’s go!”

        I held on tight to his hand. I looked around, trying to figure out what we were doing. It was a beautiful night, not a cloud in the sky. There was no moon, so it was dark. The air was cool. We hiked along a small path for a few minutes until we came to a clearing. This was obviously some sort of park at the wildlife refuge, but why in the world were we here in the middle of the night? He stopped.

        “North, what…” He put his finger up to my mouth, quieting me.

        “Patience, Baby.”

         North handed me the flashlight and pulled the pack off of his shoulder. He reopened it and pulled out a blanket. He unfolded it and laid it on the ground. He reached out for my hand and sat down, pulling me down onto the blanket with him. He leaned back until he was on his back. He patted the blanket next to him. I laid down next to him, and he rearranged me so that I was on my back using his upper arm as a pillow.

         I looked over at him. He was staring up at the sky. “Can I talk now?”

         “Shh… just watch and wait for it.”

        Um… k… I turned my head back and stared at the sky. What were we…

         “Hey! What was that?”

         I felt him chuckle. “That was a shooting star, Baby. There’s a meteor shower tonight.”

         “Wow. Wait! There’s another one!”

         “There should be about one a minute.”

        “How did you know about it?”

         “I heard about it on the radio. I thought you might like it.”

         I rolled over, climbing up so I could kiss his cheek. I did my best to hug him, but it was hard to hug someone that was lying on his back. “I love it!”

        We laid there in silence watching the meteor shower for almost an hour. It had gotten chilly, and it was getting late. Neither of us wanted to leave, but we knew we needed to get home.

        I snuggled in close to his back as we headed back into town, trying to avoid most of the cool night air. He walked me to the door, hugging me close before I opened the door. He kissed the top of my head and then looked down into my eyes.

         “Do you still like me?”

         I grinned. “Yes. Do you still like me?”

         “Always. Now, go to sleep. School in the morning!”

         I quietly walked through the house, listening as the roar from his motorcycle faded away. At the bedroom door, I toed off my shoes and pulled off the jacket, sweatpants and socks. I looked at the bed. Nathan was on his side, turned away from me. I climbed into bed and pulled up the blanket. Nathan rolled over, wrapping his arm around me.

         “You’re cold.”

         “Sorry, Honey. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

         “It’s ok. Did you have fun?”

         I smiled. “Yeah, I did.”

         “Good.” He yawned. “Good night, Peanut.”

         “Good night, Honey.”