Heather and Raven

Just The Two Of Us

Raven drives us to the beach. Not the one by the boardwalk, but still close enough that I can see the lights of the fair in the distance, and if I close my eyes and listen carefully, I think I can hear the music too.

But this beach is more secluded, only accessible by a narrow path in the dunes, with beach grass so high it almost hides it completely. We're only able to find it once I've turned on the flashlight on my phone.

"Careful," Raven warns when he slips twice before we're even halfway. "The sand is really loose."

"It's a dune," I point out as I carefully follow in his footsteps –literally. "What were you expecting?"

"You really have an answer ready for anything, don't you?"

"No, I'm just stating the obvious."

In the bright white light, I see Raven shake his head as he laughs. "Fair enough."

We walk all the way to the strandline, where Raven shrugs off his jacket and places it in the sand for both of us to sit in. I lean back on my hands and tilt my head up to look at the stars. The moon is nothing but a faint crescent hanging low in the west, so the stars glitter like diamonds against the darkness of the night. The funny thing with stars is that the more your eyes get used to the darkness, the more stars you'll start to see, until you can no longer be sure if they're really stars or if your mind is just making things up. Until the sky is so full of tiny silver specks that you start to get dizzy.

"Did you know there are still places in this country where you can see the Milky Way?" Raven asks, and I nod.

Even now, I think I see a lighter band in the middle of the sky. But it might just be my mind playing tricks on me. "I don't know if that's sad or hopeful."

"Me neither," Raven admits, scooting closer until our shoulders are pressed together. "I always thought about going someplace where I could see it."

"What's stopping you?"

He draws his legs up to his chest and rests his chin on his knees. "I was waiting for someone special to come with me."

I nudged his side. "If this is you subtly trying to ask me to join you on a road trip to, like, Utah or something, the answer is yes."

Raven smiles and takes out his phone. He has the brightness on the lowest stand because Raven has some sort of super night vision and can actually see whatever's on his screen. A few seconds later, soft guitar music starts playing. It's quickly accompanied by humming and even though I'm more one for spacy instrumental music, I enjoy it anyway. Raven gets to his feet and extends his hand to me. In the silver starlight, he looks like a goddamn painting. It's unfair how beautiful he is.

"Wanna dance?" he asks, in that low, husky voice of his.

And really: how can I say no?

"With you? Always."

I kick off my shoes and let him pull me up and against his chest. I lean my head against his shoulder and let him sway us both to the music. Another thing Raven is notorious for: being way warmer than the average human being. Pressed against him, I feel it now: his warmth radiating through his button-up and my dress. And beneath the stars, just the two of us, I think we've both finally found our eternal moment.

Thank you for reading! All that's left is a very short epilogue. Also, what song do you imagine they were dancing to? Let me know in the comments! Personally, I like to think it's America by Simon and Garfunkel, but I purposely kept it vague so everyone could imagine it for themselves.