Masterpiece | Christian Akridge

1.7

Tanner

"Finally! Water!" Michael yelled as we reached our campsite.

It was night time now, around 8 o'clock. We had stopped in some places on the trail to sight-see. And a few times because the boys had to pee.

We all walked down to the edge of the lake, and began stripping our clothes off. It was hot, and sticky and I was so ready to swim.

It was dark outside, and the moon was reflecting off of the surface of the water.

There was a large tree by the lake, with an old rope tied to it. Christian was the first to use it, then Carson, then Michael and then Jack. By then, everyone was cheering me on.

"Do a flip!" Michael yelled. I looked at him.

"How the hell am I gonna do a flip off of a rope?" I laughed, and climbed on anyway.

I backed up a few feet, then quickly ran and swung off.

The water was cold, which was good.

I came back up, to see Christian's face very close to mine.

"This is romantic huh?" he whispered cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're such a dork." I whispered back.

"Yeah but you love me!" he said, and went under water. I sighed, swimming over to Jack.

"Hey Jack Skellington." I said, wading my arms around. His eyes widened and he looked at me.

"I don't want to creep you out...but I just felt something swim past my leg." he said, inching closer. I had to refrain from laughing as I swam away slowly. Then, he screamed as he was yanked under.

"What the hell!" Michael shrieked. His hair was matted on his head, and hung just above his eyebrows. Carson was floating on her back nonchalantly beside him.

"It was just Christian scaring Jack." I explained. He nodded, still looking unsure.

"I'm gonna fucking murder you Akridge!" Jack gasped when they both came back up. He was breathing heavily and Christian was just laughing away.

-

"No trail tomorrow. Let's just relax, and then go home." Carson said, as she shoved one last marshmallow into her mouth. We were sitting around the small campfire we started again, making the classic s'mores.

"It's two am guys, we should go to sleep." Michael said softly, pushing himself up from his sitting point.

"Wait a few minutes, then I'll be there." Christian whispered in my ear, then kissed my cheek. He then stood up, pulling my hand to help me up. I dusted off my legs and grabbed my towel from the ground, shaking the dirt off.

"Goodnight guys." Jack was the first to say, climbing into his tent and zipping the door closed.

We all muttered good nights, and did the same.

-

I lay there on the thin padding of my blanket, staring up at the moon through the other screen that was placed on top of the tent.

I heard a tap on the side of the tent, and crawled over, unzipping it.

Christian climbed in and closed it behind him, making his way to my side and laying down. I placed my head on his chest and made myself comfortable. One of his arms was placed on my hip as the other played with my hair.

"This has been fun." I said softly. I heard him hum contently.

"I wonder what it's like to be the moon." I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I sighed. "Because so many people are in love with her, in certain terms. They love the peace she brings, the calmness...And the sun, the relationship they have. He lets her breathe every night without asking for anything in return but to just provide light, it's wonderful." I explained.

"You're wonderful." he said. I scoffed, looking down from the moon. I played with his fingers absentmindedly. I felt his heartbeat quicken.

"No, I mean it. There are so many great things about you that I can't put into words. You've inspired me in ways that I can't even describe. And every day, I asked myself how I got so lucky to get to know someone like you. And I want you to be mine. All mine, for real." he said. I stared into space, processing what he just said.

"You're amazing, Christian Akridge." I said.

"Then be mine. So I can shout it from the rooftops. I'll let the whole world know that Tanner Jo Mancari is mine and nobody can take her away from me."

"Okay." I simply replied, looking up at him. His hazel eyes sparkled as he looked down at me, a beautiful smile spread across his face. I smiled just for the sake of the sight.

He kissed the top of my head.

"Our love was made for movie screens, Mancari."