A Southern Summer

23. The Last Night

"Alright, here it is!" Blaire had me watch T.V. while she sat in the dining room and made a plan for how we would spend our last night.

I sighed deeply, not ready for our remaining hours to pass as quickly as the previous weeks had. "Okay, what's first?"

"Hey, don't be like that.. We are going to have the most fun any two people have ever had in one day." She said, reassuringly squeezing my shoulder. "First up is a special dinner. You've got 30 minutes to get ready before I come back to pick you up in my mom's car... Ready, set, go!" She yelled excitedly as she ran to the door. I had no idea she could be so much of a goof when she was trying to cheer me up.

I slunked up the stairs to pick my outfit for this 'special dinner'. I decided on a form fitting black dress and curled my hair after I'd changed. On my way to the stairs I told Aunt Fern in her art room that I was headed out to eat and that I'd be back in a couple hours. Just as I reached the bottom of the stairs I heard a knock at the door.

As I opened it I was surprised to see Blaire had taken to a Julia Roberts type blazer outfit. The clothing hugged her in all the right places, bringing out some of her best features (not that she had any bad ones) as she held out a single flower to me.

"Ready to go?" She asked, pulling me out of my vivid thoughts that had caused me to blush.

"With you? I'm always ready to go." This answer earned me the privilege of watching a smirk play on her lips as she opened the car door for me. The drive was long, and I still wasn't sure where we were headed. Luckily, my chauffer had a great mixtape to pass the time. Whitney, Cher, and Janet's iconic voices echoed through the speakers until we finally pulled up to our destination. The scent wafting through the parking lot making me realize just how hungry I actually was at that point.

"This is the place!" She said, putting the car in park. As I looked out the window, I realized that this was the same place Aunt Fern had taken me during my first week here. Once we were inside and seated we reminisced over our favorite parts of our summer together, as well as how much our relationship had grown in the last few months.

I got the same thing I had ordered the previous time while Blaire got some sort of soup that she was kind enough to let me try. We were so hungry that it didn't take us long to finish our meal before we paid and left. I was a little sad that it hadn't taken longer. This was our last night together and it was flying by.

Blaire realized my shift of energy in the car. "It's okay babe, there's still stuff we get to do before tomorrow." She said knowingly, taking my hand as she drove with her left. Once we got back to my aunt's, she pulled out an overnight bag on her way inside.

"You're staying the night?" I asked incredulously.

"My mom said it was okay as long as your aunt's here to supervise." She explained as we walked in. After that I went upstairs to change as she took the downstairs bathroom, then we met in the living room where she surprised me with popcorn and snacks.

"It's movie night!" She said, gathering blankets for the couch and dimming the lights. We flipped through our Sunday movie night options before seeing that 'A League of Their Own' was on. We settled on that one, and snuggled close together just as it started.

Madonna was great as always, and the movie itself was rather enjoyable. Until it was over and I realized I now had less time with Blaire. I hugged her close, never wanting to let go.

"Let's go outside." She said, surprising me to the point where I almost questioned if she was even fully awake.

"Right now? It's almost midnight!" I quietly exclaimed.

"All the better!" She stated, grabbing some snacks and a couple blankets before leading me out the back door as if she were the one who lived there.

She quickly laid the blankets down put the snacks on them and plopped down. I joined her, cuddling close in the cool summer night air. We stared up at the stars as we settled into a comfortable silence. Suddenly, I saw a streak flash in the sky, shortly followed by another.

"Falling stars!" I said sitting up.

"This is the Persoid meteor shower, it happens every August. I wanted you to be able to see something you won't be able to in the city." She explained as she joined me in the sitting position. I hugged her tight against me, thankful to have met such a thoughtful person. And even more thankful that she decided she wanted to be with me of all people.

"I love you." I said, pulling away to look her in the eyes.

"I love you too." She said, grinning wider than I'd ever seen before.

We settled back into the comfort of our blankets and continued gazing up at the show. "It really makes me think." I finally said.

"Think about what?" Blaire asked, clearly curious about what things run through my head.

"It makes me think that God likes to bless us. I mean there's so many beautiful things in the world that don't have to be here. We don't really need them, but it's like they are here for us to enjoy." I explained further, not really sure if it actually made any sense.

"Wow, you're so right." She said, and we allowed ourselves to once more fall into silence as a few more meteors streaked passed us. "Okay, I'm actually getting tired now." Blaire admitted, and I couldn't help but agree. We went in and moved ourselves to the couch, too tired to try the stairs, and that's where we were for the night.