Chef's Kiss

Perseid

Violet

I rolled down the window to enjoy the California night air. It was mid August and the feeling of late summer never ceased to set me on fire. I blared an old song I'd seen in a movie recently and I was pleased to look over at Matt in the driver's seat, singing along.

I had to say, I didn't take Matt for much of a romantic. But his mystery plan had me hooked, getting us into a pickup, driving out of the city and into the mountains. I couldn't help feeling like my life was a movie as I belted out the lyrics, the wind coming through the truck sweeping my hair around me, the sunset having long past and a dark night surrounded us, cloudless and still aside from our speed.

He eventually pulled off onto a dirt road, heading out into complete darkness and I reached out to turn down the music.

"Where the fuck are we going?" I asked out of both curiosity and slight fear. "You're not planning to kill me, are you?" I joked.

"No, Chris would not be happy if I did that," he joked back.

"Ha ha," I mock laughed.

"I'm kidding, Vi. Don't worry. Do you trust me?" He asked. I couldn't see his bright eyes amidst the darkness, but I was getting to know Matt. I was learning his body language. He was gentle and calm when he wanted, and this was one of those moments.

"I do," I confirmed, looking over at him and holding his eye with a small smile.

"Good," he answered on a nod, holding the top of the wheel with the wrist of his tattooed arm. I couldn't help admire him for a moment. His stringy frame with his natural way of being cool and smooth. His arm was practically sleeved with tattoos and I'm not ashamed to admit I wanted to inspect every single one up close, lay kisses on each and show him how beautiful I thought he was.

A few moments later, we pulled to a stop. He pulled the truck around and reversed a bit until the truck fully stopped.

"Wait here," he instructed, hopping out of the cabin and grabbing a couple huge things from the backseat that I hadn't noticed.

After a few moments in the flatbed of the truck he came around to the passenger door and leaned his arms onto the open window.

"You ready for our date, pretty girl?" He asked on a closed lip smile. I hadn't even seen what he'd set up yet and I was already taken by him.

I leaned towards him in my seat, biting my tongue in my teeth and placing my hands on his.

"Matty boy, such a romantic," I whispered as I leaned in closer, touching our noses. "Who would've thought?"

He pulled back and rolled his eyes, opening the door and letting me out.

"You don't know me well enough yet, baby," he replied, draping his arm around my shoulders. I laughed as we walked to the flatbed and I stopped in my tracks.

Pillows and blankets littered the flatbed. No lights were around so it took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but I quickly realized he'd made a cozy little nook for us. We were also pretty high up in the mountains so usually there was a lot of wind in these parts but it was an unusually still night and the weather was perfect.

I giggled like a teenage girl as I climbed onto the truck, grabbing a pillow and arranging them behind my head. He climbed in behind me and did the same, the two of us sinking into our little nest, his arm curling around my neck so I could rest my head on his chest.

The cloudless sky pulled my eyes up and we sat in silence for a few moments. Without the light pollution of the city, the stars shone like tiny grains of sand littered on a black canvas. The longer you looked, the more you saw.

"Holy shit, this is cute," I finally remarked.

"I know right," he replied and I slapped his chest.

"Don't be full of yourself," I chastised him and he laughed, taking my hand and stroking my palm between his thumb and index finger. I looked up at him from my place on his chest and admired him. His strong jaw was peppered in stubble, his silver earring still shone lightly even though we were in complete darkness, his angular nose poking out just perfectly, his messy hair framing it all.

"You're missing it," he commented, looking down at me then and pointing to the sky. I looked back up just as a shooting star went by.

"Shut the fuck up! I just saw a shooting star!" I exclaimed, amazed I'd caught it.

"I know, Vi," he said calmly. "It's the Perseid meteor shower. It comes every August. When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing and camping this time of year and he'd always point it out to me. I think of it every year..." He sighed then. "I thought you'd like it, too."

We sat in the silence for a moment as star after star went shooting by, some split seconds apart, some longer. I snuggled closer to his chest then and sighed.

"A still night," I commented.

"I thought you might say that," he answered.