Snapshots

Starry Night

Two figures, lying side by side, watch the stars on a warm, summer night.

"Look at that one." He said pointing at the illuminated sky above us to a star which seemed brighter than the rest.

"Wow." I breathed in amazement.

We were both lying on the grass in front of the main building. Our bodies were slightly apart, but close enough that if we wanted, we would be able to touch. This was the way it had always been with us. Close together but with enough space between us to remind me that we were still just friends.

Subtly, I shifted my head to take a look at him. He was only wearing a small blue  t-shirt and black shorts but that was clearly enough to keep him warm as his arms bore no signs of shivers. His head was leaning on his hands and I saw the slight definition of muscles beginning to show in his raised arms. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath and I watched, fascinated, before I began to match my breathing to his.

He suddenly turned and caught sight of me staring before letting out an awkward laugh at the strange sight of me intently focusing on his stomach. I met his gaze and slowly began to smile, hoping he'd take it as a joke.

"Like what you see?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who wouldn't." I responded, turning away and determinedly staring at the sky above, "God knows all the other girls do."

"Well," He said, turning until he was lying on his side to face me, his head propped up by his hand, "maybe I don't care about what those girls think."

I turned my face to meet his gaze. Now we were only inches apart. I was close enough to feel his warm breath ever time he exhaled and see his eyelashes quiver every time he closed his eyes. He was beautiful, but he'd never like me.

"If you don't care about them, who do you care about?" I inquired tentatively.

"Take a wild guess." He whispered.

His eyes roved across my face, scouring every inch of skin. He slowly bit his lip as his eyes returned to meet mine. I flushed at the sight of it. I was an awkward, gangly loser who had never so much as dared to even dream up a situation such as this. Blushing furiously, I began wildly look around the sky again, determined not to catch his eye again.

"That's a wild game you're playing." I said, "And you might be better playing it with someone else."

Desperate for a distraction, I began fiddling with the grass strands between my hands. The cold dew froze my fingers ever so slightly as I continued to fidget with the plants my fingertips could reach.

All of a sudden, a strange warmth enveloped my hand, stopping its frantic motions and instead, lifting it up into the air. I glanced down and saw that he was now sitting up, gazing intently at my hand as he began to wrap his fingers around it. I watched, fascinated as he slowly brought it up to his mouth before planting a small kiss in my palm.
He carefully closed my fingers around it, still oblivious to my watchful eye.

"There." He said, "A keepsake for you to guard. No games, just an honest gift."

He slowly dropped my hand to the floor and once more focused on my face. My heart began to beat faster than it ever had before as he slowly crawled towards and leaned towards me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, still confused by the scene unfolding before me.

"Why wouldn't I do this?" He whispered, leaning even closer to the point where I could count his eyelashes if I tried.

"Why me?" I murmured, almost to myself, as if not expecting a response.

"Because you're different."

After hearing those words, I closed the distance between us. He face was almost directly above mine and once I had reached up, he began to push down, trapping me in his embrace. His lips were soft and gentle, disputes his aggressive movements and they tasted like heaven. His stubbly skin grazed my cheek as he continued to kiss me. His hand was still holding mine as it rested on my chest and our intertwined fingers rose and fell together in perfect harmony.

In that moment of pure bliss, I knew that what I wanted and who I wanted to be. And, as usual, the answer had been staring me in the face all along.