Memphis Summer (ON HOLD)

Moondance

                        "Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance. With the stars up above in your eyes."

                      -Moondance, Van Morrison

I found myself dancing with a beer can in my hand, the warm summer breeze gently blowing against my face. The amount of drinks I'd had was completely forgotten. Everything had been forgotten. It was just me, my beer, and the music that floated out into the night from Memphis' van. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I was relaxed and relatively happy. I might have been under the influence of more than just beer, but that wasn't a concern for me.

The soft happy yips from Jezzie had faded into content snores as the evening wore on. Memphis and Josh had disappeared somewhere, I didn't really care where or when they would be back. Swaying to the music was where I wanted to be, what I wanted to do. 

"You look relaxed," Memphis murmured behind me, his body a little closer than I would have liked. "Look good in the moonlight, too."

My eyes closed, wishing I didn't feel the flutter of my heart when he said it. I wasn't supposed to care what the pot-head thought of me. But my heart is stupid and always ignores what my brain tells it. Instead of acknowledging his words, I kept swaying to the music, pretending it was just me and the river. 

A low chuckle whispered past my ears and I felt his chin rest on my shoulder. Alarm bells started ringing, but I was still in that peaceful place where I didn't care so much that he was touching me. He might have annoyed me, but he felt  solid and comforting. The earlier smell of sweat and outdoors was no longer there replaced with the crisp scent of Ivory soap.

It was nice, different from the bouquet of campfire and earth that I had been smelling all evening. 

"You really don't talk much do you?"

He didin't say it in an accusing tone, more of a quiet mystification. Maybe it had to do with my blood alcohol level, but I decided to drop the asshole act. So far, Memphis had been nothing but nice to me, while I treated him like a pest.

"Not much to say," I replied with a shrug.

Chin still propped on my shoulder, he turned his face towards my cheek and sighed.  "There's a lot you could say."

The soft cadence of his voice made my heart thud a little harder in my chest. I tried to speak past the breath that was caught in my throat. Alcohol had never really been my friend, and this moment was a prime example of why I didn't want to drink to begin with. I was gasping and spluttering, trying to figure out how to respond to him.

"Easy, Ellis, I'm not going to force you to talk." With another sigh, his head lifted from my shoulder and he walked away from me.

Moment ruined, I stared up at the star speckled sky, wishing I could turn back time and say something that would keep Memphis behind me.

Yeah. Too much drinking and secondhand smoking for me.

Minutes passed as I stood stargazing. The peaceful quietness from before felt empty without his presence. A thought that I didn't want to examine whether I was slightly drunk or not. With a heavy exhale, I ran my left hand through my hair and rubbed my scalp. 

When I agreed to work with Josh over the summer, I wasn't planning on meeting a Memphis. I just wanted to enjoy my last summer as a college student, before the real world gobbled me up and I had to become an adult. The fresh air, the access to water, free concerts. That's all I was expecting. All I wanted.