You and Me and Us | Muffy

Part 6

Marty's POV

She uses my hand as a brace as she climbs out the window, then slides it closed behind her. I rarely ever see her in dresses, but tonight the moonlight gleams off the flowing red fabric, which is covered up near the top by a jean jacket.

"You got all dressed up for me?" I tease.

She rolls her eyes. "Sometimes I like looking pretty."

"Well, you don't have to try so hard to do that."

She smiles and I take her hand to escort her over to her seat in my Jeep before going around to take my own spot. A growl is released from the engine as I twist the key.

"Where exactly are we going?" she asks me.

I shrug. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

She grins and steals the aux cord, blasting a country song called "It's Working" as I take my foot off the break.

_____________________________________

As we depart the town, the sky becomes clearer and Buffy stares out the window at the navy dome speckled in stars above us.

"You can't see this in Shadyside," she says.

"Well, let's not waste the chance," I respond.

I turn off the highway, curling around to a small dirt road lined with trees on one side and an open field on the other. I pull over and shut off the engine before getting out of the car. Buffy exits as well and pushes the door shut.

"What are you . . . ?" she starts, but her voice trails off as I climb up onto the hood on my Jeep.

I crawl over to her side of the vehicle and reach out my hand. She takes it with a smile and mounts the car. We both lie back on the hood, her snuggled up against me in my arm. My chin rests on top of her head as she gazes up at the sky.

"I like this," she says. "Just you and me . . . and us."

She reaches for my hand and intertwines her fingers through mine before resting our linked limbs across her midriff.

"I agree," I mutter.

Then she points up with her free hand. "Do you see that really big star?"

I spot the one she's seeing and reply, "Yeah."

"That's the one I used to wish on every night as a kid. Well, I guess not that exact one, but it looks about the same size."

I smile at the thought. "You made wishes on stars?"

"And other things like wish chips and eyelashes and basically anything else I could wish on."

"What did you wish for?"

She pauses before saying, "I'll tell you, but you can't laugh."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She sighs. "I wished to be a fairy."

"That's cute," I respond, trying to contain my grin.

"You're laughing!" she says.

"No, I'm not," I insist.

"Didn't you ever want to be some magical creature when you were young?"

"Well, yeah," I admit.

"Really? What?"

I rub my thumb against her palm to stall for a second before answering. "Have you ever seen Narnia? Or read it?"