Short stories

Backyard boy

Backyard boy
09/27/20
'Dance with me in my backyard'

The melody of the song lulled me to sleep as he strummed his guitar. His voice wrapping around me, the lyrics reading my mind and kissing my cheek. Soft in the way he played, making me feel safe and completely content with the moment.
"Dada dada da dada da." He buzzed as the melody continued. I smiled, feeling utterly at peace with him next to me. The grass tickled my feet as I stretched, interrupting him momentarily. He paused. I opened my eyes, and he smiled.
"What?" I asked, curious as to what he found amusing. He let a chuckle pass his lips before shaking his head. Beautiful blonde curls shook with him, falling in front of his face before eventually resting in front of his eyes.
Smiling, I sat up to push the unruly curls back into place. My hand was caught mid-air, held by his as we stared at each other. My gaze shifted between our hands and his eyes, playful in their own way.
"You're so childish, Gabe." I stuck out my tongue at his comment, earning a small laugh.
"My point exactly." He rolled his eyes, letting go of my hand. I stood up, grabbing my phone from beside him and hit 'play'. The speaker quickly let out a sound, the music beginning.
'Not trying to complicate...' I smiled over my shoulder as I twirled, letting a smile grace my lips once again. I heard Colin shift, setting his guitar down and standing himself. His presence was behind my swaying body in a split second, though I could feel his hesitation.
"Colin, I won't break." I giggled as I turned around, startled to find him much closer than expected. His gaze was intense, its focus on me as I stared back. His hands came to rest on my hips, fitting perfectly as I took a small step towards him. The music continued to flow for my speaker, calm and melodic as it did so.
Pulling me nearer, Colin rested his chin on my head while I leaned my forehead against his chest, feeling his heartbeat.
"Summer ends tonight, Gabe." His voice was sad as he said my name. My heart clenched at the reminder of how bittersweet this moment truly was. Summer ended tonight and he would be gone tomorrow. My life would return to its dull, boring atmosphere and I would once again be alone.
No more late night dance parties on my roof. No more guitar afternoons in the fields. No more ice cream trips at three am. I would once again be alone. I hated the idea of being alone again. So much so that the thought itself brought tears to the brim of my eyes. Thankful that Colin couldn't see my eyes in this position, I quietly sniffled.
"Yeah, it does." I respond with nothing more than a whisper, trying to keep my voice leveled.
"I wish it would last forever." He replies, sounding wishful, childlike almost.
"But forever would be much too much to ask for, Colin. We have today, and for that I am grateful." I pull back only slightly to look him in the eyes. A sad smile lay on his lips, his eyes equally as sad and in them I see my own reflection, almost mirroring his.
Neither of us want today to end. We want to dance in my backyard forever, playing guitar and eating popsicles and telling dumb jokes. We want to stay young forever. We want to stay right here, in our own world, forever.
But forever is too much, too long, and too impossible. So the tear that slides down my cheek and the sad smile that is placed on Colin's lips make perfect sense as the upbeat music lulls out of my phone and we continue to sway with the music. Feeling as if summer has already ended and each of us are already on the other sides of the world, him back home and me still stuck in my backyard world.
I literally have 'backyard boy' on repeat as I'm writing this. I also haven't decided if 'gabe' is a boy or a girl. Probably a girl though. #sorry_not_sorry for being so unspecific about that. This is so angsty lol. But i like it. It's bittersweet and not at all what i saw happening when I sat down and hit play on the song. I hope you like it. I'm going on a writing spree so there will be more<3