“You’re incredible,” I tell him. “I still can’t believe all of this.”
“We better eat the ice cream before it melts,” Andrew insists, popping the lid off and grabbing two spoons from who knows where.
I happily dig into the tub of chocolatey heaven. Andrew follows suit.
“I know the stars aren’t out yet, but they should be by the time we finish the ice cream,” Andrew explains. “This is probably the best place to see them. There are no trees nearby to block the view, and there’s no lights anywhere nearby to dull the shine.”
“How did you find this place?”
He chuckles. “This was a pretty popular place to come hang out and drink in high school. I like this use for it a thousand times better though.”
“Me too.” I smile softly and lean my head against him.
He wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I love the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. He’s solid but cozy, like being wrapped up in your favorite blanket, only better.
The stars begin to come out as faint freckles of lights in thedistance. “I hope you don’t mind we missed the sunset,” Andrew says as he licks his spoon clean. “I just couldn’t bring myself to start us with any kind of ending, no matter how beautiful.”
“What do you call this?” I ask, gesturing to the sky. “The night isn’t the end of the day?”
He shakes his head vigorously. “No, we are watching the night just begin to unfold. Isn’t it lovely?”
I can’t help but wonder how I got here. When I woke up yesterday, Andrew and I were just friends, and somehow that changed so quickly. Now, we are here on a date. I’ve been dreaming about this for years! I know I haven’t been on that many dates, but even if I had, there’s no competition. This is the best date I’ve ever been on, and we haven’t even kissed yet.
Andrew holds out the tub to me, offering me the last bite. I gleefully take it, and the urge to kiss him for that simple gesture nearly wins out.
“Thank you, Andrew. For all of it. The pizza, the grand gesture, the ice cream…this is easily the best date ever.”
He grins. “I’m glad you like it.”
He takes the empty carton from me and sets it aside, pulling me back to lean against the pillows and be able to take the stars in. They’re very prominent at this point, shining with a brilliant radiance.
“Do you know any constellations?” I ask him.
“Do the Big Dipper and Little Dipper count?” he asks me with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“I suppose they do.”
“Do you know more? Will you show me?” he urges.
“I only know a couple more than that. My grandpa was interested in astronomy and started to teach me before he passed.” I point up at the sky, tracing with my fingers. “Do you see those five stars that kind of look like a slightly crooked drawing of a house?” I look to him for reassurance. “That’s Cepheus.”
I watch the childlike amusement in his eyes with adoration. “Where’d that name come from?”
“Cepheus was some king. He was married to Cassiopeia, whose father was Andromeda. Both of them are also constellations,” I tutor.
“Dang. How do we get a constellation named after us?” he teases.
“Maybe you can start by becoming a king.”
His eyes grow round. “I didn’t realize those were the stakes. I’m only a knight who’s trying to get a princess to realize I’m the one for her.”
“Well, it’s working,” I turn toward him.
Our faces are so close as we both lie there, motionless.This is your moment!I scream to myself, but I’m frozen.
It’s not like Andrew is my first kiss. I wish he was because it would be so much more poetic than my bumbling first kiss with that boy from high school who was only with me for the sake of being with someone. Even without this being my first time, I feel incredibly nervous. This is Andrew after all. I’ve wanted to kiss him for years. I’ve already messed things up in the past, and I don’t want to do it again.
I catch him watching me intently. “You’re overthinking things, aren’t you?” he asks, running his pointer finger along my jaw.
