“How the hell are you supposed to find the outline of a ladle in all this?” Carmen asks.
I open the stargazing app. “There’s an option to take a picture of the sky and have the app outline the constellations for you.”
Carmen blows a raspberry. “Now that’sreallycheating.”
“And you’re above cheating, I assume.”
“You assume wrong. Give me that.”
She grabs the phone from me. Our fingers brush. Sparks from the warmth of her touch erupt on my hand, dancing over it like drops of water sizzling on a skillet.
Carmen opens the feature on the app to take a photo. In a second, red lines are connecting stars to spell out the constellations for us.
She tilts her head, looking up and trying to match the stars in the sky with the shapes traced in the image.
“Is that it?” she asks.
I lift my right arm, the one closest to her. “Right there, I think, is the beginning of the handle.”
She lifts her left arm. It brushes against mine. My heart leaps.
“Oh, I see!” She sounds excited. It’s a tone I’ve never heard in her voice until now. Immediately, I know how much I’d do to hear more of it. It’s borderline alarming.
“And there’s the bowl.” I move my arm to trace the outline. My hand touches hers. She doesn’t pull away from the touch, letting my contact with her move her arm to trace the shape.
“Wow. Recognizing it actually feels like an accomplishment.”
“Gonna add a couple Astrology classes to your schedule when you go back to school?”
“Not likely,” she huffs. But then she adds, “This is fun, though.”
“Really?” I ask. I cringe internally, knowing how eager I sounded.
“Really. I’m just like you,” she nudges me with her shoulder, “can’t tell a little white lie.”
My stomach tilts at the intimate contact. Even when I try to wipe the smile off my face, it’s impossible.
“Hey, aren’t zodiac signs based on constellations? What sign are we in right now?”
“Capricorn, I think?” Carmen ponders.
I check the app. “Yeah. I think it’s …” I get up on my knees, turning to face south. “There!”
Carmen squirms to face where I’m pointing. Her hip brushes against mine. Another rush of sparks.
She hums. “I see it. I have no idea how anyone would look at the sky and imagine that outline in the first place, though.”
I chuckle. “For real.”
We settle back in a more comfortable seating position.
“What’s your sign?” I ask.
Carmen snorts. “It sounds like you’re hitting on me at a bar in the 80s.”
“If only. I’m a Gemini. My birthday’s May 30th.”
“You’re twenty-one, right?”
