He moved in front of me as we began our descent down the beach stairs. He held the flashlight up so we could both see the steps in front of us. After 10 summers, I insisted that I had the pattern of stairs and landings memorized, but Matt wanted to keep me safe, and the steps could be tricky.
Once on the sand, Matt took out the two towels and laid them side by side far from the shore, avoiding the rocks, sticking to the area where there was still more sand than anything else. He scrolledthrough his iPod, looking for a mix of songs we’d grown attached to over the past few summers. Bands like Dashboard Confessional, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Counting Crows, Paramore, and Taking Back Sunday filled the night air. It was a playlist we’d been adding to over time, and he knew I listened to it nightly on a hand-me-down MP3 player he gave me when he got the iPod for his birthday. The playlist always helped me fall asleep. Matt plugged in his travel speaker and set it in the open backpack, trying not to get it covered in sand. He handed me a package of M&Ms.
“Thanks,” I said, ripping open the edge and pouring a few into my hand. I fed one to Matt.
He settled down onto the towel next to me and leaned back on his elbows, looking up at the night sky. “I hope we get lucky tonight.”
“Excuse me?” I laughed.
“Not like that! I mean with the meteor shower. I think we’ll be able to see it.”
“Sure, that’s what you meant,” I snickered, popping a handful of M&Ms into my mouth.
“Did you bring the almanac? What did it say?”
“I thought you said my almanac was nerdy.Nowyou want to see it?”
“I never said the almanac was nerdy. I saidyouwere nerdy.”
“Wise guy.”
“I know you have it. Come on. I want to see what it says.”
I pulled open my drawstring backpack and pulled out theFarmer’s Almanac. The section titled “Viewing Tips” was dog-eared. I opened the book to the folded page and handed it to Matt.
“See?” I pointed. “Right here. It says, ‘Earthgrazers—meteors that begin low when the radiant is at the horizon and travel horizontally overhead instead of falling—will be visible beginning around 9:00p.m. on August 12, but the prime viewing time for these fast and bright Perseids will be after 2:00 a.m. on August 13 when the moon sets. In dark areas, it may be possible to see over 100 Perseids each hour in the Northeast sky until dawn. The East Coast of North America and Western Europe are expected to see an exceptionally good show this year.’”
“Okay, well,” he began, closing the book and checking his watch. “It’s 9:45.” He gazed at the sky. “Nothing,” he snorted.
“Be patient. Look. We’ve got a great shot at seeing some. What’s that, over there?” I pointed.
“What? Where?”
“Right there!” I poked my finger into the night air, pointing at the spot in the sky where I meant for him to look.
“You mean the plane?”
“It’s not a plane!”
“The lights are blinking, Roberts. It’s a plane.”
I laughed and hung my head. “Shit.”
“My God. We’re in for quite an evening if this is any indication,” he joked. “I should’ve brought a deck of cards. We’re better off playing Gin Rummy.”
“You mean to tell me you can’t think of anything you’d rather do than playcardswith me? What are you, a 90-year-old woman?”
“Far from it,” he assured me.
“Then, get over here.” I reached for him.
Matt crawled onto my towel and I leaned back, looking up at the sky, until the view was blocked by his face. I closed my eyes as he brought his lips down to meet mine. He laid his chest on top of me, and I could feel his heartbeat through the thin fabric of our T-shirts. Despite the light breeze, having him so close kept me warm. I melted into his kiss, enjoying the security of his arms around me, the softnessof his lower lip, the bits of scruff on his jawline. My hands ran along his neck and down his shoulder blades, pausing to appreciate the muscles in his upper back. Matt was propped up on an elbow with his free arm moving from my hair to the side of my ribcage and down to my hip. It wasn’t long before his kisses became more intense, his tongue and hands searching. I wavered between enjoyment and anxiety, my body wanting more of him but my brain working overtime, running scenarios that I’d considered over and over again but that never quite felt real until just this moment.
I pulled away from him. “I never showed you what I brought tonight,” I whispered into the darkness.
“What’s that?”
I reached my arm out, feeling the sand for my drawstring bag, still lying on my back. I felt the rope strap and pulled the bag close. Inside, my fingers fished around until I found the small square with the foil wrapper. I held it up, pushed it against Matt’s chest, and took a nervous breath.
