Here With Me

I allow him to lead me out of the living room, but I’m ticked as hell.

“Come on Siskel… Or is it Ebert?”

“I wish those guys were still around. They would agree with me.”

We go out the front door into the warm, humid night, and Sawyer stops, pulling my back against his chest and wrapping me in his arms. “Look at that moon.”

His lips are at my temple, and my breath catches as I gaze up at the giant orange ball in the sky. “It’s a harvest moon.”

“Let’s go for a ride. I’ve got something to show you.”

“Okay.” I slip my hand in his, and he pulls me to his side as we walk to the waiting Chevy.

I love being close to his side, his heat and scent flooding my senses. I want to thread my fingers in his soft hair and kiss his strong jaw. I’m ready to go anywhere with him, even dancing into the Milky Way like they did in La La Land…

Just not to that ending.

12

Sawyer

Mindy’s snuggled against my side, and the serious talk I’d considered feels like bad timing. It’s our first date. She cooked me a terrible dinner then got ticked off about how the movie we watched ended…

These are the memories I want to keep.

I don’t want to dredge through the past tonight.

She’s quiet and I think she dozes as I drive us out to Darby Lake, an enormous reservoir about ten miles north of town where people like to camp and boat. I park in a secluded spot on a hill with a clear view of the night sky. Trees are all around us, and I give her a little nudge before helping her out of the cab.

Summer nights are never quiet in the country. Animals are either mating or hunting or both. Frogs make long, croaking calls and cicadas add a screeching wall of sound. Occasionally, a dog barks or a coyote howls.

It’s warm and the air is heavy with moisture. It smells like pine trees and the lake, damp wood with an undertone of fish. It’s so familiar, where we grew up, all we know.

“I brought a blanket.” I lean over, spreading it in a layer on the bed of my truck.

She climbs inside and sits, and I drop beside her with my back to the cab. The moon is higher, and it’s surrounded by an impossible number of stars.

“I fell asleep on you.” Mindy faces me with her legs crossed.

Her hair is over her shoulder, and it’s more like it used to be when she was young, wild and messy.

“That’s okay.” I slide a piece off her cheek. “I’ve missed your curls.”

“I haven’t.” Her nose wrinkles and she shifts around, putting her back against the cab and lifting her chin. “I used to wish I was the moon.”

I put my arm around her, letting the heat of her body radiate into mine. “I used to want to be an owl.”

“What?” Her face bobs around to meet mine, smiling. “How old were you?”

“Shew…” I try to think. “Ten? Maybe younger. I thought it was cool how they could turn their heads all the way around.”

“I can’t believe I never knew that.” She traces a finger down my neck. “If I were the moon, I’d draw you out of your nest.”

“You would.” I catch her finger and kiss it. She slides her palm along mine and threads our fingers together. She’s been doing this a lot lately. I like it. I study her slim hand in mine. “Owls are bad luck, aren’t they?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.” She looks up at the sky again. “I think they’re neat… Oh, look!” She points overhead. “A shooting star. I wish all the bad luck to go away.” Closing her eyes, she puts her head on my shoulder and presses her face against my neck. “Only good luck for us.”

“Your nose is cold.”