I switch on the lamp beside my bed, the soft light illuminating the room. I collapse onto the bed, not even bothering to take off my shoes. It’s been such a long day, and I’m exhausted both physically and emotionally. But I also feel strangely weightless. Ma knows about me, and she was like, the epitome of chill. It’s a huge relief.
She promised, that even if we have to go back home tomorrow, that I can come back up to Hester whenever I want before the semester starts. Where I’ll be after that—it’s still TBD.
I’ve almost drifted off when a tapping sound rouses me. I look around the room, expecting to see a mouse or something scuttling across the floor. But there’s nothing out of the ordinary. I lay my head back down and another tap sounds, sharp and quick.
I get out of bed, kneeling down to check underneath it.
Shattering glass deafens me as shards scatter across the floor, along with the thunk-thunk-thunk of a rock as it rolls to a stop by my feet. I dash to the window, looking down at the dark driveway. A shock of red hair is the only thing I can make out.
“Reese?” I stage whisper.
“Sorry!” she says, trying to keep her voice down. “I guess that one was too big.”
“What are you—When did you—hold on, I’m coming down!”
Thankful for my shoes, I skirt around the minefield of glass and take the stairs down two at a time. Ma catches me in the living room.
“What the hell was that noise?”
“Oh, Reese threw a rock through the window. No biggie.”
Ma rolls her eyes. “Tell her I’m sending her father the bill for the deposit we’re not getting back.”
“Sure thing.”
I push the screen door open, stepping out into the buzzing evening air. Reese leans against the hood of her Miata, her face illuminate by the glow of her phone.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, not unkindly.
“What kind of thank you is that? I just drove two hours to make sure you were still alive, Nicky. The least you can do is say thanks.”
“Thank you?”
“I’ll take it.”
“But back to my first question…”
“You never called me back! And I’ve been trying to get through to you all day, I’ve texted you like eighteen hundred times, left voicemails, I mean, I was this close to calling your mother. I was that desperate.”
“So instead, you drove two hours in the middle of the night?”
She makes a face. “In retrospect, I may have overreacted just a smidgen. But this is my Nicky we’re talking about here. I couldn’t very well have you disappearing on me.”
I wrap her up in a hug. “Thank you, Reese. It’s actually really good to have you here.”
“You can make it up by feeding me, I’m starving to death over here. Is there a spot we can grab something while you fill me in on what the hell is going on?”
I smile, “Just one. I think you’re going to love it.”
“Holy shit,” Reese whispers, nearly sticking her elbow in the syrupy remains of her waffle. Tom’s is nearly empty this late at night, but Dot is still here, holding the whole building up by leaning against the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room. “So, what are you doing here with me? You need to go be with Tommy! Who knows the next time you’ll be able to see each other?”
“I’d love to,” I say, then drain the rest of my Coke float. “But I don’t have any way to contact him. Even if I did, it’s like, one in the morning. He’s probably asleep.”
“But maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s looking out his window right now, pining after his one true love… Oh my god, it’s so romantic I’m going to drown over here.”
“Sure, I mean, that sounds nice and all, but I don’t even know if he wants to see me. I told him no more secrets, and yet I still wasn’t one-hundred percent honest with him. He’s probably pissed.”
“Most definitely. I mean, if I were him, I’d—”
A loud bang comes from the kitchen door swinging open and slamming into the wall. Dot startles and tries to vault the counter, but gets caught halfway over.
Booming laughter fills the restaurant as Brenda steps out from behind the door. “Wake up, Dotty. We’ve got three hours left before you can keel over.”
I go to wave at her, but when she sees me, her eyes get big and she ducks back into the kitchen.
“That was weird,” I say to Reese.
“Everything here is weird.”
“Nick!” Brenda’s voice booms again, and a second stainless steel door opens right beside our booth. Brenda hustles through it, skidding to a stop at our table. “What are you doing here?”
“Um, drinking away my sorrows? Why?”
“You’re supposed to be with Tommy. It’s his romantic comedy moment!”
“Wait, what are you talking about?”
“Did you not get his message? He found you on Facebook like, three hours ago.”
My heart kickstarts like I’ve been hit with a thousand volts. “Reese, give me your phone.”
She hesitates for a second, then decides better of it and slides it across the table. I open the app, toggling over to log her out. Once my page loads, I see the little red circle on my messenger. I click open the message:
Nick,
God, I hope this is you and not someone with your name that just so happens to look like you. Knowing my luck, it’s not that crazy a concept. Anyway—I’m going to keep this short and sweet. If you get this message, I know that you’re leaving town tomorrow. I also know that I don’t want you to, and that I’d just do just about anything to see you again. So, this is it, my grand gesture. My romantic comedy moment. If you get this message, I’ll be waiting for you, on our rock. I know it’s late, and I know it sounds crazy, but I hope you’ll come. And if you don’t, or this isn’t my Nick and you just look like him, I’ll understand.
Hope to see you soon.
Tommy <3
“Well?” Reese watches me with wide eyes.
“I need to borrow your car.”
It’s late. I have no idea, of course, how late because my phone is dead and I’m not stylish enough to own a watch. But the stars are bright and beguiling, and the chorus of frogs is better than any white noise, and if I squint just hard enough, I can make that cluster of stars look like a pokèball.
Nick isn’t coming. I’ve already come to terms with it. Maybe he hasn’t checked his Facebook, or maybe he’s already on his way back to Gainseville, or maybe—because my brain always has to think worst case—he just doesn’t think I’m worth the trouble.
Can’t say I argue with him.
I sit up, reaching my arms to the sky as I try to stretch the dull throb from my lower back.
“So much for my Romantic Comedy moment,” I mutter, shifting my weight forward to get up.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
I fall back on my butt. Sure enough, towering over me is the shadowy outline of Nick. It’s strange how someone can still personify sunlight in the pitch black. From this angle, he’s a constellation. He belongs up in the stars, just like Orion.
“You found me,” I say, because it’s the only thing I can think of at the moment. But the longer it sits on my tongue, the more truth I realize it carries. He found me. And now I never want to lose him.
He lowers himself on the rock beside me. “I did. Sorry I’m late. Believe it or not, it’s very easy to get turned around in the woods after dark. I guess I should count myself lucky I made it at all.”
“Lucky indeed,” I say, resting my hand on top of his. He looks at me, dots of brilliance caught in the dark pools of his eyes. I can’t help myself. I lean in to kiss him, lightly at first, but then his fingers are twisted in the fabric of my shirt and my hands tangle in the curls of his hair. Hot breath and sharp teeth and a dizzy, giddy feeling that makes my stomach flip as we fall back onto the rock, laughing like fools.
He nestles his head into my chest as we both gaze into the night sky.
“It looks that way. But it’s not all bad. Ma says I can come up as often as I want. Besides, we’ve still got to take Reese to the Drop.”
We fall silent again, the harmony of nature filling in the gaps in conversation.
“And after the summer?” I ask, dreading the answer to the question that’s been sitting on the tip of my tongue all night.
“To be determined. But no matter what the outcome, I’ll definitely getting a new phone, so I’ll be needing your number.”
“Absolutely,” I say with a laugh. “Just as long as you promise not to ghost me again.”
Nick sits up, turning over his shoulder to look down at me.
“Aw, Tommy. I would never think of ghosting you. I love you too much.”
My heart melts with the heat of his words. He leans down to plant a soft kiss on my forehead, and then my cheek, and finally, our lips meet. As I open my eyes, our kiss rearranges the stars above us.
A stiff breeze bites at my face as I make my way down the sidewalk. I pull my scarf tighter around my neck, tucking my chin to exhale into the warm cloth.
A blast of frigid air from the north brought Hester its first snow dusting of the year. Thin layers of icy snow coat the walkways and grass, making my normal trek into work a little more hazardous. But I don’t mind taking it a bit slow. It gives me time to enjoy the scenery.
Just as I pass Ms. Sullivan’s store, my back pocket begins to vibrate. I yank a glove off, stuffing it in my jacket before fishing out my phone. A familiar redhead’s face stares back at me from the screen.
“Hey Reese,” I answer, then resume my crunching steps toward Claudine’s. “You’re up awfully early.”
Reese lets out a high-pitched yawn. “You have no idea, sweetie. I have a shoot that starts in just a few minutes, but I wanted to make sure we’re still on for tomorrow.”
“Sure thing. We’re supposed to get another dusting tonight, so even if it all melts today, we’ll have a fresh layer in the morning.”
Reese squeals, and I pull the speaker away from my ear.
“Perfect. I can’t wait to see the Drop covered in snow. So excited.”
“Just make sure you bundle up,” I remind her. “And don’t forget the film this time.”
She huffs. “It’s a new concept to me, okay? Sometimes I forget. Oh! Did I tell you my dad got his old dark room set up again? He nearly cried when I asked him about it.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome. I’m sure it’s a blast from the past for him.”
“Totally. Well, listen, I’ll be up there bright and early, so make sure that you guys don’t stay up too late, okay?”
“You guys?” I repeat.
Reese pauses. “You know what I mean. See you in the morning! Kisses!”
The call ends with three short beeps and I exhale a puff of steamy breath into my hand before sliding my glove back on. It’s been really nice, having Reese to talk shop with the last few months. She’s a bit much sometimes, but I’ve learned what buttons not to press.
I check my phone one more time before stowing it in my back pocket.
Nick hasn’t texted me this morning. He’s probably sleeping in. At least, that’s the assumption I’m making.
Another burst of frigid wind buffets me as I pull on the door of Claudine’s.
“Jesus, it’s colder than a witch’s tit out there.”
“Good morning to you too, Mel,” I say, pulling off my jacket to hang it by the door. I bundle my scarf and hat into the inside pocket. Mel is propped up against the counter, munching on a cookie. “I see that you’ve been busy this morning.”
“You better believe it,” she mumbles through the crumbs. “I’ll be shocked if we get a single customer before noon today. No one wants to brave the half an inch of snow.”
“At least the Christmas crowd is finally gone,” I say, grabbing Tina’s apron from the coat rack. Mel did finally offer to get me my own, but by that point, I’d formed an unbreakable bond with Tina and her haunted apron, so I had to decline.
“Truth,” Mel adds. “They were especially needy this year. If I had one more Outsider bitch ask me for a ‘bulletproof’ coffee, I was going to break my hand on their chiseled abs.”
Rod pushes his way through the swinging door and hefts a bucket of whipped cream canisters onto the counter. “I would have paid an absurd amount of money to see that.”
“Thanks, babe.”
“’Sup, Tommy.”
“Hey, Rod,” I greet him, ducking under the counter. “What can I help with?”
“I’ve got pretty much everything set up,” he says, ticking things off a mental list one finger at a time. “Oh! Can you grab another roll of paper towels from the bathroom? We need to replace the roll in the back.”
“Sure thing.”
I go to slide under the counter again, but a clatter sounds from the back and I turn to Rod. “Who else is here?”
Before he can answer, the swinging door opens again and Nick stumbles through it with a bucket of ice. “Sorry about the noise. I knocked over one of the—”
I practically tackle him with my hug, wrapping arms around so hard that I squeeze the air right out. I bury my face in his chest. It’s been over a month since I’ve seen him, but he’s still sunshine and fresh pine needles.
Mel makes a disgusting cutesy noise. Rod grabs the ice buckets from each of Nick’s hands so he can reciprocate my death-grip.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, but my words are muffled.
Nick’s chest vibrates with laughter. “I’m going to assume that you’re asking what I’m doing here?”
I nod against him.
He manages to pry me off of him, beaming a smile down at me. “We got back from my Granny’s early. Ma was going to have a nervous breakdown if we stayed one more day. She’s a bit intense. My classes don’t start back for another week, so I figured what the hell? Surprise!”
“But wait, is your family here? Where are you staying?”
He shakes his head. “Your place. I already cleared it with Caroline. She said I could crash on the couch for as long as I want. Well, actually, I suggested the couch. She was all for me sleeping in your bed.”
My cheeks flare.
Rod bursts out laughing. “Sounds like your Mom is trying to get you laid, Tommy. She’s the real MVP.”
Mel giggles along with him, and I clear my throat. “Anyway. I’m glad you’re here.”
His grin widens. “Me too.”
“As adorable as the two of you are,” Mel says, crossing over to Rod to lean against him. “I highly doubt we’re going to need full staff today. So, why don’t the two of you go catch up? Rod and I can handle things.”
“Really?”
Mel nods. “Really, really.”
I look back up to Nick. “What do you say?”
“Let’s go.”
The trail is covered with patches of icy snow. Beams of golden sunlight stream through the bare branches of the trees overhead, bringing the smallest tinge of warmth as reprieve from the wind.
Nick’s hand is wrapped in mine, which is enough to keep it warm, even without my gloves.
“We’re learning about macaróns next week,” he fills me in. “I can’t freaking wait. I’ve only ever attempted them once, and let’s just say, it did not end well. Have you ever had to get meringue out of your arm hair? It’s not fun.”
“I can imagine.”
He chuckles, squeezing my hand. “How’s the newspaper? Did you guys get it out on time this week?”
“We did, actually. Kayla just about had a stroke, but we made it. We ended up going with that shot of the fireworks over City Hall from New Years that I sent you. It was perfect front-page material.”
“Everything you shoot is front page material.”
“That’s absolutely false. But I appreciate your confidence in me. My portfolio is looking really good though. I’m submitting it with my appl
ication to Atlanta’s SCAD campus. Hopefully it’s good enough to get me in.”
“They’d be idiots not to take you,” Nick says. “Also, can I just say how excited I am that we’ll finally be living in the same place? Like, I’ll get to see you every day.”
“If they take me.”
Nick gives me a playful shove. “They’re going to take you.”
We’ve almost reached the river. The sound of water draws us closer, beckoning us to the special place that we share.
“How was Christmas with your folks?” I ask, stepping over a twisted root.
“Oh, you know. My dad is still butt-hurt over Duke, but my Granny is thrilled that I’m going to culinary school. We baked pretty much non-stop while I was there. Pies and cakes and tarts and gooey bread pudding. So much sugar.”
“Wish I could have been there. I wouldn’t have faltered in the face of dessert.”
“I do too. My Granny kept asking about you.”
“Seriously? You told her about me?”
“Yeah. Was that okay?”
The warmth from the sun is nothing compared to the heat radiating in my chest.
“Of course.”
We reach the river, the frosty earth under our feet changing to slippery stone. Big chunks of opaque ice cling to the rocks sticking out over the waterfall, forming beautiful and unique sculptures of nature.
“Wow,” Nick breathes. He releases my hand to get a closer look at the icicle formation. I watch him as he goes, reacquainting myself with how the sunlight changes the golden-brown color of his hair. “It’s gorgeous.”
He turns back to smile at me and my heart swells. I have to agree with him.
I bend down to grab a stone from the shallow edge of the riverbed. The water is icy and takes my breath away, even though I only dip a hand in. Once I’ve found the perfect one, I straighten, shaking my hand to get rid of the tingling needle sensation.
A few paces down the river, the water slows enough that I can skip the stone across. But I just stand at the edge, watching the relentless water wash over the stones. I can’t help but travel back, to the afternoon last summer when I waded into the stream that day when I met Nick. Before I knew how his touch sparks fire across my skin. Before I held him in my arms after a night in bed. Before we shared kisses that shaped the very universe around me.
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