I stifled a yawn against my hand and checked the time, letting out a sigh of relief as the last minute ticked away. The timer went off and students slowly began to rise out of their chairs and leave the classroom. I looked over at Maggie who still had her head glued to her desk, her mahogany hair fanned out around her. I stood up and stretched, popping a few joints in the process, God I hate detention. I thought as I walked over to wake her.
“Maggie,” I whispered, brushing her hair back.
She shifted and her hair fell into her face as she rose like a zombie.
“Tommy?” she said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
My heart thumped painfully as I heard her dependence on me. She was always childish when she just woke up. She turned her forest green eyes up to mine.
“I’m right here Maggie. Come on, time to go.”
She unsteadily got up, sleep still claiming her limbs and leaned into me. I put my arm around her and led her out of the classroom. As soon as we were out of the teacher’s range I leaned down to her ear.
“I wanna show you something.”
She looked up at me, her green eyes swimming with questions, but she kept her hand in mine as we walked through the darkened school halls. I pulled her to a stop at the wall of windows that over looked the school’s roof before letting go of her hand, and pulling up the window.
“Tommy?” she whispered, “What are you doing?”
I crawled through the open window in response and then turned around and offered her my hands. She looked up and down the halls worriedly,
“Do you trust me Maggie?”
Her green eyes locked on mine, searching, and without hesitation she allowed herself to be hoisted up. I kept her hand in mine as I watched her face. The cold quickly shocked open any of her senses, and her eyes widened as she took in the full view. The sigh from her open mouth quickly turned into a cloud of steam.
“Tommy it’s beautiful…”
I turned to the horizon and was speechless as well. Stars continued infinitely in every direction, small bursts of light in the dark skies. This was the one time I loved the country, no smog to curtain and obscure the stars, just sparkling pearls and diamonds in clear glass viewing cases, as the full moon kept watch over all her jewels. I turned to Maggie and gently tapped my finger against her chin. She quickly shut her mouth and then averted her eyes as a red hot blush flamed across her already pink, cold bitten cheeks. I tugged on her hand and led her to a bird poop free patch. As romantic as this was, bird poop had a way of destroying the mood. I lay down on the ground and she followed suit, snuggling up to me, my chest cushioning her head and my arm cradling her back and arm, fitting together like a lock and key. We laid in silence as we both watched the stars, our clouds of breath occasionally fogging the view.
I was memorizing the rise and fall of Maggie’s chest when she suddenly said, “You’re my star Tommy.”
She peeked at me from under her full dark lashes, and seeing my confused expression laughed. My skin tingled and my heart sped up as her laughter hummed through our connected bodies.
She locked eyes with me, “You’re always there even when I can’t necessarily see you. And when my life’s the darkest and I feel like I’m being buried by everything, you don’t disappear with the fear of being consumed too. No, you shine brighter, so that I can always find you.”
She smiled at me and slid up against my body so that she could kiss my chin and then my cheek. My body heated with the friction of her sliding against me and my cheek and chin sparked with the warmth of her lips.
She stretched up to my ear and whispered, “I love you Tommy.”
Her warm breath tickled my ear. I looked down at her quickly but her eyes had already turned back up to the sky. I fought to say the words but they would not come. My body shook with the effort as I tried to force them out. I had to tell her, or I could lose her, Maggie was still a girl, they had to hear the words or they wouldn’t mean anything. She mistook my shaking as shivering and snuggled closer.
When the shaking continued she finally spoke, “Tommy?” an unreadable look on her face.
S***, she was going to ask me to say it, and I couldn’t say it, no matter how much I wanted to. I took a deep breath preparing to hear her confusion. And I did, in words I did not expect.
“Are you cold?”
“What?” I asked stupidly.
“Are you cold? You won’t stop shaking and I don’t want you sick.”
I sighed in relief, “Aren’t you cold?”
“No,” she replied, “I’m fine as long as I’m here with you and you keep your arms around me.”
We lapsed into silence, until my curiosity spilled over, “Maggie?”
“Yes?” She replied sleepily.
“Aren’t you mad?”
“About what?”
“That I couldn’t say it.”
She shifted and leaned up against her elbows so she could stare straight into my eyes.
“Do you want to be here with me?”
“Yes.” I replied.
“Do you want to be here with me only?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to stay here with me?”
“No.” Her serious face crumpled, and she struggled to compose herself. “Maggie, it gets cold up here. Maybe not stay here but everywhere else would be a definite yes.” She focused a smile on me that melted every bit of cold off of my body.
“Do you want to be with me forever?”
“Yes, but I don’t see…” she cut me off.
“Well, that’s love in a couple more words.” She said matter-of-factly. “Love is a word that summarizes everything that you just said to me. What you just said to me means more than any silly four letter word. Would I like to hear it? Of course. Does it matter when? No. As long as it’s from your lips, I’ll be happy. For now, everything that you’ve given me is more than enough.”
I stared at her open mouthed, until she finally lifted her hand and gently tapped her finger to my chin, smiling. I shut my mouth and pulled her face to mine. Her hair curtained my face and tickled my cheeks and ears as I kissed her forehead, her nose, and then, finally, her mouth. Our lips molded together, and my brain shorted out. The only thing I could focus on was Maggie, the way her soft lips, heated mine even in the freezing cold, how her silky hair fell through my fingers as I cupped her neck, even how her small fingers tickled the sensitive spot on my neck, where my hair and neck met, as she intertwined my short hair in between her fingers. We finally pulled apart, foreheads resting against each other, as our breath mingled, creating clouds of steam that warmed our faces. She settled against my side, her eyes fluttering shut as the light from the moon shined through her long eyelashes, creating thin slivers of shadows on her normally tan skin, which had turned pale in the light of the moon. She matched her breathing to mine, as our hearts beat together, in sync.
“Forever?” She asked, so quietly I almost didn’t hear.
“Always.” I said firmly.
“Promise?” she whispered her voice on the edge of unconsciousness.
I tucked my face against her silky brown hair, my breath ruffling it as I spoke, “Promise.”