When he came to the door, she had no idea he was coming, and yet it didn’t startle her, it was like it was right, like somehow without actually knowing it was going to happen, somewhere in her, she knew something was going to happen. Her shoes were sandals that she wore everywhere, and she just hadn’t wanted to kick them to the floor for the night.
He went to her room, sort of on the chance, that she might be up. He was hoping she was, but didn’t know. His heart was pounding; he knew he would never get to sleep now, if he had to go back to his room when she didn’t come to the door. His hand shook as he lifted it to knock on the door; he closed his eyes, willing her to come to the door. Hoping with everything that he had, that she would come to the door.
When she heard the knock at the door, she knew who it was. She didn’t have to look, she didn’t have to guess, she could feel him on the other side. She now knew why it was that she couldn’t sleep, she knew it was him, and that something was going to happen. All of the realizations about that moment that her body knew, her mind just snapped into place.
She didn’t look through the peep-hole; she just slowly opened the door. Her roommate was sleeping, and the knocks echoed in her ears, even knowing the knocking was faint like a whisper, she still had that late night fear that any creak in the floor sounded like a tuba in a museum and it would wake her roommate.
He knew she would come to the door, something about tonight just felt right, something about tonight made him realize that this was exactly what he should be doing. He knew she would come to the door, and that she would step into the hallway, and close it softly behind her, and despite the sleep pants and the sweatshirt, that she would look like she was ready to go somewhere, without him telling her his plan. He knew that she would just look at him when she came through that door, and he would say, “I want to show you something” and as his body turned the direction of the elevators, she would take a step and the two would walk together, just knowing that this was right, and feeling the electricity in the air between them. He knew that the pounding in his chest before he knocked on that door wasn’t nervousness, he knew that it was the feeling of correctness about this whole affair, and that it was excitement that made his blood race through his veins.
She opened the door and looked straight into his eyes. She had known him for a long time, and had been known to sneak glances into his eyes, when he wasn’t looking at her. It was a game she played, and now from all times she had snuck these looks, she knew exactly where his eyes would be at any given moment. She grabbed his eyes with hers as she stepped through the door, and held them as she slowly shut the door behind her, sliding the lock into place without even a sound, impressing herself with how quiet she actually did shut the door. She looked at him, and knew that he had a plan already in his mind, he had thought this out, for however long. And all she really wanted was for him to pull her close to him, but she knew that this wasn’t going to happen, not because he didn’t like her, but because in that second, for him to pull her in wasn’t right. It was funny that she had that thought, battling with her desire for him to embrace her, and a little bit of blood rose to her face, giving it a little pink glow that she normally never let him see. He told her that he had something to show her, even though she knew before he said it that they were going somewhere. She had no idea where, or why at this hour that they would want to leave and go somewhere, but that thought left her quickly. She stepped to him, and they both walked to the elevator saying nothing, thinking about how weird and how perfect this seemed to be.
He knew when he saw her, exactly what he wanted to show her, where he would take her. He had seen it once before on a long walk he took to try to clear his mind. He had really just seen the place in passing, but he knew that it gave the effect he wanted, it was also the first place that came to mind when he saw her walk through that door and look at his eyes the way that she did. He knew what perfection was for a fleeting second, this was it. This moment was exactly what he was supposed to be doing right now, not staying up reading or talking or playing video games. He was walking next to the most beautiful girl he had ever had the smallest chance to meet. He knew when he met her that she was so far out of reach for him it was crazy to even try, but he tried anyway. They had become good friends, they told stories about their lives to each other, laughing and feeling for each other not out of courtesy for the story teller, but because they actually felt for the other. He had felt this way that he felt tonight for some time now, and he wasn’t exactly sure if she felt the same way, even though in the back of his mind he knew the answer. He was just skeptical of assuming that she felt the same way he did, because it allowed him to find out from her when the time was right.
While they walked, she looked out in front of her, thinking that it was strangely warm outside for being out so late, she realized she had always equated late night with cold and had never really been out for a walk this late before. She walked next to him, wondering where they were going, but not worrying because she was with him. She knew she could trust him, not because he really ever had to prove it, but because she could see it in him when she looked into his eyes. She just knew that everything was going to be alright when he was around, and so she trusted him, and this was partially the reason why she wanted him to pull her close when she came through the door. When he had asked for hugs in the past she often pretended like she was doing it just for him, but she knew she wanted it as much as he did, she wanted him to keep hugging her and not let go, but he did let go out of respect. He would feel the strange tension and not knowing that it was longing, he would let go, watching her pull away from him apprehensively. She walked next to him and finally asked where they were going, knowing the answer before it came out, “You’ll see.”
He was taking her to a place where the street lights were either burnt out or didn’t exist. He was taking her to the darkest place he knew, not because he has intentions that were devious, but because he knew it would allow the best view. The moon was bright, and so despite the lack of artificial light, they could see every blade of grass as they walked. He led her in near silence the whole way, not wanting to ruin how perfect it was outside. There were no cars this late at night, the birds had long since gone back to their nests, and the normal outside noises seemed to quiet just for them. When he had gotten to the place he wanted to show her, he got closer to her, made to put an arm around her as he was going to point to the sky full of stars with his other arm, but decided against it. He just stood with her close to him, looked at her and then looked up and pointed to the stars.
She had a feeling this is where he was taking her, she had been here before on her way to class, but had never been here at night, she had seen the stars before, but tonight they seemed to be performing for her. They were out and bright with all their magnificence, and she knew why people had for so long been fascinated by them, wondering what they were and why they were there. She stood there in awe, feeling the warmth of him standing close to her, wanting him to get closer, and put his arm around her. She stood there thinking about how she might never see the stars like she sees them tonight, but knowing that she will see them through the lens of tonight for the rest of her life.
When he knew that she was looking at the stars, he turned his eyes back to her. He looked at her and never thought her more beautiful than in that moment in the moonlight. He could see her eyes staring at the heavens, her mouth slightly open as if in awe. He wanted to pull her to him and kiss her; he wanted this with everything that he had. He knew that it would be perfect; he knew that she would put her arms around him in response and kiss him back. He had longed for so long to feel her soft lips with his and now was his chance. His intention had not been to take her out here and kiss her, but he knew that it had worked out that way, he looked back at the stars as if for courage. He stepped around more to the front of her so he was facing her, watching her watch the sky as he did it, and then he pulled her into him, and he turned his head to the side and kissed her.
She was excited because she had seen him move, it took him barely a second to move from beside her to in front of her, and it had seemed like eternity, she knew what was coming, her heart picked up the pace even though it had been running a marathon since they left the building. She knew what was happening and couldn’t wait, she would finally be able to show him how she felt, and when he pulled her close to him and his lips landed like a feather on hers, and she felt him kiss her, she pushed her body against him and kissed him back like she had wanted to for a long time now.
It was perfect, they both knew it, and even though neither knew until the second it happened that it was going to. They stood there awhile, under the moon and the stars, and just held each other and kissed, and knew that this was right, that this was why they couldn’t sleep tonight and why they went on this walk. This kiss was what made all the waiting and the anticipation, and time spent talking and all the laughs and all the time they had spent, come together in one single moment in time, one perfect star lit moment between two people that had independently wished for this to happen a hundred times, and knew it wouldn’t until it was right. It was right, and it happened, and they kissed, and they held each other not pretending anymore, not longing anymore. They had each other in a way they hadn’t before and knew that it was exactly as things should be.
