It looked impressive, too. All that power didn’t come small, and I’d set it up in the middle of the roof on its heavy tripod; the shiny casing as black as the night, like a short, fat, long distance camera lens.
“Yeah.”
“Can I take a look?” Awe soaked his rich voice, sending tingles down my spine.
“Of course,” I smiled, and gestured toward it.
When I’d come up here to set up, I’d peeked through to make sure we’d have some good views tonight. Good in my opinion, not his, and I was fairly certain that tonight would be better than last night.
He stepped slowly toward it and turned round. “Okay, so what do I do?”
“See that lighter patch in the sky, almost like the sky is fuzzy? That’s the Milky Way.”
He stared up like he’d never properly looked at the sky before, and I loved it. I loved that I was the one to show it to him. “Wow, I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this before… all these stars.”
“It’s a clear night tonight; it’s not always like this. We’re too close to the city for it to be really amazing. My parents are takingme to Joshua Tree for my birthday. Apparently the sky there looks like it’s scattered with pin pricks of light.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“June seventeenth.”
“And you’ll be seventeen then?”
I nodded and looked back at the telescope. “I’ve set it up to give you the best view, so all you need to do is look through it. Sit down there,” I pointed to the stool underneath the eyepiece, “and then get as close as you need to.”
He glanced back at me one more time, and I nodded reassuringly that he was doing exactly what I’d told him to do.
He moved slowly and carefully, pulling back to glance at me again, before returning to his position. It made me smile because I realized he probably had the exact same look I’d had when I’d first peered through a telescope and had seen what he was now seeing.
“Careful,” I muttered, “it’s addictive.”
I picked up his backpack which was much lighter than it had sounded, and carried it to sit on the beanbag next to him. He’d barely moved, except to stretch his long legs out in front of him. I cringed a little when he rubbed his knee. Given our height difference was nearly a foot, I’d made an educated guess at where I needed to set the tripod at so it was comfortable, but given how much he was crouching, I think I’d gotten it wrong.
But he hadn’t complained, so I used the opportunity to properly look at him, because when they presented themselves, you had to take them, right?
Who knows when I’d get another?
Wisps of his dark hair curled under the bottom of his beanie, kind of blending into the shadow of thick stubble along his ruler-straight jaw. There weren’t many boys at school who could grow beards quite so thick yet, but he was one of a handful, and it wasprobably one reason that made him so popular. That and the rest…
Lips.
Eyes.
Body.
He wasn’t touching the telescope, but he’d positioned himself in such a way – with his elbow crooked on his knee – that I could see the outline of his bicep. I’d once heard one of the Athletics’ Office staff say that Jupiter Reeves could splinter a coconut on the milkcan from a hundred yards with a ball off his swing. I had to Google what it meant and sitting here, staring at the defined curves under the sleeve of his hoodie, I could well believe it.
I was almost more content to stare at him, while he was glancing up at the sky, than stare at the sky myself.
“Holy crap! A shooting star.” He pressed his eye closer on the pad. “Shit, there’s another! You gotta see this!”
He turned away almost reluctantly, making me laugh.
“This is amazing, you were right. Come on, you’re missing out on this. It’s your turn.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
I couldn’t read the look he had in his eyes as he moved back.
