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“So tell me five things you can see,” I repeat, clearing my throat.
She scrutinizes me for several more protracted seconds, her hesitation palpable. Each moment that passes makes it more likely she’ll tell me it’s not a good idea and retreat back inside.
Which is what sheshoulddo. What I should tell her to do.
Instead, she straightens her spine as she surveys her surroundings. A slight breeze ripples through the air, causing her to shiver, goosebumps rising on her flesh.
Without a second thought, I shrug out of my tuxedo jacket and drape it along her shoulders, my fingers brushing her skin. Electricity jolts inside me at the same time as she inhales a sharp breath.
I quickly drop my hold on her, increasing the distance once more, a strained silence passing between us.
“The lights strung over the patio below us,” she finally states. “The steeple of the National Cathedral. A squirrel in that tree down there, probably stocking up for the winter.” She points to a tree a few feet away, the branches rustling. Then she looks at the sky. “A plane taking off from the airport in the distance.” She pinches her lips together, searching for one more thing. “And the stars.”
“Which star?”
“That one.” She points to one of the brighter stars in the sky.
“That’s part of Pegasus.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Pegasus?”
“Yeah. Right there.” I move toward her, tracing the familiar outline of the winged horse in the night sky.
“I don’t see it. I mean, I see the stars, but I don’t see how a lopsided square and a few lines look like a horse with wings.”
“Constellations don’t give you the details. Just the bare bits. You’re supposed to use your imagination to fill in the rest.”
“What are you?” She flashes me a smile I feel deep in my soul, the same one she once reserved for me. “Some sort of astronomy expert?”
“No.” I chuckle, a lightness in my chest. “During my military days, I spent a lot of time looking at the sky. I got to know the constellations pretty well. Got good at drawing the rest with my imagination. Like Pegasus here…”
Without thinking, I move behind her and link my fingers with hers. My thumb brushes against her knuckles as I lift our joined hands and point toward the horizon. If this makes her uneasy, she doesn’t show it, making no move to step away. If anything, her body relaxes into mine, as if it were just yesterday this sort of contact between us was normal.
At least in private.
“That bright star there, the one you pointed to, that’s Enif. It’s the nose. Around that, we can draw his head, his mane.” I show her, using her hand to outline part of Pegasus. “We go into the lopsided box, as you call it, and that’s his body.” I inch closer, the sweet scent of her perfume intoxicating me, pulling me forward when I should be retreating.
“What else?” she asks, her voice becoming breathy.
I adjust my stance, placing my free hand on her hip, inching toward the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply.
“These other lines are the front feet.” I trace along the two angled lines near his head, my motions slow, drawing each movement out as long as possible.
“What else?” she asks again, in no rush for me to put any distance between us.
“The rest is up to your imagination. Different people see different things.”
She cranes her head. “What doyousee?”
“I see…” I lick my lips, my breathing growing ragged.
“Yes?” She exhales, her chest rising and falling in a quicker pattern, her skin flushing.
“I see…” I lean down, the promise of her kiss warming my mouth.
“Yes,” she prods again. This time, it doesn’t come out as a request for a response.
More as a confirmation.
