“Moonlit Meeting”, Lexy Russell ‘23

Moonlit Meeting

by Lexy Russell she/her ‘23

It’s the kind of summer night you never forget. Fire ies send coded messages to each other, winking their lights under the glimmer of the crescent moon. e evening breeze stirs my hair and makes it just cool enough to be comfortable. Peace. I tiptoe quietly from my doorway and peek into the empty street at the bottom of the driveway, heart beating wildly in a combination of nerves and excitement. e trees cast shadows of interwoven branches, fused together like a new couple.

“Samantha! Over here.”

I hear a whisper c I hear a whisper coming from around a corner, and my face lights up. Quickening my pace, I make my way over to the side of the house, which is cloaked in darkness. I unconsciously pick at my right pinky’s nail bed.

Alex runs a hand through his black hair and ashes me a brilliant grin. e scar on his left cheek makes him look like a fallen angel. I inwardly laugh when I remember it’s actually just from him tripping over a curb and falling on his face as a little toddler.

“Hey,” I answer, breathlessly. His bright amber eyes are twinkling in the moonlight.

He holds out his hand for me to grab and I take it. It feels like home, like safety.

“It feels like home, like safety.”

“Your hands are freezing,” he remarks, taking his other hand and wrapping it around our interlocked ngers. He glances down and sees my pinky nail, which is raw and red from anxious dgeting. “ “Sam.” His eyes are concerned. “Do you not want to do this?” No, I just—” I breathe. “No, I just can’t believe I’m sneaking out of my house for a guy.” “If you want to go back in, that’s ne. But as of now, I’m just happy I can nally see you,” Alex replies, tracing a heart with his thumb on my palm. “By the way, you look beautiful tonight.” I’ve lost the ability to form a comprehensive sentence, so I just smile and blush. He often has this effect on me.

“ ank you,” I nally make out. “ “Just saying what I see.”

He stares deeply at me, a smile playing at his lips. I take in the beauty of the night, the lights, the trees, and the boy, trying to memorize every detail. is is the perfect moment. e wind picks up, and the combination of the breeze and Alex’s gaze give me chills. I close my eyes in bliss. But a sound coming from inside the house makes them snap open in an instant. e hair on my arms rises. “Come here,” he murmurs, noticing the goosebumps on my skin. He pulls me tightly against him, and warmth blossoms in my chest.

I love him is what my heart tells me, but I would never say it out loud. I’ve never been the type to make the rst

move—even the idea gives me anxiety.

“Samantha,” Alex whispers.

I move my head back from where it’s laying against him so that I can see his face.

“Yes?”

“I—”

A light tu A light turns on upstairs, illuminating the yard. My head snaps backward and all the anxiousness from before

rushes back in a ood. In the window, my mom sleepily gazes out, her eyes scanning the yard. I atten myself

against the wall. Alex’s breathing next to me is ragged. After what feels like eons, the curtain shuts and the

lights turn off again.

at was close.

“Let’s get out of here,” I suggest, whispering, and he nods.

We stumble off in the dark towards our own little teenage cliché.

“ “We stumble off in the dark towards our own little