Night Sky (20 page)

“Oh.”

“Where are the girls?” He leans forward
looking around.

“Getting ready.” I’m afraid to lean on
anything or even sit down in my tux, like I’ll get it all rumpled
or something.

“Of course.” He chuckles.
He’s still in the entry. This was his house…it still
is
his house…but I guess
that for him it doesn’t feel much like home anymore. I’m sort of
amazed that Mom invited him over. Actually, I’m not sure how I feel
about him being here
. I guess it should be
fine. Then my heart stops.
Sky steps out
of Mom’s room in a black, knee-length halter dress looking like a
goddess.

“Don’t look so surprised.” Sky laughs. Her
eyes sparkle and her hair is pulled up into crazy knots or
something on the back of her head.

“I just…” There aren’t words to describe how
incredible she looks, but there should be.

Dad’s eyes catch Mom’s as she walks up the
hallway. “The Halston?” He smiles. “Nice choice.”

“The…what?” I glance between them.

“It’s the designer.” Mom rolls her eyes.

“I think we need to get out of here.” I step
toward Sky. I’m almost afraid to touch her and all her
gorgeousness. Like she’s suddenly something to be looked at,
watched, admired—not touched. She’s in heels. I’ve never seen her
in heels before. Her legs are amazing, and I feel like I’m just
standing here, drooling.

“Pull your chin off the floor, son,” Dad
teases. “And let your mom take some pictures.”

“Hello, I’m Sky.” Sky says to Dad while
extending a hand that’s almost too perfect to be touched.

“I’m Luke, Jay’s dad. It’s nice to meet you,
Sky.” He nods giving no indication that he recognizes her from the
parking lot where I yelled at him.

“Come on.” Sky takes my hand, and I follow
her to the backyard. My brain still isn’t functioning properly. The
smooth brown skin of her back is almost completely exposed, there’s
no way she’s wearing a bra under there. I don’t want to go to
dinner, I don’t want to go to Prom, and I don’t want to go camping.
I need to be somewhere I can stand and hold her and run my fingers
up and down her back, maybe slide my hands through the front of her
dress.

“Jameson.” Mom’s voice is firm. “Stop
drooling and look at the camera.”

Sky laughs next to me.

After an eternity, we’re off.

The
Restaurant
: I stand as tall as I can next
to Sky because everyone we pass just stares—everyone. I’m sure I’m
grinning like a moron.

The
Dinner
: Me sliding my fingers up and down
Sky’s back. Sky and Kaylee talk. I think Matt asks me a few
questions. I think I eat something. I vaguely remember scarfing
down a few French fries.

The
Drive
: I’m sure everyone in the car is
talking about something, but I have no idea what it is. I slide my
arm across her bare back and tuck my fingers just on the inside of
her dress. She doesn’t look uncomfortable. She doesn’t stop me. I
might die of happiness.

The
Dance
: I don’t care if the music is fast
or slow—we dance every dance like it’s a slow dance. Sky leans in
close. There is no way that I will ever, ever get sick of having my
hands on her bare skin. We are asked three times to separate
ourselves and dance more appropriately.

The Departure:
Finally, we’re asked to leave the dance floor.
Apparently, we’re still dancing inappropriately for school
regulations. So we decide it’s time to round up Matt and Kaylee and
go camping. Matt and I decided last week not to tell anyone where
we’re going. I’d rather keep our party small since these things can
get out of hand fast. I’ll get to see Sky’s friends again, and I
can’t wait to slide into our sleeping bag…together. There’s a lot
to look forward to.

***

“No,” I complain. “Please don’t change out
of that dress yet.” Matt’s driving and I’m in the passenger
seat.

Sky laughs. “Sorry, Jay, I’m not wearing
your mom’s designer dress while sitting in a fold-up chair.”

“Fine.” I sulk. Maybe I’ll be able to talk
her into borrowing it again sometime.

Matt and I are banished to
the front seat so the girls can change in the back. I’m trying hard
not to think about it as we drive out to Red Rock. I’m afraid to
look. I’d rather not get an accidental view of Kaylee. She’s just a
friend. It would be too weird.
It’s worse
than having an elephant in the room because it’s not an
elephant—it’s naked girls.

We pull up, and there are definitely more
people here than the last time. I can tell simply by the number of
cars parked by the white van. Matt starts setting up a tent, and I
follow suit. Sky walks over to help me. I notice she’s in those
soft yoga pants again and a black tank…but no bra.

“Can I help?” She steps up behind me sliding
her arms around my waist.

I turn and kiss her, pulling her close. This
is how I’ve wanted to hold her since she stepped out of Mom’s room.
My hands are outside her shirt, but I can’t resist the temptation
and slide them up her stomach and over her chest.

“Excuse you,” she teases, but doesn’t pull
away.

“I’ve touched you there before,” I
whisper.

“Remember, it’s not about levels, Jay.”

“I know.” I put my hands on her face. “But
all I can think about is touching you. I still can’t believe you’re
going away in a few days.” I kiss her again.

She bends down and lets herself lean forward
until her forehead is on my chest.

With a low, steady beat, the drumming starts
around the fire.

“Cool,” Matt says. His tent is done. “We’ll
see you two over there.” He takes Kaylee’s hand and they disappear
into the darkness between our tent and the fire.

“Yeah.” I’m fumbling in the dark, trying to
get the rest of the tent set up. Instead of watching me struggle,
Sky pitches in to help. In a few minutes, our tent is up. I take
her hand and head for the circle.

The energy around the fire is both
energizing and serious. It’s an amazing thing to participate in.
The fire isn’t huge. They’re regulated in campgrounds like this.
Well, they’re regulated everywhere, but the rules are actually
enforced here. There are about twenty-five people in the circle. I
don’t make an official count, but at least ten have some sort of
drum. Someone goofs the rhythm and they all stop, laughing.

“Okay, I’ll start.” I recognize Rob with a
large drum between his legs. He begins a low beat and they all
begin to work with him, slowly turning the beat into something
musical.

“This is amazing. Did you do this at home?”
I whisper in her ear.

“Yeah, pretty often.” She leans back against
me and I wrap my arms around her stomach. “And most go with songs,
songs about hunters, or the beginning of the world or…you can’t be
interested in this stuff?” She chuckles and leans her head into my
neck.

“I am. I think it’s cool
that you’re so connected to your roots. I mean, I speak a few
Spanish phrases, but I haven’t even spent that much time with my
Dad’s mom.” It sort of hits me. “I’ve never felt bad about it until
I realized how connected some people are to their past, and not
just their past but recognizing that their history is a collective
one, an important one. Something to be celebrated and
remembered.”
Did I just say
that?

“Wow, Jay.” She turns around to look at me.
“You got all philosophical on me.”

“You bring out the best in me.” I smile. Her
lips find mine and I don’t care about the drumming anymore.

“I’m tired,” she whispers between
kisses.

That’s all it takes for me to run with her
back to our tent. I have no idea where Matt and Kaylee are, and
it’s not my problem. In minutes, we’re resting together in my
sleeping bag, and I don’t even care how hard the ground is.

“I love that you wanted to come here,” she
says. I can still hear the drumming in the background, like this
simple, steady beat is our music for the night.

We’re lying, nearly pressed together, facing
one another. I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything. “I
love that you asked me here.”

“You’re probably ready for more.”

I know what she’s talking about, but it
seems better to feign ignorance. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” She pauses
sliding her hands under my shirt. Her hands burn against my bare
skin.
She opens her mouth like she’s going
to talk, but doesn’t. Instead, she closes her eyes. “I’m almost
there, Jay. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“How can I be
disappointed, when I get to sleep next to you again?”
That’s a good guy thing to say, but if I’m being
perfectly honest, I’m a little disappointed.
Maybe she’ll change her mind, or maybe she wants to save our
first time for when she gets back. “I just want to be close to
you.” It’s true. It’s not the whole truth, but it’s not a lie
either. I rest my hands on her shoulders and slide them down her
back.

Her eyes open, but only
until our lips meet. All I can think is—
this is really good, too.

TWENTY-ONE

I’m recovered from Prom, mostly. My body
aches a bit from sleeping on the ground, but it was worth it. Sky’s
home packing. She leaves tomorrow for Alaska. It makes me crazy to
think of her up there, so far away. Especially when I feel I should
go in order to protect her from Gunnar…but I can’t. I have to trust
her. I have to trust that she’ll be safe, that she’ll be able to
keep herself safe.

At right about the time I expect, she knocks
on my door.

“Hey.” I slide it open to let her in. “I’m
glad you’re here.” But just like the first night she stayed over,
it feels like something’s different.

“I’m sorry I’m going to miss your
graduation.” Sky’s hands slide down my arms and she takes my hands
in hers.

“It’s not a big deal.” I shake my head. My
heart’s pounding in my ears, and I’m not even sure why.

“Of course it’s a big deal.” She kisses my
cheek. “Hopefully, I’ll just be gone a week or two.”

“Hopefully?”
Does that mean she might be gone longer? How come
she doesn’t know for sure? What about plane tickets and
reservations?

“I think I can get things straightened out
by then.” Her shoulders make a tiny shrug.

“What needs to be straightened out?”

She steps forward resting her head on my
chest. “Just clan stuff…village stuff. Jay, I need to be there. A
lot of people are involved. That’s why I haven’t said more about
it.”

“I’m worried about you.” I
wrap my arms around her more tightly. “I remember the last
meeting.”
When afterwards, you spent the
night crying in my bed.
“It sucks that I
can’t be there with you.”

She chuckles. “That definitely wouldn’t help
things. And don’t worry, my mom will be there with me.”

Yeah, her Mom—the one who
possibly let some guy come in and…
but I
can’t finish the thought.
What are they
discussing? Why can’t she be on the phone again?
I’m about to ask her to tell me more, when Sky’s
voice interrupts me.

“Do you want to know why I let you kiss me?
The night you took me out for my birthday?” She tilts her face back
to look in my eyes.

“Yes.”

“Because my real name is Night Sky. And
somehow you knew it the first night you dropped me off. Something
passed over your face when you said, ‘Night, Sky.’ A part of you
just knew. My Mom told me a long time ago she had a vision that one
day I’d find someone who knew how to fly. That night, you told me
you felt like we were flying over the night sky and I knew that you
were the person she was talking about. I’m sure you think this all
sounds weird or crazy or…”

“No, I don’t.” I tighten
my arms slightly. “But I don’t fly.”
Not
really. And what she’s talking about is huge.
It feels like way more than just girlfriend-boyfriend stuff,
it feels…significant.

“How does it feel when
you’re in the water? When you’re swimming or floating and the
bottom of the pool is beneath you?”
Her
eyes are bright. She knows the answer.

“Like I’m flying.”

“And how do you feel when we’re together.
When we kiss?” She presses her body against mine, and smiles up at
me.

I smile. “Like I’m flying.” And this time my
need to feel our bodies together is too strong. I slide my hands up
her back and she pulls off her top. She reaches for mine next. It
takes about half a second for my shirt to drop to the floor.

Her body burns against my skin as she pulls
me to my bed. My lips only leave hers long enough for her to lie on
her back and for me to follow, half crawling over her. “How long do
we have?” she asks.

My heart stops.
I look down at her, our faces close. I’m almost
in a push-up position, hovering over her. “Mom is pulling a late
shift tonight.”

“Good.” She pulls her face away from mine
tracing a finger down my chest. “We can take our time.”

I might pass out.
“I love you, Sky.”
Wow,
it came out, just like that.

“I love you too, Jay.” She smiles. Placing
her fingers in the top of my pants, she pulls me toward her.

All I can do right now is stare at her,
wearing just her bra, waiting for me. But we’re going to take our
time.

I let the full weight of my body rest on top
of her. I swear it hits every nerve; every part of my body is tense
with anticipation. Her warmth…her hands…her mouth—everything feels
so good. I pause, our eyes meet, and suddenly it’s all clear. It’s
not about sensation and the physical feeling of it—all the things
I’ve been thinking about since I first wanted to have sex—it’s so
much more. It’s about me and her and how much I love her. And how
it’s this major thing she’s giving me. I’m kinda overwhelmed by it
all.