Star-Gazer

“What’s your favorite constellation?”

Blades of grass tickled her hands as they shifted along the ground. A chuckle sounded from the person beside her.

“Why do you want to know?”

They lay together on the ground, their hands clasped together.

She blinked, then looked up at the stars in the sky above her. “Just curious.”

“Oh?”

Her voice tickled Jet’s ears. Jet sat up.

“Yeah. Cause… well, we’ve lived together for what, a year now?” She turned and slipped her arms around Ace’s shoulders, bringing the other girl’s head onto her lap.

“I think it’s more like two.”

“Oh. Well see… We’ve been best friends since high school. And while I know a lot, there’s some things that I don’t…”

“And now that we’re together, you want to know more.” Ace grabbed Jet’s hands in hers, giving their clasped hands a squeeze. “Past surface details. Is that it?”

“Yeah…” Jet paused, her head angling upwards. “But you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to because I know how you are about personal details and—“

“Ursa Minor.”

The words stuck inside of Jet’s throat. “I—“

“It’s Ursa Minor.” Ace pushed herself into a sitting position and leaned into Jet’s chest. “Because it has Polaris in it and I like Polaris. Second star to the right and all that shit.”

“That’s… really cool, Ace.”

“Thank you. You got one?”

“Um… no. I’ve never really researched stars or anything.”

“Intriguing, eh? We’ll have to remedy that…” Ace spun around and tackled Jet to the ground. Jet’s head hit grass and she lay there, stunned, for several moments.

“What’re you…”

Ace gave her a look and Jet froze.

Ace’s hair fell around her face, contrasting with her pale skin. Her eyes were two dark voids and Jet could feel herself drown in their depths.

“We’ve been dating for how long, now?”

“Uh…”

Jet couldn’t respond. The words were caught in her throat. The world spun.

“How long has it been, Jet?”

“Um…” Jet swallowed. “T-t-three months.”

“Mmhmm…” Ace leaned closer. “And how many times have we kissed?”

“N-n…” Jet swallowed again. “Um… none.”

“Do you see my problem?”

Jet blanched. “Are… are you mad at me?”

Ace considered her answer for several moments, then rocked back on her heels. She took Jet’s hands in her own.

“No, I’m not.”

Jet sat up. “Then why—“

“I’m just frustrated.”

“Wha—with me?”

“Would you let me finish, please?”

“Okay…”

“I’m frustrated because… I don’t know how to explain it. But it’s like…” Ace stopped, one hand resting on Jet’s cheek. She ran her hand through Jet’s hair. Shivered traveled across Jet’s spine and a warm feeling filled her body.

“What are you—“

“Let me finish. It’s like… I love you, Jet. I love you. And there’s only enough words I can use to say it. But actions?” Ace heaved a sigh. “Those speak louder, you know?”

Tension filled Jet’s body. Her hands trembled in the grass. “Yes… I know.”

“So you can see where I’m going with this, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“And you see why I asked, right? Why I kinda stemmed into this converstation and how it came from stars and you see those stars up there, Jet? There must be four million of them. Now pretend each star is a reason, right? A reason why I love you. And those stars, they don’t—“

Jet grabbed Ace by the shoulders and brought their lips together.  Sparks danced behind her eyes. Ace’s hand went to her cheeks, fighting to bring her closer.

Jet was the one to break contact.

“Jet, I—“

“I love you. So much. I do, I do…” Jet buried herself into Ace’s chest, her arms wrapping around her torso. “I love you so much, okay? You… you mean everything to me.”

She could feel Ace’s hands on her back.

“I love you too, Jet.”

Jet raised her head and brought her lips to Ace’s once more. The stars above them were the last things she saw before she closed her eyes.