Stars lit up the dark night sky like flickering candles and, as I lay silently in the grass, I traced pictures in the sky; a cosmic dot to dot. I saw many things written in the stars that night but I didn’t see how that night would end. What a beautiful night it was. At our spot, mine and his…

It was so peaceful out, the trees swayed gently in the breeze, the grass was soft and dewy beneath me and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky; it was perfect. All I needed was time alone; time to think, time to breathe; to get to get away from my phone.

I missed the nights where I would sit up for hours talking with him, chatting with him, texting him until my credit would dry up; to him it would mean nothing more than an act of friendship but not to me. Lately I’d been craving his company for more than just a way to chase away the loneliness; I’d been wanting more. He was becoming something I knew he wouldn’t want to be. At least I thought he wouldn’t…

”Hey.“

I looked up, a face blocking my view of the stars; I didn’t mind though, his smile was as bright as any star. It was the face I longed for whenever it left but I could never be the sole owner of; I had to share him.

”Hey,“ I smiled, ”I though you had plans with the girlfriend?“ I pulled a face at the ’g‘ word but he didn’t laugh as he usually did. ”Oh God, what’d happened?“

He lay his body down on the grass next to mine, and it took all my self-control not to blush as his ice-blue eyes met mine. Those oh so familiar eyes had a new twist tonight though, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

”We split up.“

As those words left his mouth my heart skipped a beat, my spirits soared. I tried not to sound too pleased as I said – ”Oh, why? I thought you really liked her?“

Shuffling closer to me, he spoke three words that sent me rocketing. ”She wasn’t you.“

I gasped as we collided; our lips locking together, our bodies pushing closer and our friendship exploding, replaced by something much more beautiful and so much more intricate. Love.

Finally, gently, he pulled away, softly stroking my bottom lip with his index finger. ”Wow.“

With that I knew he’d wanted this just as much as I had. ”Perfect.“ I agreed.

We lay in the grass, hand in hand, staring at the stars in silence, leaving the questions that buzzed around my head unsaid.

I needed answers.

Carefully, I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

”Hey.“

He rolled onto his side too. ”Hey.“

”What now?“

He brushed my cheek with his thumb; even his touch sent me reeling. It felt so good, so special and intimate. I knew our friendship was definitely over. We could never go back after we had experienced this.

”Well, what now?“

”I say we enjoy every minute of this, what do you think?“

I looked into his eyes and could see no lies. Was this okay though? He was right, we should enjoy this; it might not last forever but we could make memories that would.

”This is what I want.“

He smiled, his eyes sparkling. ”Same here.“

There was so much warmth in his eyes, something I’d never noticed before; I knew he’d shield me from the cold. Why hadn’t we tried this sooner?

I lay in his arms that night, and we talked until sunrise, as we used to but the only difference was this was how it always should have been, and always should be. Slowly the stars faded, chased away by the stretching sunlight and, as we kissed once more, I couldn’t help but think I needed so little else.