Moonlight

It was a lonely Friday night, and there I was, sitting on the front porch looking up at the night sky.

Brad was occupied with work, with the semester just starting and all. And my father had gone off, again. My house was still being renovated so I couldn't really enter it. But, I just felt like breathing in some fresh autumn air back at my place.

"Hey, Luca." A voice called out from nearby.

I turned around to see Nathan's sister Tegan Carter standing near the fence separating our yards. Tegan had a cute face with long eyelashes, full lips, and dark caramel complexion like his brother. She had on a green and white varsity jacket with both her hands tucked into the pockets; her hair was in a messy bun sitting atop her head. She had actually just come back from college last year and had been living at the Carter House since. She and Nathan were really close siblings, and Tegan was a very cool person unlike Nathan's younger sister Madison who could be troublesome at times.

"Hey, Tegan." I replied with a tired smile. "How are you?"

"I'm great. What about you? How's school?"

She had always been very nice to me as well, seeing I was his little brother's best friend.

"I'm doing fine." I shrugged.

I kind of felt like she had something to say.

"Luca," She spoke with a glint in her eyes. "Wanna come over to our place? Nathan just got out of the shower right now."

"Sure," I took her offer and headed towards their backyard, like I had so many times before.

-----

The moment I stepped into the house Nathan appeared. Wearing no more than a white towel around his waist, he was certainly surprised to see me and Tegan.

"Oh, hey!" Nathan called in his usual cheery tone, while we stood in the hallway. "Um, I'll go put on some clothes first. Wait here!"

I nodded as he rushed off to his bedroom upstairs.

Tegan looked at me with a smile and squeezed my hand. I had no idea what she was thinking about. She gave me a little nod and left for the kitchen.

Was she planning something or what? I was kind of confused.

Nathan quickly returned, now in a yellow t-shirt and grey cotton shorts.

"Wanna go outside?" He asked, implying we head for the front yard swing.

"Sure."

-----

We both sat side by side on his rather comfy swing that stood in the front yard. We said nothing, but relished in each other's presences.

What should I say, I thought, now that things kind of were more awkward between us. As I continued to think, I felt his hand creep up to mine. So almost instinctively I held his hand and our fingers were entwined.

I didn't look at Nathan's face, but I could feel he was smiling.

So, for the next few minutes we sat there together and held our hands, swinging ever so slightly, moving forward and backward on the white swing.

I felt his warm thick fingers around my hand as it began to sweat from all the overheating. For no reason in particular, I brought our hands to my face and kissed the back of his palm.

"Hey, Ped…" Nathan gripped my hand. "Wanna hear something?"

"Okay."

He brought out his guitar which was resting on the ground next to the swing and began to strum a few chords. Closing his eyes, he started to sing.

I was never one to want to

Put my trust in someone else completely

And I was always one to want to up and run

When someone said they needed me

Baby, let's go get lost

I like that you're driving slow

Keeping my fingers crossed

That maybe you'll take the long way home

Let's get lost

I don't wanna let you go

Keeping my fingers crossed

That maybe you'll take the long way home

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Baby, let's take the long way home

My cheeks were bright red when he finished the song.

"It's Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Let's Get Lost'," Nathan put down his guitar. "One of my favorite songs from her album."

"I…" I was scrambling for words while Nathan studied my face intently. That was when I forgot what I was going to say.

Nathan's brown eyes almost sparkled in the pale moonlight, while his features were fuzzy in the darkness; all that I could see is his short stubble growing longer on his chin. He must've forgotten to shave.

Unknowingly, our faces were slowly beginning to pull closer like magnets attracted to each other. I stared deeper into his gentle eyes and was met with a similar gaze. There was nothing going on inside my head except for the visage of his face.

We brought our faces together and started to make out. It wasn't a wet, sloppy kiss, but a gentle one that did not exceed mere seconds.

For a moment, I thought about Brad and stopped, feeling guilty about it. I could tell Nathan could sense that I was probably thinking about Brad, so he raised his eyebrows, almost hinting that if I didn't want to do it, we could stop. But I gawked at him earnestly because I knew this could not hurt my current relationship with my boyfriend, and that Brad could understand.

"Ped, wanna go somewhere more private?"

"Sure."

"Don't look now, but I think my sister's watching us."

Almost instinctively, I turned my head to see Tegan watching us from her room window. She immediately ducked when our eyes met though.

"I just told you not to look!"

"I couldn't help it!"