Seeing Stars

I smoothed my hair and checked my breath before knocking gently at the door, the plastic bag clenched in my sweaty hands.

Madison opened the door. She didn’t seem thrilled to see me.

“Hey Matt. What’s up?” She forced a smile on her face.

“Umm, not much. How are you?” I was stalling.

“I’m fine. What do you want?” She was losing patience already.

“I brought you something.” I held up the plastic bag. “Can I come in?” My voice cracked from the nerves.

Madison hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat.

“Sure, come on in.” She stepped back. I was tense. I had never been in her room before, at least not while she was home. I left a box of chocolates on her bed once. Her brother told me they melted on her pillowcase before she’d had the chance to find them.

“So, what did ya bring this time?” She smiled. She wasn’t trying to be mean, but it stung a little.

“A planetarium.” I took it out of the bag and handed it to her.

“A planetarium? Like, to look at stars and stuff?” She cocked her head to the side and grinned sheepishly.

“Yeah. It’s pretty cool. You’re not actually seeing real stars, just pictures of what they look like… you know, with a telescope. We can use it inside. It just has to be dark.”

She shot me a suspicious grin. “Dark, huh? What are you trying to pull?” She didn’t give me time to respond. “Lucky for you, I just happen to love the stars. Let’s do it.”

I was blushing again, “let’s do it” were not words I ever thought I would hear coming from Madison Montgomery’s lips — regardless of the context. I took a deep breath.

She closed her curtains and shut the door. The room was just dark enough.

We plugged it in. Dots of light lit up her ceiling. Swirls of color painted her walls.

“Lay down, you’ll see it better that way.” I summoned the nerve and patted the floor next to me, inviting her to join me.

I couldn’t see her face but I could feel her hesitation. After a few awkward moments, she conceded. She was about three feet away.

“It’s beautiful.” She wasn’t looking at me, but I was looking at her. I was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, it really is.” I scooted in her direction, hoping she didn’t notice. When she didn’t stop me, I slid over another foot.

“You ever look up at the sky, the real one, and think about how tiny we are… how insignificant we are in the big scheme of things?”

I loved her. There was much more to Madison Montgomery than a beautiful face and a perfect body.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just laid there in silence, crossing all my fingers in the hopes that she would move closer to me.

She never did.

We both stayed where we were; Madison gazing up at the artificial beauty before her, and me, gazing at the real beauty lying next to me. I was blushing again, thankful for the darkness.

And then it happened.

Her door swung open and the lights came on. I smelled her dad’s smoking pipe before I saw his face. He definitely saw me, though, staring at his daughter… lying together on the floor. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

I jumped to my feet. Madison didn’t move except to look at her father.

“Hey daddy.”

“What are you two doing?” His tone was more interested that accusatory.

“Just looking at the stars.” She pointed at the planetarium.

“It’s almost time for dinner.” A not so subtle hint.

I faked looking at my watch. “Oh, man. I need to be getting home…” I moved towards the door.

“Hey, Matt?” The blush came back.

I spun around. “Yeah?”

“Come over after school tomorrow and we’ll do it again.”

My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to do a victory dance, but now wasn’t the time.

“Yeah, okay.” I gave her a quick smile before squeezing past her dad.

I managed to keep a pretty straight face all the way to the front door. But, the minute I stepped foot onto the sidewalk outside, I was grinning so big it hurt.