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The shop door locks with a satisfying clicking sound and I stuff the keys in the pocket of my jacket. Soda's smiling at me and we start to walk down the sidewalk. "Easy day." Soda says with a relaxing sigh and wraps his hands behind his head. "To you." I scoff at his statement, shaking my head in disagreement. He shoots me a playful glare and I laugh back. "With all the flirtin' at those girls you do, I'm surprised you get any work done to even get paid." I say, pulling out a pack of smokes and a box of matches. He bumps my shoulder softly, but almost enough to knock the cigarette out of my hands. "Well I get paid just enough!" He huffs out and then starts in a fit of laughter. I take a drag of my smoke and laugh along with him. There's a calm breeze out tonight and it flows through Soda's blonde hair nicely, the streetlights light up his face enough to see almost every detail and dimples. I've studied his face well, occasionally counting the moles that creep around his mouth, nose, ears, etc. There's a brief silence before he speaks out again. "You know," His hands go from behind his head and smoothly into the pocket of his jeans, showing he was gonna propose something dumb to do. "I've been thinking." He nervously looks over at me, and I feel an oh-so familiar but unnaming feeling rolling around in my stomach. "'Bout what?" I take another drag of my cigarette and cock an eye brow up at him. He waits for a minute, now looking at the sidewalk ahead.
"You ever watched the stars b'fore?"
"Not really, why?" I wasn't real interested in the stars, or the sky for that matter. I very much like focusing on the stuff on earth than what ever's happening else where.
"Yeah," He replies, "you remember that spot in the woods we used to go too during middle n' highschool?"
I remember that spot well, it was a well known place high schoolers would go and make out in private. Me and Soda used to sneak around there and scare couples tryna have their alone time. It was fun, for a while. I nodded at him, taking the last drag of my cigarette and snubbing it out, leaving it there on the side of the road. "I do."
"Well, I took a girl there once and got too distracted by the stars out there." Soda said, like I cared about them girls he got hung up on. "They were real bright." He looked over at me after saying that. "So?" I replied kinda rudely, I never intentionally get rude with Soda unless we're horsing around, but something about him and those girls made me feel.. I don't know, something like frustration.
Soda chuckled and continued, "I was wonderin' if you'd wanna go star gazing with me. I feel like I could stay outside a little longer." Star gazing didn't seem all that bad of an idea, besides it wasn't all that cold or too hot outside at night. I dragged around the thought in my head a while before responding, "Sure."
I watched as his face brighten up, it seems to do that a lot. Soda quickly grabbed my wrist, running far enough along the sidewalk and we ended up in a wooded area that had a big rock in the middle. It hadn't changed a bit from the time I last saw it. Just a little mossier now. Me and Soda sat up on that big rock and started watching the sky, he was right. Those stars were bright. I looked at Soda, he was smiling wide, captivated by those glowing balls of fire that seemed so small and far from us. "Ain't they beautiful?" He says, tilting his head. I just stare at 'em and nod. "Real beautiful."
Soda looks at me and laughs, "You ain't even watchin'!" He shoves me playful, but a little hard and I fall off the rock and onto the ground with a soft thud and grunt. I stay there a while, laughing my head off before he slides down and helps me up. He's laughing too . After that we both get back to sitting on the rock and just stay there for a while in silence. Hours pass by like minutes and Soda eventually yawns while stretching. "We should get goin'" He says, shaking me a little to make sure I'm awake. I nod in response and we both make our way out of that wooded area and back into town.
"I hope Darry doesn't beat my head in for bein' out so late." Soda jokes and I laugh. "Let's just tell him it was all my idea." I suggest and pat him on the back lightly. He nods, "I like that idea." We both chuckle and we pass by my house. I head up the porch, waving and Soda then watching him leave to his house.
I hope we get to do that again, I think as I smile to myself.