Stars in my Sky

Star 7: Live the present moment

I stood in front of my full-length mirror and looked at my reflection.

My brown hair was only decorated with a small silver pin on the right, my makeup was very light, my turquoise summer dress fell a few inches above my knees, and my silver flats matched the pin in my hair.

Slipping on a silver necklace with the pendant ‘A’, I decided that I was ready.

In around half an hour, Daniel was coming over for dinner. I could already smell the pasta my mom was cooking downstairs. Even Adrian was here tonight! It was going to be perfect!

I was a bit nervous about the whole ‘meeting the boyfriend’ thing but I had a feeling that they would like Daniel. How could they not like him? He was perfect! Well at least in my eyes he was.

We just had to get past the first awkward moments and then everything will be fine.

“You look amazing little sis,” Adrian said when I sat next to him on the couch.

“Thanks,” I replied, smiling.

“I swear if this guy hurts you I’m going to—”

“Adrian,” I cut him off. “Chill. He won’t hurt me.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded. “He better not hurt you,” I heard him mutter under his breath, making me roll my eyes.

My mom was wearing an elegant white dress and my dad and Adrian were dressed nicely too. The house was in perfect order and everything was ready for the dinner.

At exactly eight, the doorbell rang. Before I could get there, my mom had already opened the door and was smiling at a very handsome Daniel.

“Hello!” My mom started excitedly and I rolled my eyes at her as she went through the whole introduction while my dad stood next to her, smiling.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Daniel finally said, shaking my dad’s hand.

“Hi,” I said to Daniel, as I walked to where he was standing with my parents.

His eyes lit up when he saw me and his grin that I loved so much, spread on his lips.

“Hey,” he said.

My mom cleared her throat then said, “I’m going to make sure everything is ready for dinner. Join us in the dining room in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” I replied, smiling at her as she grabbed my dad’s hand and dragged him with her, leaving Daniel and I alone.

As soon as they disappeared, I stood on my tiptoes and gave Daniel a kiss. His arms encircled my waist and he pulled me closer to him.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured when he pulled away.

I blushed and smiled. “Thanks.”

I moved away from him and said, “Now let me see how you look.”

He laughed as I checked him out. He was wearing dark jeans, a white Ralph Lauren polo, and black shoes.

“Ooh Ralph Lauren,” I said, waggling my eyebrows and he winked at me.

“So how did things go with Claire?” He asked.

I shrugged. “We’re okay. I told her that I forgive her but I don’t want to go back to being that close with her.”

He was about to say something but of course my annoying brother had to walk in right now!

“Hey,” Daniel said, giving him a smile.

Adrian just nodded, giving him a glare. Daniel’s smile faltered slightly and I scowled.

“Adrian! Stop being a jerk or I’m kicking you out!” I said, feeling angry. What was wrong with him? Daniel was being friendly and he was a guest! Adrian was being very rude.

Adrian’s eyebrows rose when he heard what I said. “Excuse me? That’s my house too!”

“And you’re being rude to a guest so you either behave or leave,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. Why was he always rude when Daniel was here?

“Fine,” he finally said. “I’m doing that only for you!”

“Gee thanks,” I replied sarcastically and my brother narrowed his eyes at me.

He was about to say something but I didn’t let him.

“Dinner is probably ready. We should go,” I said quickly, grabbing Daniel’s hand and tugging him with me.

“Idiot,” I muttered under my breath and Daniel laughed. I blushed, not expecting him to have heard me.

“He’s just looking out for you,” Daniel said.

“Why do you always see everyone as a good person?” I grumbled under my breath.

“Because I’m amazing,” he replied arrogantly and I rolled my eyes at him.

“Of course you are,” I said.

“Is that sarcasm I hear in your voice?” He asked, looking at me skeptically.

“Sarcasm? No! What made you even think of that?” I said, making sure that the sarcasm is clear in my voice.

He laughed. “Now I’m pretty sure you’re being sarcastic.”

I chuckled and kissed his cheek.

My stomach growled when the smell of pasta hit my nostrils.

Daniel sat next to me, facing my parents and Adrian who looked slightly angry but was acting civil.

“So Daniel, Alexia told us you’re not from here,” Dad started the conversation.

“Yeah, I only come here for the summer,” he replied.

“So you’re leaving in a couple of months?” Mom asked.

Daniel nodded sadly. “Yeah, I have to because I have school. It’s my senior year.”

“And what are you planning for your future?” Dad asked.

“I want to study mechanical engineering,” he said and I grimaced. Man I hate this stuff! How can a person like studying this?

“Oh that sounds nice,” Mom said then with a teasing voice she said, “Alexia can never study that.”

“Oh really?” Daniel asked, smirking at me. “Why is that?”

“I hate Physics and I hate math,” I replied, wrinkling my nose.

He held my tiny nose with his fingers and tugged at it slightly. “You’re so cute,” he said and I blushed, not expecting him to say something like that in front of my parents.

I expected him to be very formal but he was the complete opposite. He was being his normal self!

I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed quietly.

“I want to be a nurse,” I said.

“You’ll make a great nurse,” Daniel said, smiling and my parents grinned, obviously not noticing the mischievous glint in Daniel’s eyes that clearly showed that he’s thinking about some joke.

“Thanks,” I replied, narrowing my eyes slightly at him, discreetly telling him that I didn’t miss that look. He smiled innocently and turned back to my parents.

Conversation during dinner was great with no awkward pauses or anything. I could tell how much they loved Daniel. Even Adrian enjoyed his company, I could tell.

When we finished eating, we all sat in the living room and I couldn’t help but think how perfect and natural everything seemed with Daniel here with my family.

It was like we have all known him for a long time and like he was meant to be here.

All in all, it was one of the best nights of my life.

“I have to get going now,” Daniel said, glancing at his watch which read eleven.

“It was very nice meeting you, Daniel,” Mom said. “And you’re welcome here any time you want.”

“Thank you,” Daniel replied, smiling warmly.

My dad gave him a pat on the back and a huge smile and Adrian nodded in approval and even managed a goodbye. It was better than I was expecting from my older brother.

“I’ll walk you out,” I said, walking with him outside. I closed the door behind me and we stood on the front porch for a bit.

“They love you,” I said, smiling at him.

“And I love your family too. They’re great,” he replied.

I couldn’t help but think about how this won’t be possible in a couple of months from now. My stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of Daniel leaving.   

“What’s wrong?” Daniel murmured as he wrapped his arms around me from the back and rested his chin on my shoulder. We both stared up at the stars and the moon shining in the sky.

I sighed and relaxed into the hug. “I just don’t want summer to end. I don’t want you to leave,” I said in a barely audible voice but it sounded loud enough in the quiet night.

His arms tightened around my waist and a few moments passed before he said his next words, “Live the present moment, Alexia. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I want to enjoy all those moments with you.”

I turned around in his arms so that I was facing him. He looked so gorgeous in the moonlight.

“I love you so much,” I murmured and kissed his inviting lips. He kissed me back then after a few seconds, he abruptly pulled away. I gave him a confused look and he blushed slightly.

“Um I just wanted to say that I love you too,” he mumbled and I grinned at how cute he looked.

I hugged him tightly, making sure that I saved that moment in my memory to never, ever forget it.

“I got you something,” he suddenly said.

I pulled away from the hug and looked at him curiously.

He took out a small box from his pocket. “It’s nothing big,” He said. “But I thought it would look great on you.”

I smiled at him and opened the blue box. Inside there was a silver bracelet with the word ‘LOVE’ engraved on it in cursive letters.

“It’s beautiful,” I said sincerely. “Thank you!”

He smiled at me and put it on my left wrist. It looked perfect.

He kissed both of my cheeks and murmured, “I should go.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked.

“Of course,” he replied, making me grin.

“Can I see Lucy too?” I asked.

“You could’ve said you wanted to see my sister tomorrow instead of making me think that you wanted to see me,” he said, feigning hurt.

I played along but I couldn’t help the smile that played on my lips as I replied, “Well she’s much cuter than you.”

“What? I’m not cute enough? How about now?” He said then he did a really weird smile thing where he didn’t show any teeth and his eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

I burst out laughing and he chuckled. When I looked at him again, I started laughing all over again.

“Alright! I got it, Alexia,” he said, smiling at me. “I looked anything but cute.”

I took a deep breath and stopped laughing, but a huge smile was on my face.

“You don’t need that smile to look cute,” I said. “You’re cute enough.”

“So are you,” he murmured, his hands resting on my hips as he kissed my right cheek.

That moment right there with only us, the stars, and the moon was utterly perfect.

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Happy Birthday to greeklychic2 and ThisGirlMo. Have a wonderful year! <3