Six Feet Under The Stars

Am I missing anything? I brushed my hair, put on deodorant, brushed my teeth twice, (though I didn’t know what I was expecting to happen – she would never kiss me.) and managed to put my favorite jeans and shirt in the laundry. I know I had worn the same outfit to school two days ago, but I couldn’t imagine going on a date in anything else.

Especially a date with her.

Elizabeth Monroe was the definition of perfect. And it was something that I could never figure out. If no one is perfect, if everyone is only as perfect as their flaws, then Elizabeth must be like the great exception to the rule. With her killer body, long wavy blonde hair, and blue eyes like the ocean, she was the picture perfect definition of gorgeous. When she smiled, my stomach did a complete one hundred and eighty degree flip. And yet, she managed to be the kindest, gentlest girl I had ever seen. No one was too unimportant; no one’s problems were too big for her to listen. She was always willing to lend a hand, and she did so with that beautiful smile plastered to her face.

How I had ever managed to score a date with her, I’ll never know. Well, actually, I do know. My friend, Katie, knew of my small crush on Elizabeth (“Don’t even lie to me, Stephen! That is not just a little crush!”) and set the entire date up, even down to the time and place – which just so happened to be Thames Street, a street by the docks downtown. Even though it was rather far from my house, Katie said it was closer to Elizabeth, and I guess that was just common curiously or something. I don’t know, I didn’t care too much. I was going out with the most amazing girl on the planet.

I adjusted my shirt slightly, realizing that if I spent any more time in front of the mirror, I’d be late. My thick, black hair still looked unruly, but there wasn’t much I could do besides that. I must have drowned my skin in my favorite cologne, but it didn’t help with the knot that had twisted its way into my stomach. As I walked downstairs, I was greeted with the sight of my older brother, home from college for the weekend, and my younger sister sitting at the table. I think the worst part of being a junior in high school was the fact that Melissa, my sister, was a freshman.

“Are you excited for you big date?” My brother Jeremy asked, running a hand through his hair, which looked exactly like mine. I grinned, nodding vigourously. I wanted to grab something to eat, but I decided against it. The minty taste that coated my mouth was something that I didn’t want to loose, no matter how good the pizza they were eating smelled.

“You know you’re hardly worth her time, right Stephen?” Melissa asked, and I frowned. Jeremy rolled his eyes, punching her lightly in the shoulder and scolding her just with a glance. She shrunk back into her chair slightly.

“That’s not true,” I countered, biting the inside of my cheek. “You’ll see, after tonight she’s going to be my girlfriend. I’m going to completely sweep her off her feet.”

“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Jeremy encouraged, and I smiled. Grabbing my keys off the kitchen counter, I fumbled with the knob of the door (which caused Melissa to laugh again) before finally making my way outside into the cool October night. I tried to regain my composer as I entered the car and turned the ignition on, but it wasn’t looking too good. Oh well – I had become a master at faking confidence, and if I had to fake it tonight, then I was sure as hell going to do so.

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“Hey Stephen!” Elizabeth exclaimed a few minutes after I had parked the car in front of the diner we agreed to meet at (or, the diner Katie decided would be good for us to go to). She pulled me in for a hug, her fruity perfume intoxicating. “I’m so excited for tonight,” she said sweetly, and I grinned.

“Yeah, me too,” I responded, considering whether or not I should take her hand. However, my problem was solved when she gently laced her fingers with mine.

“C’mon, lets go get some food. I’m starved.” I smiled again as she tugged softly on my hand, leading us up the stone steps and into the diner.

“Table for two, please,” I asked the lady who was there to seat us. She led us to a small booth in the back corner, and I was thankful that we would be alone. As we sat down, I had wished I had remembered to pull her chair out for her, but Elizabeth didn’t seem too angry as she began to scan the menu. “What do you usually get?” I asked, glancing down at the menu, but knowing I was just going to end up getting my favorite hamburger and a chocolate milkshake.

“I really like the pizza,” she said, her crystal blue eyes darting from one side of the page to another. “The pizza and a chocolate milkshake.”

I grinned. “I always get the chocolate milkshake.” Elizabeth giggled before setting down her menu. Our conversation was light while we waited for our waitress, and light while we waited for the food to come. She had nothing bad to say about anyone, and her optimism and unfailing happiness was like nothing I had ever experienced before. She wasn’t peppy and annoying – annoying was the last word I would ever use to describe Elizabeth. No, she was just… content. And I loved that.

“Thank you,” she said as the waitress set down her pizza and chocolate milkshake. I thanked her, also, as my hamburger was placed in front of me. We began to eat in silence, until she broke it by asking, “So why didn’t you ask me out yourself?” Her tone wasn’t rude; nor was she implying anything. Elizabeth just seemed genuinely curious.

“I… I don’t know,” I muttered, looking down at my burger. “You’re not just the kind of girl who you go up to and say ‘did it hurt? You know, when you fell from heaven?’”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Did you just drop a line? That was like from a bad movie!”

“I just wanted to impress you,” I countered, and she blushed.

“Well, you don’t have to try too hard. You impress me all the time.”

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“I could kick it here for hours,” I said softly, letting the water lap at my feet from the dock. I had rolled up the ends up my jeans, and Elizabeth had hiked up her cream-colored dress, so that we could let our legs sit in the cold water. I watched from the corner of my eye as Elizabeth shivered gently, and I quickly peeled off my sweatshirt and draped it around her shoulders.

She accepted it with ease, but not without putting up a small fight. “Won’t you be cold?”

“I’m warm enough,” I responded with a shrug.

“The tension’s like a fire?” Elizabeth shot back, and I laughed. “Here,” she said, pulling out a fancy, dark green bottle with what looked like a brown liquid inside, from her leather purse. “I understand if you don’t drink, but you might like this.”

I eyed her skeptically, before taking the bottle in my hand. It was open, but it didn’t look like much had been taken from it. “What is it?”

“Jager,” she responded encouragingly. “My cousins send it to me from Germany. You can buy it here, but it always tastes best when it’s authentic.”

I unscrewed the cap, bringing the top of the bottle to my lips. It was sweet like fruit as it entered my mouth, but burned like alcohol when it went down my throat. “It’s sweet,” I muttered, taking another small sip. It was almost too sweet. I watched as she took the bottle back, taking a small sip, before returning it to me. “But if it keeps you around, then I’m down,” I said softly, downing a larger gulp this time. Elizabeth laughed, kicking a bit of the salty water at me. I wiped a few drops off my face, smiling softly.

“Trust me,” said Elizabeth quietly, yet honestly. “You’re the one keeping me around.”

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“You’d better hurry home,” she muttered, referencing the nearly empty bottle of Jager in my hand. I hadn’t drank much of it, and made sure that for the last hour we were out on the docks I didn’t drink at all, allowing myself ample time to sober up before I drove home. Elizabeth drank most of it, though it seemed that she could hold her alcohol with the best of them. “What if someone wants to see an I.D.?” She teased. “That would be embarrassing as hell.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, scratching the back of my neck. “Well are you sure you don’t want a ride home?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m alright. I like the walk.” I sighed, accepting that I would be driving home alone. “Thank you for taking me out tonight, Stephen,” she began kindly. “I had a great time.”

“Yeah, me too.” I’m not even sure where it came from, but right after I responded her lips were on mine. Soft and sweet, she tasted like Jager. I wouldn’t have traded that kiss in for the world. Elizabeth pulled away soon after, smiling at me. She pecked me on the lips once more, before turning around and beginning the walk home. I was left staring at her in awe, wondering how someone could be as perfect as her.

When I finally pulled my eyes off of her receding form, my gaze attached to the stars in the dark night sky. For some reason, they seemed closer than normal. Like they were only six feet above my head, and if I tried hard enough, I could jump up and touch them. I was a mere six feet under the stars.