Drops of Jupiter
are you lonely looking for yourself out there?
From the corner of her eye, she could see him snoozing in the passenger’s seat. His cheek rested against the shoulder curve of the seat, sunglasses pulled over his closed brown eyes to shield them from the sun. There was something ethereal about his presence, even as he slept. And though the silver SUV had been parked in the driveway for five long minutes, Kandi couldn’t bring herself to wake him.
Logan’s lips parted and his cheek pressed deeper into the navy blue cloth as if he sensed her stare, but his eyes remained closed.
She shifted in her own seat, forearm propped against the steering wheel as she leaned over, allowing the southern sun to seep through the window behind her head.
The chocolate strands of Logan’s hair seemed to trap the sunbeams, the solar glow bending against his slightly-gelled locks, revealing hues of blonde, gold, and amber that usually remained hidden in a head full of espresso.
Sometimes she wondered if he had fallen from a shooting star. There was just that spark buried inside of him that she’d never witnessed in anyone else, something completely otherworldly and enlighteningly beautiful. Even when he was getting on her nerves or they were screaming at each other from the top of their lungs, she’d catch that glimmer in those soulful eyes and immediately plummet back to earth.
Kandi was in love with this boy, and it was something so foreign to her and yet so natural at the same time that the combination frightened her.
What frightened her almost just as much was the fact that she had truly missed him. Every time he left, she felt like her atmosphere had been funneled away and she was left gasping for air. It was an emotion that she hated, but she knew she’d have to get over in order to be with him. The months they spent apart were nothing compared to the high she tripped on every time she saw him rush through that terminal at GSP, back into her arms where he belonged.
Logan was so focused on becoming this huge television star that he didn’t realize he was already the brightest star in her constellation.
A part of Kandi envied that drive, that ambition, the way Logan was already living his dreams while she detoured off her own path trying to pick up the scattered pieces of her life. She wanted to be put together, she just lacked the motivation.
Even though the familiar Carolina humidity hung in the air, it hadn’t felt like summer without him. They’d met in the summer, gotten lost in each other over the span of a balmy season, so she was unable to associate those three long months with anyone other than him.
There was a little bit of summer in every move he made.
Every word that fell from his lips took her back to listless June nights spent under dark blue sheets and the way his skin glistened like specks of stardust in the moonlight. His kisses were as slow and steady as the summer rain, leaving her with that linger of serenity. Logan had a Corona and lime type of touch, hard but with just enough of a sweetness to it to leave her wanting more. Every gesture he made embodied the carelessness of summer, and even in the dead of winter, the summer state of mind eased through his pores.
But there was always that dread in the back of her mind. Summer didn’t last forever, and neither would these fleeting moments. Kandi would eventually be left standing in the airport alone again with her eyes trained on his dark head of hair as he disappeared into the crowd.
She immediately pushed the thought from the forefront of her mind and grazed her fingers against his. It wasn’t much pressure, but it was just enough to stir him from his slumber.
Sparkling drops of Jupiter cascaded from his sleepy grin, and she found herself lost in the laziness of summer once again.
Logan’s lips parted and his cheek pressed deeper into the navy blue cloth as if he sensed her stare, but his eyes remained closed.
She shifted in her own seat, forearm propped against the steering wheel as she leaned over, allowing the southern sun to seep through the window behind her head.
The chocolate strands of Logan’s hair seemed to trap the sunbeams, the solar glow bending against his slightly-gelled locks, revealing hues of blonde, gold, and amber that usually remained hidden in a head full of espresso.
Sometimes she wondered if he had fallen from a shooting star. There was just that spark buried inside of him that she’d never witnessed in anyone else, something completely otherworldly and enlighteningly beautiful. Even when he was getting on her nerves or they were screaming at each other from the top of their lungs, she’d catch that glimmer in those soulful eyes and immediately plummet back to earth.
Kandi was in love with this boy, and it was something so foreign to her and yet so natural at the same time that the combination frightened her.
What frightened her almost just as much was the fact that she had truly missed him. Every time he left, she felt like her atmosphere had been funneled away and she was left gasping for air. It was an emotion that she hated, but she knew she’d have to get over in order to be with him. The months they spent apart were nothing compared to the high she tripped on every time she saw him rush through that terminal at GSP, back into her arms where he belonged.
Logan was so focused on becoming this huge television star that he didn’t realize he was already the brightest star in her constellation.
A part of Kandi envied that drive, that ambition, the way Logan was already living his dreams while she detoured off her own path trying to pick up the scattered pieces of her life. She wanted to be put together, she just lacked the motivation.
Even though the familiar Carolina humidity hung in the air, it hadn’t felt like summer without him. They’d met in the summer, gotten lost in each other over the span of a balmy season, so she was unable to associate those three long months with anyone other than him.
There was a little bit of summer in every move he made.
Every word that fell from his lips took her back to listless June nights spent under dark blue sheets and the way his skin glistened like specks of stardust in the moonlight. His kisses were as slow and steady as the summer rain, leaving her with that linger of serenity. Logan had a Corona and lime type of touch, hard but with just enough of a sweetness to it to leave her wanting more. Every gesture he made embodied the carelessness of summer, and even in the dead of winter, the summer state of mind eased through his pores.
But there was always that dread in the back of her mind. Summer didn’t last forever, and neither would these fleeting moments. Kandi would eventually be left standing in the airport alone again with her eyes trained on his dark head of hair as he disappeared into the crowd.
She immediately pushed the thought from the forefront of her mind and grazed her fingers against his. It wasn’t much pressure, but it was just enough to stir him from his slumber.
Sparkling drops of Jupiter cascaded from his sleepy grin, and she found herself lost in the laziness of summer once again.