Under A Paper Moon

This was it. This was the moment; the moment where it all ended.

The moment he was waiting on for months. The moment she hadn’t really expected.

Sure, the journey had been fun for him, and somewhere in there he had gotten lost but he found his way back to reality.

Now it was time to break the news to her. She was unaware of what was going to happen.

He walked up the steps to her home. It was a sweet two story white house with a wraparound porch. The shutters were pastel green and the front door as well. Clean and pristine was a great way to describe it. Her father was retired from the navy and her mother worked at city hall. They wanted the best in everything from their two kids to the appearance of their home.

He brushed off his clothes – skinny jeans, a white V-neck, and Nike high tops – to make sure he still looked alright after the walk here. Breathing, he pressed the little round button. A ding signaled. There were a few yells before it got quiet.

The door opened and there she was.

“Anna, hey.”

She stood there before him with a charming smile and he took in everything about her; how her dark honey brown hair was thrown on top of her head in a bun, ruined by bed head, how her black thick framed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose crookedly – as always – and her peach colored sweater was oversized, clearly too big for her. Her pretty long legs were covered by light grey skinny jeans, the ones that made her ass look even better than it already was. Her feet were bare but her toes were still painted a pretty green – his handiwork; that made him smile.

“Hi Jack,” she said, her voice was soft and sweet. “Did the boys cancel practice last minute today?”

“Ah, yeah something like that,” he muttered, but she understood him clearly. She always did.

Tucking a stray strand away from her face she stepped outside, shutting the door gently behind her. “I’d let you in but my parents are angry at my brother, so it’s probably best not to go in yet.”

“That’s fine, outside is better anyway. What did your brother do?” he asked, as she took his rough hand in her soft one. She had never known a single day of hard labor. The only callus she had was small, tiny even, on her right hand, middle finger, from all the writing and artsy things she did.

“He found out he failed his history class, then when he came home he found out his teacher had already called,” she replied with a sigh, sitting down on the porch swing with him. She cuddled up to his side. “They just keep yelling. I feel bad for him.”

He put his arm around her, rubbing her arm in a comforting manner. He had to do it soon. He needed to ask her before he started to lose his gall. “Well, your parents couldn’t have two Anna’s.”

“I guess you’re right,” she giggled, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

Oh god those lips. No, now. He needed to do it now.

“Anna, I came over here for a reason, besides practice being cancelled,” he muttered. She blushed which made him blush. She always had that affect on him. “N-Not that. To talk. I came to talk.”

Giving him a small smile she laughed, hiding her face against his side. “Sorry, I just… you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” It was just three weeks ago they’d finally slept together. It was great; her first time. Everything went perfect and he called himself the king of her bedroom for the next ten days after.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked curiously. She rested her arm on his shoulder and then rested her chin on her arm, gazing into his eyes thoughtfully, fondly. It made him nervous; he was about to break a sweat.

Clearing his throat, he looked away from her eyes and out at her nicely mowed front lawn. “I told you about the band… how we got signed… I told you everything from the start. Do you remember?”

“Well, yes. What of it?”

“Anna, the boys and I are leaving for tour this summer.”

She was silent, but her lips were still turned in a smile. He wondered if she didn’t know what he was telling her. His suspicions were confirmed when she sweetly pressed her lips to his. “Jack, that’s wonderful! Congratulations!”

Sighing, he wondered if being more direct would be a more right approach; not too direct. Maybe he could still squeeze in one last bang if he worded this right. “Anna, when I’m on the road, I won’t have time for a relationship.”

He felt it. Her breathing; it stopped as she sat there beside him, blinking, her smile falling – fading – from her face. Slowly she reached her hand up, gently caressing the stubble on his face. Pressing her lips to his other cheek, she sat back, away from his touch.

“So we’re over then.”

Her green eyes studied him. He studied her eyes in return. Always, he’d always been fascinated when watching her apply her little bit of make up to her eyes; mascara and light eyeliner.

“I think so, yeah.”

Silence passed between the two before she spoke up, breaking it.

“Well, this feels a bit anticlimactic. I don’t really know what to say. I feel like I should be giving a speech.” She laughed, tucking her hair from her face.

He laughed with her. “A speech? What would you say in it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe, thank you for picking me; for being there for me. And most of all, thank you for making me happy.”

They would go their separate ways, shortly after.

They were going to be alright from this.