Wish Upon a Star

I saw Jan walking off again and sighed.
"Could you grab Jan for me?"
I asked, pointing at her.

"Of course."
he said before gently grabbing Janine's hand in his and leading
her inside.

"Hey, you're that guy!"
she said and I grabbed her hand in mine as well and squeezed
it, firmly.

"No need to crush my hand, Leslie. I know we're not supposed
to talk about him."
Janine said, rolling her eyes at Tom.

"I'm a little confused, I think."
he said, while Janine fell against him.

He got her up straight and then I looked at him.
"We have to get her up the stairs."

He looked at me with such a, dare I say it, cute expression,
I started laughing.

"That's why you invited me up. You just wanted me to help
you carry Janine up."
he said, with a shake of his head.

"I promise, that's not the case. It's convenient you're here,
though. I can't deny it."
I replied, before grabbing Janine's hands.

"Jan, listen. You have to get up the stairs now, okay?"
I told her but she wasn't registering it.

"Fuck it."
Tom said and lifted her up, bridal style.

I was a little surprised because he didn't look all that
strong. He didn't have alot of muscle to show off
but I quickly found out looks could be deceiving.

"Do you like, lift girls every day?"
I asked, when we stood in front of our door.

Tom had put Janine on the floor and she was leaning
against him.

"No, why?"
he wanted to know.

"Because that looked so easy. I couldn't have lifted her up
at all, let alone for 3 sets of stairs."
I said, while opening the door.

I flipped the light on while Tom helpen Jan in.

"You smell nice, guy. You smell like nice."
Jan said, after she had released herself from Tom.

"Thanks. I guess. What does nice smell like?"
he wondered.

I laughed and grabbed Janine by the hands and led
her to her room.
"I'll be right back."

Tom nodded while looking around the apartment.
I quickly got Janine under the covers, only taking her
pants off so she wouldn't choke on the heat in the middle
of the night.

"Sleep tight, Jan. Hope your hangover won't be so bad."
I said and got some mumbling in return.

I kissed her forehead and then left her room.
When I came back to the livingroom, Tom had found
our windowseat and stared out of the window.

"You can sit down, if you want. Want anything to drink?"
I asked, while getting my coat off and throwing it on the couch.

"No, I'm good. Thanks."
Tom said before also getting out of his coat and sitting down
in the windowseat.
"The view is kind of nice. You can see everyone down there but
they can't see you."

I smiled.
"That's exactly what I like about it, actually. I also
like to look at the stars and it's a perfect view from where
you're sitting now."

I was busy getting my drink and something to snack
for the both of us but I felt like I was being watched.
When I glanced behind me, I saw Tom watching my
every move.

I cleared my throat and turned around.
"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"
Tom asked, confused.

"Follow my every move."
I replied while grabbing my drink and snacks and
walking over to Tom in the windowseat.
I placed the snacks inbetween us and sat down.

"You're intriguing to follow."
he replied, while eating some of the
snacks.

I laughed.
"Hardly! I'm probably the most dull person on the
planet. I work at a Barnes and Noble and I read for fun.
That's not really intriguing, is it?"

"Yesterday when I saw you, you weren't reading, were you?
You seemed like you were having fun with Janine."
he replied.

"So you did see us last night."
I said, while eating some snacks as well.

"Of course. For me, you were hard to miss. But
then again.. I hadn't seen you in a dress yet."
he said, looking at my dress.

"Well, Jan noticed you as well."
I replied after a few seconds of being speechless.

He laughed and nodded.
"I know. She was looking over your shoulder the entire
time. It was quite funny."

"Why didn't you walk up to us to talk to her?"
I asked, confused and smiling, also.

"Because I wasn't interested in Janine. She's pretty
and seems like a nice girl. But her friend was more
interesting, to be honest."
he replied, looking up at the stars.

"How old are you?"
I asked after a few minutes.

"I'll be 31 in September."
he replied and looking at me again.

I nodded.
"Janine was right, then."
I mumbled.

"About what?"
he asked.

"About your age. When we saw you tonight I asked her
how old she thought you were. She said 30 so she was
dead on. She's good at stuff like that."
I said, while sipping my drink.

"So you've been talking about me."
he said after a while, with a smile.

"Well, yeah. Janine figured you were my type."
I replied with a slight blush.

"Am I?"
he wanted to know, while looking down at the street.

I looked at him and smiled.
"I don't know if I should tell you."

He looked at me and my heart skipped a beat.
His eyes were completely serious, his lips were
slightly parted and his hand had found it's way to my knee.

"Humor me?"
he said, after a few seconds of silence staring.

My heart was going faster and faster and my breath
got shallow.

"Why?"
I half-whispered.

"Because I'd like to know before I leave."
he replied, still completely serious.

"You're leaving?"
I asked with a frown.

"Well, I have to leave at some point."
he replied with a shrug.

I nodded in understanding.
Then I focused my eyes on the stars above us before
standing up and turning towards Tom.

"Wanna see something nice?"
I asked.

"Sure."
he replied, also standing up.

"Follow me."
I said before turning around and walking over to the front
door.

I grabbed my keys along the way and then walked over to the
staircase.

"We'll have to walk a few stairs, if that's okay?"
I asked.

"That's fine."
Tom replied before following me up the stairs.

When, after a few minutes, we arrived at the top of the stairs
I turned towards Tom.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?"
I asked, with my hand on the doorknob.

"Nope, I'm fine with height."
he replied with smile.

"Good."
I fiddled a bit with the lock and then I opened
the door to the roof.

I walked outside and walked over to a blanket I
kept there. When I wanted to be alone, I went up
to the roof to stare at the stars and listen to the sounds
of the city below.

"You're prepared."
he said, looking at the blanket in my hand.

"Mhm. I love coming here. I'm not sure if I'm supposed
to but I've been doing it for about 2 years now and I haven't
been caught just yet. I know the perfect spot, too."
I said and walked over to a place I knew would shelter us from
most of the wind.

I laid the blanket down and then sat down on it.
Tom was looking around and staring at the buildings
that were across the street.

"This is a nice place."
he said, before sitting down on the blanket as well.

"Yeah, I love it here. It's not really quiet here but I love
to see the infinity above us, you know?"
I said, while laying down.

Tom just nodded and also lied down.
And we were there for at least 10 minutes before
I sat up a little, carrying my weight on my elbows.

"Why aren't you walking away?"
I asked, a little confused.

"Walking away? Why would I do that?"
Tom asked, looking up at me.

"Guys always do it. I don't know why but somehow
I always end up alone and Janine gets all the guys.
Not that I mind at all, I can see why the guys like her.
She's easy to talk to and she's a total sweetheart.
We haven't said anything in the past 10 minutes and still
you're here. I don't get it."
I explained.

"There's nothing to get, actually. I don't think Janine
is very special but that's my opinion. Plus, she was drunk
and she was rambling alot so I don't really know
what to make of that.."
he said, trailing off.

I laughed and shook my head.
"Once she's sober, you'll love her."

"I'm pretty sure I will but I really like
her friend alot, so far."
Tom said, looking at me now.
"I don't think you're boring for reading. I don't
read, though."

"So you watch the pictures in books?"
I asked, with a smile.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with looking
at those. Some of them are really well done."
he defended himself.

I laughed and sat up entirely.
"Okay, point taken."

After a few seconds I sighed in content.
"I like this. This is nice."

"I agree."
Tom said, also sitting up.

I smiled and looked at him.
He was staring in the distance again and I just
looked at him for a while.

"You know, you're a really goodlooking guy."
I said, out of the blue.

He snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Thanks."

"You don't believe me."
I stated.

"Ah well, I don't know."
he replied, looking at his shoes.

"Tom, look at me."
I said, softly.

He looked up and I quickly closed the distance between our
lips. I caught him by surprise because I didn't feel him
kissing back for a few seconds.

When I pulled back I smiled.
"I've been wanting to do that ever since you offered
to help me with Janine."
I whispered.

He smiled before frowning.
"How old are you exactly?"

"I'm 23."
I replied, honestly.

"So there's kind of a gap there. You don't mind?"
he asked, worried.

I shook my head.
"I'm a big girl, I can make my own decisions."

He smiled.
"Good."

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying each others' company
before I started talking again.

"You know what's really weird?
I don't know anything about you but somehow you make
me feel safe. That's probably really stupid but I can't help it."
I said, studying his face.

"What do you want to know?"
he asked, softly.

"Everything."
I answered, honestly.

"I don't know where to begin, though."
he replied, putting a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Right at the beginning would be wisest."
I said with a smile.

After a few silent seconds, he started to tell me about
his life. It hadn't been entirely without trouble but
he seemed a bit afraid to tell me. I think he was even more
than relieved that I didn't jump up and run.

"So that's why you don't drink."
I replied, softly.

"Yeah."
he said, a little ashamed.

"Hey, don't be ashamed of it. It made you who
you are now and you're doing great. You've been
sober for years, that's admirable. Alot of people don't
make it out alive."
I grabbed his hand in mine and played
with his fingers.

"What about you? What's your story?"
he asked.

I rolled my eyes before starting with the story of my
life. It brought back some memories and I hardly kept it dry.

"So your brother is like the old me."
he said, when I was done.

"Yeah. He just doesn't know how to quit and he
doesn't want to. So I don't have alot of contact with him,
to keep myself calm. I get fed up just talking about everything.
Sorry."
I stood up and looked at the stars.
"I should head to bed, now."

Tom stood up as well and he helped me fold
the blanket before putting it down in the same spot
where I first got it.

The walk down was silent, until we
came at the right door.

"Thanks for tonight. It was the nicest night I've had in a
long while."
I said, with a slight blush.

"Dito. So erm.. Is it okay if I see you again tomorrow?"
he asked.

I nodded.
"I'd love that. I have to work, though. But after that
we can grab a coffee for sure."

"What Barnes and Noble do you work at?"
he asked.

"The one in Monroeville Mall?"
I asked more than stated.

"Oh I know that one. When are you off?"
he asked, with a small smile.

"At 9 PM. I mostly walk out at 9:15 or something.
Why?"
I wanted to know.

"Mind if I come pick you up?"
he asked.

I smiled and shook my head.
"I wouldn't mind at all."

"Great, so I'll see you tomorrow.
Goodnight."
he said, before coming closer and kissing my cheek.

I felt my heart beat faster and my breath got caught
in my throat.

"Goodnight."
I whispered when I saw him turn around and walk over
to the stairs.

I touched my cheek and decided that the kiss
on the cheek was awfully cute. But I really wanted a bit
more.

"Hey, Tom?"
I asked, while walking after him and standing
on the top of the stairs.

"Hm?"
he asked, turning around.

I took one small step so I was pretty much
leaning against him and then softly placed my lips on his.

I could hear a sharp intake of breath that wasn't mine
so my inner self was doing a little dance.

He wrapped his arms around me and I wrapped my arms
around his shoulders and neck.

It took us a good few seconds before I took a step back
and I half released him.
"I've been wanting to do that for a while."
I confessed, blushing.

He laughed a bit and shrugged.
"Me, too."

I laughed as well and then I sighed.
"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, love. See you tomorrow."
Tom said with a slight wink before descending
the stairs entirely.

I walked back to my apartment and after closing
closing the door, I started smiling like an idiot.

I walked into my bedroom and changed into my
PJ's before crawling under the sheets.

I sighed in content and lied awake for an hour or
so, thinking back about the whole night.

Not only was Tom incredibly handsome, he was
quite the gentleman as well. I loved that about him,
really. He didn't force anything, just let things happen.

I opened my curtains to look up at the stars once more.

"Thank you."
I whispered, knowing full well my wish had come true.
In alot of ways, really.

I closed the curtains, got comfortable and finally
fell asleep with a smile on my face.