Just to Hold You Close and Tight

I took the cubes of sugar and held out my hand to the buck and the remaining doe. They approached me more cautiously than Ray, but they each came and took a cube from my shaking hand. I watched them in awe as they frolicked away, and I slid to sit on the ground, my back against the tree. It was amazing to me. After all the people that looked past me, the deer had come right up to me, whether it was for the sugar or not.

“Amazing,” I whispered, staring at the place they had disappeared into the forest.

“I know,” Ray said smugly, smiling at me. “They see us.”

We sat in the forest for a long time, just listening to all the animals around us. Finally, it started to get dark, and Ray said we should be going back.

He had no trouble finding the path again, and we made it back to my house just before nine.

“Goodnight,” Ray said as we walked up my driveway.

“Don’t go yet,” I said desperately. “I’m not going to bed for a few hours. Stay a little longer.”

It didn’t take much to convince him. “Okay,” he gave in. “I’ll stay just a little longer.”

I smiled and walked through the front door, with Ray right behind me.

“Did you have a good time?” my mom asked a my dad greeted me from the family room.

“Hi Dad. Yeah, Mom, I had a lot of fun. I took a walk in the woods. No need to tell her I hand-fed deer.

“That’s nice,” my dad said.

“Yeah, but I’m tired,” I said. “I think I’m going to go to bed.” I yawned, making my lie look even truer.

“Okay,” my mom said. “Goodnight.”

“’Night Mom, ‘night Dad,” I called behind me as I ran up to my room.

A soon as my door was closed, I whispered, “Okay.” I turned around to see Ray already sitting down.

“You really should just go to bed,” he said loudly.

“I’m not tired,” I whispered. “I don’t want to go to sleep.”

“You’ll have to eventually,” he replied.

I frowned. “Where will you go when I leave?”

He shrugged, although I could have sworn I saw that hint of a blush back in his cheeks. “I’ll probably go back to the forest, maybe look at the stars all night. I’ve been thinking a lot lately.”

“I want to come,” I said softly.

“I wish you could come, but you need sleep, because you have school tomorrow.”

“Screw school,” I hissed. “I don’t care.”

He sighed. “What about tomorrow night? Tomorrow is Friday.”

I grinned. “Okay, tomorrow. It’s a date,” I said, surprised at the words coming out of my mouth.

“Yes. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow?” he added hopefully.

I nodded, and he left.

As I was in my bed that night, I couldn’t go to sleep. I felt a longing to be with someone. I tried to convince myself I just didn’t want to be alone, but I knew the truth was that I wanted to be with Ray. It scared me.

The next day of school went by quickly, as did the afternoon and dinner. Finally it was eleven, and I was packed and ready for the night under the stars.

I had sweats on, and I had a bag full of everything I would need, including a flashlight, an extra coat in case it got cold, a water bottle, and a pop tart. I also had two sleeping bags. Although Ray assured me he didn’t really need one, I insisted on them. How else would we be comfortable on the ground?

“Ready?” Ray asked, after checking to make sure my parents were asleep.

“Yep,” I replied, grinning, and we walked out the front door.