The Girl Who Chased Stars

XXIII

I wake up with someone curled up beside me.

Skai holds me tightly against her, and the memories of last night come flooding in.

The smile on my face grows into a probably terrifying grin, and I try to hide the smile by biting my lip. Beside me, Skai moans softly in her sleep and presses her bare side into me. Her touch sends a shiver down my spine, and so I pull the blanket tight over us and cuddle into her.

We never left the house. After what felt like hours of pure bliss, we were too happy and too tired to hike back to the campground, so afterwards we just stayed here and looked at the stars until eventually we fell asleep.

Skai's hand lingers on my bare stomach, and I can feel her breath on my face.

Gently, I pull myself away from her and search for my discarded clothes. I put everything on and then gather Skai's clothes as well, and set them beside her on the dusty floorboards. Even though last night is still swimming around in my brain, I'm feeling a little down right now. Today is Sunday, our last day of camping. Tomorrow we will have to go back to school, and our normal lives.

"Amy?"

I turn around and find a sleepy Skai looking up at me. "Hey, Beautiful." She smiles, and then shoves her face into the blanket. "Come lay with me," she whines in a little kid voice.

"Yes ma'am."

She giggles as I make a show of laying on top of her and wrapping my arms around her. "Oh, Hello."

"You're a dork," she laughs. I reply by kissing her.

"I'm the dork that loves you."

Skai tries unsuccessfully to hide her smile, and I laugh. She brings her hand up to my face and kisses me again.

"Hey." she mumles, pulling away.

"Yeah?"

"Um...so, last night."

My face turns red, and I look away as Skai laughs at my reaction.

"Hold on," she laughs, "Be serious..."

"Okay."

"Was it okay?"

Oh Jeez. My face must look like a tomato.

"Amy?"

I laugh, and lean down to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry. It's just that this is all knew to me."

She plays with a strand of my hair as she waits for me to continue.

"It was great, babe. The best night ever."

Now it's Skai's turn to turn red. "Really?" she asks. "Yeah. It was all very educational," I quote.

Skai laughs, and then I decide to turn it up a little and see how bad I can embarrass her. "Oh yeah." I begin, "And when I'm ninety five and on my death bed I'm gonna remember last night and say something like, "Oh yes. I remember that night. That girl had the moves.""

"Amy!"

I burst into laughter as she buries her head into my tee-shirt.

I lie there for a moment, on top of her, and hold her until my phone rings in my pocket.

With Skai's head still pressed against my shirt, I answer my phone and put it against my ear.

"Hello?" My father greets me, and then asks, " Are you girls on your way back?" I pause. "Um..." I can hear the irritation in my fathers voice. "Amy, please don't tell me you forgot that you were to come home today." "No! I remembered, but it's just that we had a late night-"