Questions With Noah

Stars with Noah

Pop quiz: have you ever lived in a city and have actually seen the stars? When I say city--I mean a major city. I mean, Chicago, New York, Dallas. I've never seen the stars in LA— I've seen the celebrity stars, the I-got-hit-the-head-and-I'm-passing-out stars and the Twinkle in Your Eyes stars but I've never seen the stars. The lights from the city always lit up the sky so what's a star?

After the fair, Noah drove us to the beach. It was dark but there was a bonfire farther down. Undoubtedly a bunch of people and loud music, but we couldn't hear them and they didn't matter much to us. He parked and we climbed onto the hood of the car— the warmth from the engine and each other kept us warm.

"So, I read this study," Noah started. His arm was behind my head, probably falling asleep as he spoke from the weight.

"Mhmm," I said.  "You read. How impressive," I added dryly with a playful smile.

"Ha, ha," he answered unamused but continued. "And the study was basically about asking these questions and getting to know each other." 

I felt Noah's arm shift underneath my head and his body beside me. "So, do you want to try it?"

I turned over onto my side, giving his arm a break from the eight of my head, and faced him. I tried to speak but nothing came out.

Noah's hand went up to my hair and I felt him softly twisting a strand of my tresses. "I mean— we don't have to do it but the questions are really good and we're hanging out getting to know each other so why not do a couple? They're conversation-starters."

Maybe it was how gentle he was being with his hand in my hair and his tone but I decided to give it a try. "Ok, what's the first question?"

Noah pulled his phone out of his pocket and began typing away to get the list. I let out a soft exhale as he tapped away, unaware that I had even been holding my breath.

The blue light from his phone illuminated the screen and Noah read: "'Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?' Dead or alive," he amended the question.

"Uh, I don't know. This is sorta weird, but," I started.

"No judgement. If we're going to do this, we have to be open with each other," Noah said.

"Ok, I was reading this thing about the rules of the Royal Family so I'd like dinner with Meghan Markle, the Duchess. I'd want to know how life is now with the rules and being American in the royal family and her being actress and activist and how that's changed and what it's like and less about being a princess but more about— I don't know, just how things are now," I rambled.

"That's not weird!" Noah smiled. "That's totally valid— the Royal Family is just covered in mystery. That's a good dinner. What would you guys eat?"

"I don't know— she's apparently a big foodie and can't eat certain stuff so whatever she wants and misses but can't eat," I answered with a giggle. "What about you? Who's the lucky dinner guest?"

Noah sharply inhaled. "Uh, I don't know— maybe a philosopher? They're pretty cool."

"Any particular one?"  I wondered aloud.

"Nah, just someone wise that we all look up as like this great thinker before our time. I always wonder what old— like insanely old— thinkers would say about our generation and with technology and this new knowledge we have. I don't know— what would Socrates say right now about the world we live in? I think it's just be fun to ask." He answered.

"That makes sense," I responded. "Your tweets always seem so deep and thoughtful and philosophical and stuff."

"Oh, you've been stalking my Twitter? Looking at my tweets?" Noah joked.