“Outside of the past three years of getting to know everything about you? You just shared something with meyou haven’t told anyone else.”
“How do you know I haven’t told anyone else?”
“Because if you’d told Rabbit, Cletus would be dead, and if you’d told Raquel, she’d be screaming the building down, Doc would be raging, and Rabbit would be headed to prison because Cletus would be dead, and you know Rabbit woulda done it dirty and messy.”
She sighed. “This is very true.”
“I’m honored you’re sharing this with me, baby girl.” I moved my thumb to her cheek. “I won’t ever betray that trust.”
“I know.” She nodded, leaning in, and kissing me. “You know it’s funny that you call me Moonbeam.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the moon itself isn’t luminous at all. It only shines because it’s reflecting the sun’s light.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You may see me as a moon beam, but I see you as the sun.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“You burn hot and you’re like this big ball of energy that can either warm you or roast you in its fire.”
He chuckled.
“But it also means that I shine the brightest when fully facing you.”
“What does that mean to you?”
“I need to be honest with you.” I bit my lip. “I’ve always thought, in the past, the two of us could never work out long term because of something you were lacking.”
He stiffened. “Oh, great, I love honesty time.”
“But now I think it means that neither of us can be at our best in this relationship until we face each other. I shine brightest when I’m facing you head-on with nothing between us.”
“Oh yeah?” he challenged. “What about me?”
“You’re the reason everything grows, including me. I may chart the stars, but you’re my north star, the one person I can always set my compass toward. You not only help me shine, you help me grow in every imaginable way. If I left your orbit, I would no longer cast light.”
“That’s bullshit. You’re goodness to the core.”
“And good things are easily trampled on this earth, but you not only protect me, you challenge me, even when you think I’m just being a silly hippie.”
“I never think you’re being silly—”
“Yes, you do, and that’s okay, because you’re the sun and I’m your moonbeam and you can’t have one without the other.”
“Fuck me,” he breathed out. “I fuckin’ love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Do you want to come downstairs and grab some food?”
She snuggled close again. “In a minute.”
A minute turned into ten… when I discovered she’d fallen asleep against me.
* * *