A smile. The simple motion of lifting the edges of his lips. The world. Crashing down around me as I go blind to everything but him. I am entangled within him. No longer knowing which limb belongs to who.
“Maria..” he said, my name rolling off his gaping lips. He said it, just for the sake of saying it.
“Andrew..” I said, acknowledging him. Loving him. Accepting him.
He sits up, and we separate. Remembering who was who. Remembering the other.
I pull my tank top down and check my hair: a single strand has escaped my bun, and it frames my face.
His eyes meet mine and I'm overwhelmed with a sense of want. A sense of need. Andrew.
His shaggy blond hair swept in a perfect arc across his forehead. His red lips perfectly formed and slightly open as he looks at me. A small nose that hides below bright green eyes.
“Maria...I'm leaving town.” he says, looking down; his fingers playing idly in his lap.
“What?” I say, shocked. “Why?” I'm almost yelling now. Why would he do this? When everything was so perfect!
He takes my hand. “There's no life for me here.” he sees my mouth open in protest and shushes me. “You know it's true..” he says, his fingers drawing small patterns on my palm. Suddenly he looks up. “I love you Marcia..and..and I want you to come with me.”
I looked at him blankly for a moment. Me? Go with him? I was barley 15! He would be charged with kidnapping..But then there was him. Strong, hard working, 19 year old him...And we would be alone.
“I..I don't know what to say.” I'm all honesty now.
“Oh Maria” he mumbles, bringing my hand to his lips and leading my hands as they trace his jawline. “I'm leaving tonight.” His eyes look up to me, begging.
“Tonight! Jesus Andrew! I don't have time! I'll have to pack! And...and what about my parents what do I say to them? What about school?” I pull my hand away and throw my arms in the air, exasperated.
I look at him; his blond hair falling over his green eyes, and I know I can't say no. I love him after all. I can't let him leave alone.
But then again there are those stories...Those stories about the girls that go away. That run away and are never seen again...until they find the bones in the riverbed.
I shake the thought off. I know Andrew! He would never do anything like that, he's just not the type. 'I love him' I repeat again, confirming it to myself.
His eyes flick up to mine, as if he can sense that I've made my choice. That I'd leave everything behind, my parents, school, my, life; to go away with him. It's as if he knows that he is the only thing that matters to me anymore.
I smile, showing him that I am sure. “I'm coming with you.”
He smiles back at me, a gleaming smile that seems to block out everything else. He pulls me in and soon we're kissing again. His hard lips pressing against my soft ones. Unable to see anything but him, even if my eyes were open. He pulls away and we're both left, gasping for air as we stare into each others eyes.
“I love you.” he says, not for the first time tonight.
I love you too.” I say back, my eyes darting away, looking for a way to escape his gaze. He shows so much with his eyes, it's crazy. His eyes show me the truth. They show me his feelings in a flood that seems to overtake my own.
Sometimes I'm afraid of what my eyes show him. Is it truly love that he's seeing? Or am I just confusing myself? Is it really love that I'm feeling? Or is it desire to love?
I'll never know the answer to my questions because I don't have the time to analyze them. As soon as I look back up at him and our eyes lock again, I am sure. This is love. It has to be. Anything more would be overwhelming. This is overwhelming itself.
“So where are we going?”
“Someplace new.” he says. “Somewhere where the people won't look down at us. Where you and me will be the king and queen.” I watch his face grow into a radiant smile as he finishes.
“How are we getting there?” I ask, smiling back at him now. The fear is gone. How could I have ever been scared of Andrew?
“We'll take a canoe down the river until we get to the train station. It will be just you, me, and the moonlight.
My smile grew at that. “Too bad there will be no one to row the boat.”
He smirked, catching my meaning. “Oh don't you worry. We'll have plenty of time for that.”
“As for my things?” I asked, truly curious to that answer.
“Packed, all of it besides what I could not carry.” he answered.
Which meant a lot. I would be leaving behind a lot. I wondered for a moment how something could be so tempting, that it could just take me away from everything else. How Andrew could take me away from the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I smiled when I saw the boat. It was puny really, barley a 'boat' at all. I climbed in and stuck my backpack between my feet. He passed me his, which I also set down.
He winked “Bit smaller then you were thinking I expect?”
“Yeah.” I said, and laughed. “Just a bit.”
He pushed the 'boat' off into the water, and jumped in. It wobbled slightly as he got on but he'd obviously practiced enough so that it wouldn't just dump us in the lake. He sat down in his corner and took up the oars.
“Lovely night for a ride down the river don't you think?” he asked, with a cocky grin.
Yes, I thought. What a lovely night on the river....