"You see that big one, right there?"
Adam pointed to a bright silvery orb in the sky.
"That's Jupiter. It's got the strongest magnetic field in the solar system."
Jillian turned her head towards him in the grass.
"Well no shit, it's the biggest one."
Adam broke his gaze with the stars to look at her.
"You've got a point there," he laughed. Jillian smiled back at him.
It was the first time they had been able to hang out since heading to college. They were best friends in high school, but going to school in different states inevitably made them drift apart. They kept in touch, of course, but it wasn't the same as seeing each other every day in homeroom.
As Adam looked back up at the sky, Jillian studied his profile. His olive green eyes twinkled with wonder, his wide smile glowing in the moonlight. His wavy blonde hair was nonchalantly combed to one side, which he always neurotically brushed out of his face. Adam had an enchanting way of making everyone feel at ease when he was around him. He had about as much charm as a golden retriever, and the energy of one too. He was never one to keep still or shut up about anything, but somehow tonight was the exception.
Adam finally broke the peaceful silence again.
"Do you think there's anything out there?" he asked.
"What, you mean like aliens?"
"Sure," Adam shrugged. "Intelligent life I mean."
"Possibly," Jillian gazed out into the sky once more. "It makes me a little uneasy to think about."
"Why?"
Jillian paused in thought.
"Just the unknown of it all, I guess."
Out of the pair, Jillian was always the steady one. Cool, collected, cerebral. She was always either lost in thought or lost in a book. She was the perfect foil to Adam's boundless vivaciousness, though she never ran out of patience for his endless ramblings. Ever since they met in ninth grade, she always had a fondness for him that she never fully quite understood.
Jillian suddenly sat up, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder.
"What?" Adam asked, startled.
"Thought I felt a bug on me," Jillian replied, brushing herself off with her hands.
Adam couldn't help but follow her hands dusting off her clothes. He always thought she was stunningly beautiful, but he knew she didn't feel the same about him. Her steel blue eyes captivated him from the moment they met, and he spent the rest of high school chasing her tall, athletic frame all over school. Now, of course, they were about the same height, but for most of their friendship, he was a head shorter than her. Was this the reason she always carefully avoided returning his flirtatious advances? He could never be sure.
Jillian laid back down on the grass and joined Adam staring at the sky once more. They were so close together he could feel the heat radiating off her body and the sweet, fresh smell of her hair. Lavender maybe? It was intoxicating. Adam took a deep breath and reassured himself nothing would ever happen between the two of them. However madly in love with her he was, he was perfectly content to be just friends, right?
Jillian closed her eyes, tuning in to the sound of crickets chirping in the distance. There was something different about their reunion today after so many months. They had hung out alone countless times in high school, but today felt more intimate. Jillian was sure she would never be able to look at Adam that way but something was... different.
He was taller than she remembered, that's for sure. His hair was longer, his clothes newer. But she couldn't help noticing his enticingly broad chest, his chiseled jaw, his veiny hands. She thought about what they would feel like touching her...
She took a sharp inhale and blinked hard. Where did that thought come from?
"What's wrong?" Adam asked, his eyes full of concern. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine," Jillian lied. "Just getting a little chilly."
"Oh, here," Adam sat up, took off his jacket, and draped it across her like a blanket.
"You didn't have to do that," Jillian giggled.
"It's my pleasure," Adam smiled warmly, laying back down beside her.
Jillian wasn't cold at all. In fact, she was positively clammy. Where was this coming from? Surely she's borrowed a jacket from him before? Whatever was different this time was making her heart flutter. She could smell Adam's pine-scented deoderant on his jacket. It was sexy - wait a minute. Adam, sexy?
Snap out of it
.
Adam readjusted himself on the ground. Something was definitely up. He knew Jillian too well to know that something was wrong. He was just about to open his mouth to ask her when she interrupted him.
"Have you ever thought about us?"
Adam blinked. "What do you mean?"
Jillian nervously scratched her eyebrow. "Like, as a couple."
It was like time froze. Adam stared at her, probably a little too long.
