Meet Me at Midnight - Jessica Pennington Page 0,27

say, and he does, carefully removing a log before shoving in more paper.

Asher is standing next to the fire pit, hands on his hips, looking pleased. “Nice.”

“We’re not done yet.” I pick up another handful of twisted papers and start sticking them into the cracks between the logs, leaving short pieces exposed. Asher grabs paper and does the same on the other side. “These are like a bunch of tiny fuses.”

Asher nods but doesn’t say anything. I pick up the long lighter on the bench next to me and hold it out to him. He shakes his head. “You should probably do the honors.”

I circle around our creation, lighting all of the little paper tails on fire. The center begins to glow, growing brighter and brighter, until the flames break through the cone of wood. I sit down on the bench behind me, right next to Asher. I didn’t even think about it, but now that I’m here, it would be weird to move.

“Where’d you learn that?” he asks.

“Lots of trial and error last year. But mostly my dad taught me.”

“That’s cool.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes before Asher finally breaks it. “My mom said you swim a four-hundred-yard IM. That’s one of my favorites.”

“Yeah?” I love individual medleys because unlike the team events, you don’t have to worry about whether you’re screwing something up for someone else. It’s just you, good or bad. IMs are a love-them-or-hate-them kind of thing, and something about knowing Asher and I are in the same camp relaxes something inside of me. It’s a very tiny, very specific thing we have in common.

Our parents join us at the fire, and while they talk, Asher and I roast marshmallows, make double-decker s’mores (his idea) and throw the tiny little apples into the fire to see if they’ll explode (also his idea). Eventually the adults announce that they’re going back to the Marins’ cabin to play cards, and tell us to douse the embers when we leave.

Once we’re alone, we get quiet. We sit for a few minutes, staring at the fire and poking at glowing logs with our metal roasting sticks, before Asher breaks the silence. “There’s a meteor shower this week. It doesn’t peak for a few days, but we can probably see some tonight.” Asher stands up and walks behind his bench, sitting down on the grass. He lies back on the ground, and I stay on my bench, watching him. Asher looks prettier in the dark somehow. Maybe it’s the last of the fire, casting his skin in a soft warm glow. Maybe it’s the way he smiles while he’s talking to me, and light glistens off of his white teeth. Everything in my chest tightens as I look at the empty space next to him on the grass and force myself to stand up and walk over.

Only a few inches separate us. We’re wedged between the bench and the cement walkway that leads down to the dock. Maybe I should have moved the bench over so we weren’t so close, but now I’m here, and it would be weird to get up and move it just so I don’t have to be so close to him. Don’t be a nervous jerk, Sidney.

I’m prepared for how awkward it’s going to be to lie in the silence together, but Asher doesn’t let it last more than a few seconds. As soon as my head hits the grass he’s pointing toward the sky. “Meteor showers usually originate around a certain constellation, so if we find it, then it’ll be easier to see the meteors. Especially this early in the shower. And into the night.”

“It’s close to midnight.”

“Most meteor showers actually peak closer to four or five a.m.” He points up into the sky. “We’re looking for Perseus.”

“Which one is that?”

“He’s a god.” Asher’s fingers trace across the sky like he’s mapping it out with his fingertip. “But honestly, he looks more like a one-legged stick figure. Like something my three-year-old cousin would draw.”

I laugh. “They all look weird to me.”

Asher taps at the sky. “There.” He traces his finger in a pattern I can’t follow. “Do you see it?”

“Mhm.” I stare in the general direction of Asher’s hand, hoping it will magically come into focus for me.

“Really?”

“No.”

Asher pulls his phone out of his pocket and his fingers fly across the screen. He holds it out to me. “They’re pretty hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for.” The screen