Page 36 of With Stars in Her Eyes

Courtney

“This is… wow .”

A wide expanse of green rose and fell all the way out to the horizon in every direction. The wind brushed over the landscape as if a large hand was scraping over sand. Clumps of wildflowers created swaths of yellow and orange and purple. A large vertical rock in the distance cast a long shadow.

“You said we were going to…”

Thea held up a postcard. The image was similar to where we stood.

Visit the Sea of Grass in Flint Hills, Kansas

My breath caught in my chest.

The sea of grass.

Thea’s dimples deepened. “I figured since we both hate boats but long for the sea this would be a good—”

I threw my arms around her.

After a long time spent wrapping me in the tightest hug possible, Thea let her chin dip, her gaze drifting to my mouth.

Her fingers played with the hem of my sweater.

My hand threaded through her hair, and I pulled her mouth to mine.

Thea’s hand slid down, her fingers a cool presence over my spine.

As my tongue moved against hers, she moaned.

I slid the postcard into my pocket. I needed both hands free. I stroked Thea’s neck and kissed the trail of my touch to the slope of her collarbone.

When my roving hands slipped under her shirt to sweep over Thea’s stomach, her delicate gasp pulsed in my core.

“ God , Thea.”

A rumble of cars approached, forcing us apart. This was a red state after all. I had had experiences on tour that taught me not to forget that. A few other parked cars were not exactly close, but close enough we probably shouldn’t be gratuitously putting on a show.

“So now…” I looked around. “Are we hiking?”

“Nope.” Thea popped open her trunk. “Now we set up the equipment. And…” She walked around the driver’s side rear door and pulled out a cooler. “You missed our last sandwich lunch.”

I beamed. “Tell me what to do to help.”

We sat side by side in camp chairs as the sun inched lower. Thea had brought a telescope in addition to the camera she’d set up and was adjusting its position.

“Where’s the moon going to be?” I glanced around like I would find it hiding out somewhere.

“No moon tonight. That’s probably why there are so many people out.”

“No moon is better?”

“Less light pollution. I’m trying to get some good shots of the Milky Way.

There will also be several planets aligned.

I brought a few cameras. Film and a digital camera.

We’ll see what works best. Hm…” Thea adjusted a dial on her camera.

“Can I take some golden-hour shots of you? The light’s kind of fantastic right now. ”

“Why?” My voice was wary.

Thea winked. “Because I like your stupid face.”

“Well, if you put it like that.” My hands went up in a questioning motion. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Get up and dance around.”

“Dance around?” I bit my lip.

“I’m more of a candid, photojournalist style.” She took a few photos with the digital camera and then looked at them in the back screen. She picked up a different camera. “We should have brought your cello.”

“I don’t usually bring it on random road trips.

It’s a little cumbersome.” I stuck a hand in my pocket and rubbed the back of my neck with the other.

Months later and I still hadn’t quite gotten used to my short hair.

I hadn’t realized how often I hid behind it when it was down past my waist. I had refreshed the pixie a couple months ago, but it was growing down over my ears again.

“I have an idea.” Thea reached into the trunk and handed over a stool. “Sit on this.”

“I thought you said I should dance around.”

“I have a better idea. It might be cheesy, but let’s try.” She set up a tripod, eyes narrowing as she looked between me and the light. “Sit right here. I’m going to do a few longer exposure shots.”

“Okay…”

“Pretend you’re playing.”

“What?”

“Like…” She held up her hands to demonstrate playing a cello. “Don’t pose. Just pretend you’re playing a song. If this turns out cool maybe you could use it for an album cover someday for solo recordings.”

I grinned and did as I was told even though I felt a bit silly. But an unfamiliar melody started purring through my mind as I tried to consider what it would be like to play for Thea. The idea was oddly enticing.

“All right. I think I got some cool things, but I’ll have to check tomorrow.”

“Check?”

“I’ll develop some of the photos.”

“You develop them too?” I sat back next to Thea and swept a kiss over her ear. The casual contact was so much easier than it had been with anyone else.

“You haven’t seen the film lab I’m setting up at the studio yet?”

“We’ve always eaten in the main part. And if you remember, I got a little distracted by the aura camera last time I was in there. That was quite the move.”

Thea’s brown eyes flashed. “It was not a move.”

“Since it ended with me making out with you, I probably shouldn’t tease you about it.” Heat climbed up my neck to my cheeks. “Are you done with me?”

“Not by a long shot.”

“Pun intended?”

Thea gave an amused sniff and gestured me back out of the camp chair.

Night arrived more quickly than I had expected. Maybe it was because of the amount of time I had spent laughing over the last hour.

“I’m surprised this place stays open after dark.”

Thea nodded as she set up a different tripod. She fiddled with the screws and checked angles. “Camping isn’t allowed, but a lot of photographers and stargazers come here since there isn’t a lot of light pollution.”

“You said you’re trying to get the Milky Way?”

“Yep. The Milky Way over the rock formation.”

“Not star trails tonight?”

“I’m not sure that will be possible. Those exposures need to be pretty long and if there’s too much moisture in the air it can mess with the lens. We’ll see what’s possible. I have a meter I can use to check.”

“Can you put people in a star trails photo?”

“It’s tricky because they’d basically have to sit in one spot for a long time. There’s a couple ways to do star trails with a digital camera that makes it easier though, or using a composite.”

“Sitting a long time kind of sounds like getting your portrait painted in the olden days.”

“Basically.” Thea checked a few pieces of equipment then looked back at me, her expression thoughtful. “Hmm…”

“Hmm…”

“Want to try?”

“Try?”

“A lot of photography is trial and error. I think if I put a small light on you, it might not disrupt the background of the shot. Your face would be out of focus, but… we could try?”

“I don’t want to mess up an otherwise cool photo by being in it though.”

“That won’t happen.”

“So, I would just sit there?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I want to try.”

Thea smiled at me and then bent to dig through her bag. “Fucking Marshall.”

“What’d Marshall do?”

Thea pulled out a book from her camera bag. “He lost his copy of this and then dog-eared my copy before the book club. He came with me the last time I went out to shoot at night and must’ve stuck it in my bag when we were packing up.”

“Dog-earing someone else’s book is basically a bookish felony.”

“I agree.” Thea grabbed a different lens out of her bag and put the book on the edge of her trunk.

“So where should I sit?”

After a few minutes of figuring out angles and lighting, Thea put me on a blanket on the ground about ten feet away from her. It was still cold enough that I wasn’t super worried about bugs or snakes, but I felt apprehensive this far away from Thea in the dark.

“Think you could sit there for an hour and a half?”

“Probably, but you have to entertain me.”

Thea chuckled. “But you’re the musician. I’m just a photographer.”

“ Just an award-winning photographer.”

“Mostly award losing, remember?”

“That’s not the way awards work.”

“Fair enough.” Thea fell silent as she set up the rest of her equipment. As she had predicted, there were a few other people scattered all over the area, but none were close enough to interfere with the shots and all seemed to want to keep the area as dark as possible.

“You ready?”

“I think so, since I don’t have to actually do anything.”

“True. You just sit there and look pretty without even trying. It’s genuinely unfair.”

I bit my lip.

“Stop blushing. It will mess up the photo.”

“Really?” My eyes widened.

“No, of course not.” Thea’s playful expression made my muscles relax.

“You’re an asshole. I was worried for a half a second.”

“Stop making such adorable expressions all the time, and I’ll stop teasing you.”

Once Thea turned off the extra light, I couldn’t see her face anymore. But even in the short time I had known her, I was pretty sure I could perfectly visualize the wicked, poly-dimpled smile in her voice.

I scanned flecks of light across the indigo sky. “Do you have a favorite star?”

“Rigel.”

“That was a quick answer.”

“The answer hasn’t changed in thirty years, from when I first saw it through a fancy telescope when I visited my grandfather at work.”

“Why that one?”

“It’s blue and incredibly beautiful. It was the first star I found on my own when I learned how to use a telescope.

The first star I ever got a decent photograph of.

It was the star I was going to study for my master’s thesis if I didn’t quit graduate school.

It’s probably the brightest star, but it’s hard to study. ”

“Why didn’t you study it?”

“My grandfather died when I was about to start grad school. I just lost the heart for it. I’ve quit a lot of things in my life because I rush into them too quickly and then burn out or realize that it’s not really right for me.

Or I get scared I’ll suck at it and quit before I have to confront the fact that I never was good enough to do the thing in the first place. I quit preemptively.”

It was silent except the breeze and the echoes of distant voices for several long minutes.

“I’m sorry. That was a lot.” Thea’s voice was quieter than usual.

“No, I’m sorry you lost someone like that. And I’m glad you gave me the real answer.”

“Guess I trust you.”