Under the Moonlight (excerpt)
Claire was in the bathroom when she heard the knock on her door. Taking a quick glance at the clock—a quarter after seven—she took her towel with her as she walked to the door, gently drying her hair along the way. She made a cautious look through the peephole to see Nick standing outside her door, so she smiled and opened the door to welcome him in.
“Hey, Nick, what are you doing here? Come on in.” She stepped to the side to let him in, and he greeted her back with a smile as she closed to door and locked it.
“Hey, Claire, sorry to come over unannounced, I just thought,” he looked over to the sliding glass door on the other end of the room that led out to Claire’s balcony, “that tonight was a really beautiful night,” he turned his attention back to her, “and I thought it’d be nice to share it with a friend, you know?” He pressed his lips together in a nervous smile as he watched Claire continue to pat her hair with the towel in her hand.
“I know what you mean.” Claire looked over to the balcony door as well, making note of the bright full moon in the sky. “What about Jason though? You know, your roommate?” She turned back to Nick and laughed.
“I spend every night with him.” Nick defended with a laugh. “I’d like to spend some nights with you and other friends.”
“Yeah, I know.” Claire smiled and dropped her arms, finished manually drying her hair. “I’m going to go put this towel back in the bathroom and brush my hair, and then I’ll be right back. You had perfect timing with your knock—I had just gotten out of the shower.” Claire stepped around Nick and proceeded to the bathroom, and Nick watched after her as she walked away. As the bathroom door closed, he pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment as he took in a deep breath and let it out through the mouth, opening his eyes as he did so. He turned back toward the balcony door and walked over to it, walking carefully down the set of three steps that separate the balcony doors from the rest of the large living room and kitchen, and placing a hand against the door and leaning easily against it.
Today. You have to tell her today. If he’d told himself this once, he’d told himself a thousand times. No matter how many times he stubbornly decided to tell Claire the truth, as soon as he saw her, his courage abandoned him. He would even often tell Jason about his resolution to do so in hopes that having told someone else that he would, it would make him do it, but it never sufficed—when the time came, he could never find the words or the courage to say something.
Nick’s thoughts wandered back to earlier this evening—only maybe an hour earlier—when he first looked out the window in his shared apartment with Jason to see the full moon up in the sky.
“I’m going to do it.” he said, his eyes fixed on the moon.
“Huh?” Jason asked, looking up from his phone at the couch.
Nick turned around to face Jason. “I’m going to do it. I have to do it. I mean, look outside. It’s a beautiful night, there’s a full moon above us—it’s the perfect night to tell her!”
“Oh, so you’re talking about telling Claire again. Yeah, I’m sure you’re going to.” Jason raised his eyebrow and smirked in the way he always did after saying something sarcastic.
“I mean it this time, Jason.” Nick was unbothered by the sarcastic remark, instead rushing over to the couch and sitting down beside Jason. “I really want to tell her, and I seriously intend to do so. I’m going to go over to her apartment right now, and I’m going to do it.”
Jason sat up from his reclined position. “Right now? You’re going to drive down there, knock on the door, and when she answers, you’re going to immediately confess everything right on her doorstep?”
A nervous chill went down Nick’s spine just as Jason said it, and his courage already felt as though it was wavering. “Well, maybe not instantly upon her opening the door…”
“You’re not going to do it.” Jason leaned back again, resting against the arm of the couch.
“No, I will! I’m going right now!” Nick jumped up from his seat on the couch and went over to the kitchen counter to grab his keys and wallet. He hastily scanned the room, furrowing his eyebrows as he did so. “What all do I need to go make a confession?” Nick turned his head to face Jason, pressing his lips together with his eyebrows raised.
“You’ll probably need a bottle of water to combat the dry mouth you’re gonna have.” Jason suggested, one eyebrow raised.
Nick nodded his head despite the tension in his neck that wanted him to freeze. He pulled open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of cold water, pressing it against his forehead to cool the warmth already building up in his face.
“You already look like a nervous wreck.” Jason burst into laughter and clapped his hands together as he did so.
Now, standing in Claire’s living room and looking out at the full moon that had seemed to give him so much courage earlier, he found that that very courage has already slipped from his grasp. He could feel the back of his throat getting dry, but he drank the whole bottle of water on his way here and in the car as his built up enough courage to walk up the stairs to Claire’s door.