On a moonlit, starry fall night in Fayetteville, complete with a freezing mist, I couldn’t help but feel warm all over. We were exposed to the elements on a rooftop balcony to an apartment complex on campus. It was just the two of us and a blanket meant for one person. I felt absent from the rest of the world as I found an entirely new world in her eyes that could more-than-sufficiently sustain my being.

Soon after our arrival to the secluded sanctuary, any barriers we held up throughout the process of learning one another quickly collapsed and we began being our true selves. It was the easiest difficult moment of my life and I was completely comfortable in it. I let out my weird side; the part only my lifelong best friends know the full extent of, but I did not let out the entirety of my uniqueness. I have to leave room for surprises in the relationship, right?

I laughed more than I have in ages over things I never pictured laughing about with a significant other. We quoted SpongeBob and did impersonations, and a lot of times we just made faces at each other. I don’t know if she has any reason in particular, but I kept looking back at her instead of remaining focused on the moon and the stars because the stars in her eyes shone much brighter than the ones in the night sky. There was no need to look out amongst these celestial beings and make wishes or picture a brighter future because what I wished for was in my arms beside me and my future was with her.

There was a feeling that came over me whenever I kissed her that was extraterrestrial, making me the farthest-traveling astronaut in our solar system. I cannot describe where her kiss sends me other than over the moon and beyond the imagination. I’ve formed my own orbit that only lands on the planet in her eyes.

Her hands felt at home in my hand, our interlocking fingers becoming a dam to hold back the flood of feelings I have for her. As each day passes, I grow more confident in showing my feelings to her, but I remain cautious not to be overbearing. Too much of anything is a bad thing. Even affection and emotion.

Three and a half hours passed on that rooftop. I gave her the blanket so she would stay more. Despite her best efforts, I denied any notion that I was slightly chilled, let alone barely hiding my shivering, but I didn’t want to change the moment in any way possible. She was as close as I could physically be to another human, yet I found myself still wanting to be closer. Each time I sent myself into orbit while shutting off the flood waters, my blood flowed with a fervor and heat that awakened my frostbitten body. On a cold fall night, she became my source of warmth and relief from the cold.

As the night came to a close and I kissed her goodnight more than a dozen times, I stayed in orbit, longing to visit the world in her eyes again.