Crickets sing a riverside love song as a million stars twinkle overhead, barely visible against the reddened sunset. Nightfall will come quick tonight for the couple underneath the stars.

“Rylee,” Ravi whispers as they lay on their backs on the sanded deck and watch the sky twinkle like a billion tiny diamonds.

“Yeah, Ravi?” Rylee slides her hand over and takes his in hers.

“Why did we come here?”

“I wanted to give you the stars.”

“Then why are you holding my hand?”

“Because I’m falling,” Rylee replies.

Rylee turns her head to the side, looking away from him. She hears him sigh and feels his hand tighten around hers. She smiles, bitting her bottom lip as she watches the water ripple on the light breeze.

“I love you,” she hears him whisper, barely audible. When she looks his way, Ravi blushes and stares at the sky. He holds his breath, chest up and cheeks puffed out.

“I love you too, Ravi,” Rylee whispers as she stares at the side of his face, taking in each perfect feature after another.

The crickets’ song rises around them, as Rylee rolls onto her side and kisses Ravi’s cheek gently and gets to her feet.

She pads to the edge of the dock where she sits and dips her feet into the water. She hears Ravi stand and tromp to the edge, plopping down noisily, bending his legs so that they don’t touch the water.

Rylee leans her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes, bringing in his sweet scent that mingles with the scent of the water from the river.

Ravi grabs Rylee’s hand and kisses her scarred knuckles. Rylee smiles and pulls away. As soon as her hands are free, she pulls Ravi into a hug and kisses his forehead.

He lays on her like that for awhile, his head on her shoulder and her arm around him as the sun drops below the trees and the frogs join in the chorus of crickets with their drum-like croak.

Then, Ravi and Rylee gather their things and walk hand in hand from the deck, where Rylee’s car waits in the grass beside the darkened river.