syzygy (n.)

an alignment of celestial bodies, especially of the moon and the sun

* * *

(5 weeks after graduation)

AT the beginning of July, a total solar eclipse happened an hour away from us in Provincetown. Since Eli and I were both space nerds, we had to go see it. The eclipse wasn't scheduled to occur until late afternoon, so we decided to drive up early in the morning and spend most of the day lounging around at the beach.

"Do you have everything?" Eli asked as he slammed my trunk shut.

"I think so," I replied, making my way to the driver's seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" he chuckled right behind me.

"I'm getting into the car..."

Eli lightly flicked my nose. "You're on the wrong side, idiot. I'm driving."

"It's my car, and you always drive. I don't want to be one of those girls who always force their boyfriend to drive."

"You're not forcing me. I don't mind it," he said, voice lacking conviction.

"And I love surprises," I deadpanned as I clicked my seatbelt into place.

Eli reached across my body to un-click it. "Babe, I love you, but you're not the best driver. And before you punch me, I'm not making fun of you. I think it's so cute how you drive slow and can't parallel park. And your road rage is very charming. I just want us to get to Provincetown before the eclipse, not a year after it's over. So, get your ass into the other seat before I force you."

Huffing, I climbed over the center console and plopped into the passenger seat. "You don't see me making fun of how bad you are at MarioKart."

"That's a game and doesn't reflect my superb driving skills. And for your information, I'm amazing at MarioKart. I always wipe the floor with Ben and Ethan's asses, and I'd hardly call that being 'bad at MarioKart,'" he mocked as he sat down and started the ignition.

"Your competition sucks, so of course, you'll be the best," I quipped. "Playing against any competent player, you'll get lapped. The game will end before you cross the finish line."

With a smirk on his face, his gaze darted to me for a fleeting moment. "You wanna go, Charlotte? I'll stop the car to fight you right here, right now."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "What happened to getting to Provincetown before the eclipse?"

"So you're saying it'll take hours for you to beat me? Doesn't sound like I'm that bad, after all."

"No," I shot back. "It'll take hours because your ego will demand a rematch every time I beat you."

"We'll see about that," he snorted.

"Yeah, you'll see that I'm better," I smiled smugly.

Barely suppressing a grin, he stuck his tongue out at me.

"In all seriousness, though, am I really that bad of a driver? I thought I was good."

He grimaced, deliberately avoiding my incredulous gaze. "Uh... I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you are. And all five of the cops who've pulled you over in Haven Beach would agree with me."

"I've only been pulled over for driving too slow," I protested. "That's not breaking any rules, therefore it doesn't count."

"You were going fifteen in a forty-five zone. My grandma drives faster than that," he argued. "And while it's not breaking any rules, going thirty on the highway is endangering everyone. I'm surprised they let you get your license."

"You're so mean. All I do is love you, and you bully me." I jut out my bottom lip. "What would Maura say?"

"She'd give me a smack on the head, but she's not here," he said triumphantly.

"Exactly," I grinned, reaching over to whack Eli for her.

"Don't you dare, Char. I'm driving, remember?"

I slouched in my seat. "You're no fun."

* * *

An hour later, we arrived at one of Provincetown's beaches. I wanted to set our towels up nearby the paths to the parking lot and bathrooms, but Eli had other plans. After we spend way too much time walking to the far end of the beach, he finally stopped and dumped our stuff out of the bags.

Ignoring his open-mouthed stare, I slid my shorts and t-shirt off to reveal my bikini.

"Do you need help with your sunscreen?"

"I have the spray kind," I told him as I balled my clothes up and tossed them into my beach bag.

He rummaged through his bag and held up his bottle of rub-on sunscreen. "They do say that this kind is better. Want me to rub it in for you? You know, get those hard-to-reach places? I can't have you getting skin cancer and dying on me."

"Okay," I shrugged. "I'll just pretend that this isn't an excuse for you to grope me."

"It worked, so no need to pretend," he grinned. "You look so fucking hot in that tiny green bikini, there's no way I'll keep my hands to myself anyway."

I did a little twirl for him. "So you like it? I bought it last week."

"Of course. What's not to like? A beautiful girl is wearing it," he groaned, pulling my chest flush against his. "And best of all, it's green, tiny, and thin... Although, I'd like it much better laying on the sand. Can I take it off?" His quick fingers started to undo the knot at the back.

I peered up at him. "I'm not letting you take it off."

Despite my words, he continued loosening the knot. "Why not? It's nothing I haven't seen before. I like your tits. Love 'em actually."

"And I like your abs, but I don't beg you to let me see them." I slapped his hands away and retied the strings before my top fell off.

"Go right ahead." He stepped back to whip his shirt off. "Drool and touch them all you want. I know you want to."

"Later. Can you put sunscreen on me now, please? I'm already starting to burn."

"I'd fucking love to." He squirted a generous glob of sunscreen onto his palm and started running his hands all over my body. His hands lingered on my chest and ass, leaving large white handprints as he caressed the skin. "Ugh, you're so gorgeous."

"Thank you, babe. Is it all rubbed in?"

"No, there's still some right here," he grinned, slapping my ass. "You're making me so hard. Do you want to fuck? I'll do all the work. I even brought condoms."

I snorted at his bluntness. "Were you planning on fucking me on the beach? Is that why we're so far down?"

Eyes darting around, he scratched his head. "No?"

"Well, we're on a public beach, just in case you forgot." I condescendingly patted his chest before lying face-down on my towel.

Seconds later, I felt his weight resting on my back. "So what? As you said, nobody else is this far down. If you're worried about people seeing, we can go in the water. I really, really wanna take that bathing suit off you." His fingers toyed with the fabric around my bottom.

Once again, I laughed and half-heartedly slapped his hands away. "Keep it in your pants. I don't want an infection from getting sand up there."

"Oh, I forgot about that," he sulked. "We can fuck later, but can we make out now?"

"Go take a cold swim," I snickered, rolling over to point at the ocean. "Let's leave the public indecency fines to Ben."

"Can we compromise? We can make out while I take a cold swim," he asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

Before I could respond, Eli decided for me. He scooped me up and started running to the water.

"Elliot!" I screeched, writhing in his arms. "Put me down. I don't wanna get wet."

"Why not? Being wet is a good thing," he winked. "I like making you wet."

"I don't want to get my hair wet," I corrected. "Now put me down."

He stopped in the water at waist-depth, slightly cocking his head to the side. "Why not? Chicks are always complaining about that. It's just water. It's not like you're going to turn into a mermaid, like those girls in that show you love."

"It's 'cause the saltwater damages our hair. It also makes it all tangled and gives it a weird texture. So, put me the fuck down."

"Well, one time can't hurt." He unceremoniously dumped me into the lukewarm water.

"Elliot Ash!" I sputtered, wiping the stinging salt from my eyes.

"Yes, Charlotte Elizabeth?" he grinned cheekily.

"I am going to kill you," I groaned, splashing him.

"But I love you," he pouted. "I'm sorry."

"I love you, too."

"Pinky promise you won't kill me?"

"I pinky promise," I said as I jumped on his back. "Now give me a piggyback ride."

* * *

We horsed around in the water for the rest of the morning. An hour before the eclipse began, we packed our stuff up and drove a few miles to a beach with a better view. I assumed that an hour would be plenty of time for us to park and secure a good spot, but I was sorely mistaken.

As we approached the driveway entrance to the parking lot, it was already overflowing with cars. People were double parking on the side of the road just to make space.

"Where are we going? You just drove past the parking lot."

"We're going somewhere else," he said cryptically.

"Can you just tell me?" I sighed. "I swear, every single time we go somewhere, it's always some huge mystery. Out with it, Elliot. My patience is thinning."

He chuckled, "I was gonna tell you, but you cut me off."

"By all means, please continue."

"Okay, so on your birthday, you refused to climb the lighthouse with me—"

"Well, yeah," I huffed. "Eighteen's too young to die."

"—and you promised to climb one with me this summer. It's summer, so it's time to climb a lighthouse. You pinky promised, so I get to cut off your pinky finger if you refuse."

"I said another lighthouse."

"Mhmm. We're going to another one. That one." He nodded to the black and white lighthouse about fifty yards up the road. Unlike the one at the other beach, this one looked new and somewhat safe. The only problem was that no ladder was in sight.

"How do we get up there? Please say we're not climbing it Rapunzel-style with some rope."

"There's a staircase inside."

I crossed my arms. "Okay... And how exactly do we get inside? If it's illegal, I'm not doing it."

"It's a public building and should be open. Are you done bitching?"

I ignored his jibe, "And if it's not open?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there... Actually, we'll climb the tower when we get there."

"Very punny."

"Thank you, thank you," he bowed as the car rolled to a stop.

We got out of the car and headed over to the lighthouse. Thankfully, the door was open, and we effortlessly climbed the windy staircase to the top. Other than the four old women, we had the lookout and panoramic view of the beach and ocean all to ourselves.

As we waited, it got darker with each passing minute; it was like someone was gradually dimming the lights in a room. At a glance, I could see that the sun was a crescent shape, already partially blocked by the moon.

Everything (except for the ocean) quieted around us in anticipation of the celestial event. It felt eerie--even the incessant song of the birds and crickets ceased. I swear, you could hear a pin drop.

"What do you think you're doing?" Eli snickered, covering my eyes with his hands.

"Looking at the pretty sun and moon?" I said while trying to pry his hands away. "Let go. I want to watch it happen."

"No, dumbass. You're not supposed to look directly at it... Close your eyes for a sec."

I closed my eyes and felt something scratch my face. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was blackness. "Where did the light go?"

"It's covered by the glasses. You can take them off if—and only if—you promise to not look up until it's time."

Eyes trained on the platform below my feet, I slid the chunky glasses off. "How are these black 3D glasses from some elementary school book fair gonna help?"

"They're eclipse glasses--my mom got them on some legit science website. It's common knowledge that you can't look at the sun, especially during a solar eclipse. It's only safe when the sun is covered during totality. I can't believe you didn't know that, resident moon expert," he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, like you're one to talk. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember you thinking that brown cows make chocolate milk."

He scoffed, "Well, I'm sorry that my mom tricked me."

"I still—"

Eli clamped his hand over my mouth. "Shush, it's starting."

Forgetting about the glasses, I started to look up. Luckily, Eli was still paying attention to me and covered my eyes before it was too late.

As soon as my glasses filtered out the remaining light, I had a perfect view of the moon slowly but steadily obscuring the sun. The few rays of sunlight decreased until only a fragment was visible around the edges of the moon.

I ripped the glasses off as soon as the eclipse reached totality.

"Woah, that's... gorgeous," I breathed, spellbound by the silver ring of fire in the sky.

"Mhmm."

Feet rooted in our spots, we stared at the eclipse and the sky. Everything was dark, and the horizon was bleeding a sunrise-orange color. The stars shimmered brighter than usual and looked giant. My body knew it was the middle of the day, but my eyes and brain were dazed and confused by the sudden disappearance of light.

"There's something really cool about this," Eli piped up. "The sun, moon, and Earth all meet up for a short time, then separate. In this exact spot, it hasn't happened for hundreds of years. And, it won't happen for a few hundred more... It's incredible—like magic."

"Does it have something to do with the number thirteen, too?"

Grinning, he turned to face me, "Of course it does."

I arched a brow. "How so?"

"According to the smart people at NASA, we are currently watching the thirteenth total solar eclipse of this century."

"I guess it was just meant to be."

"Just like you and me."

"Just like you and me," I echoed, leaning back into his chest to watch the rest.

* * *

Thanks for reading bonus chapter a! There is one more coming so don't forget to be on the lookout! 💚

If anyone was wondering, the real 13th total solar eclipse of the 21st century happened on December 14, 2020 in South America and the Pacific Ocean. So what Eli said isn't exactly true, but it's sorta close to the real 13th one that happened 7 months ago

QOTC: Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse?

My Answer: No. I remember there was one across the entire US 4 (?) years ago, but where I live, it wasn't total. Seeing one in person is something I'd love to do someday!