Hey, are you busy tonight?

He looked down at his phone shortly after it vibrated, surprised to see a message from Macey.  Aware that he had nothing planned, he typed out a response.

Not that I'm aware of.  Why?

I want to go to the beach, and I wanted to invite you.

If you want to come, that is.

Why not during the day?

It's cooler when the sun's not out.  I burn easily.  Plus, it's less crowded.

Sure, I'll go to the beach.

She agreed to pick him up before the sun set, and they'd set off to Daytona Beach, which was about an hour away.

***

For some reason, he hadn't thought to ask if anyone else was coming, and now that they were on the interstate with no one else in Macey's car, he realized that it would just be the two of them.  He didn't know if she'd invited others and they were unable to come, or if she invited just him, and he wasn't sure he would ask her.

They hadn't talked much since he got in the car, but it was a comfortable silence.  Well, silence wasn't the right word, as she had been playing music - a mix of showtunes and country music - the whole time, and he honestly didn't mind it.

As they sped down the interstate, the sun slowly started to set, and by the time they reached the beach, it was nearly dark.

They got out of the car, and he realized that she was right; there were far less people there than there would've been earlier in the day.  The few other people there had already been there for a while, and would probably be leaving soon.

The two of them began walking, and once their feet hit the sand, he could see Macey visibly relax.  It was subtle, but it was like her body was finally winding down after a long day.  She was probably at the Performance Center for most of it, and a night at the beach was probably a great way to end her day.

They walked a bit farther, and they finally settled on a spot near the water.  They sat in dry sand, but their feet touched the wet sand just in front of them. 

At first, they sat in silence, just watching the ocean in front of them.

Then, they started talking.

They talked, and talked, and talked.

Tom didn't even notice the sun had fully disappeared until he looked away from Macey, and noticed the moon hanging in the sky above them, surrounded by stars.

He looked back at Macey, who was speaking.   He looked at her long, blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.  He looked at her blue sundress that was pooled around her, with her legs straightened out in front of her.  The sandals she had been wearing when they arrived were now sitting next to her, and she had her hands behind her, resting on them, as she just looked ahead and talked.

The moonlight cast a white light all around them, and it lit up her makeup-less face.  Sure, he preferred her natural beauty, but it didn't really matter what he thought; it was her face.

She glanced over at him, and stopped talking.

She gave him a small smile. "What are you doing?"

"Looking."

"Looking?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow.  She re-positioned herself so that she was now facing him. "At what?"

"You."

"Oh?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you look very beautiful in the moonlight?"

She blushed. "No."

"Then allow me to be the first to do that," He said. "You look beautiful all the time, but it makes you radiate..." He trailed off. "I'm sorry.  This is weird, isn't it?"

Macey didn't say anything, just looked at him, studied his face.

She began moving again, and slowly crawled over to him.  He was going to say something, but she brought a hand to his face, and he suddenly forgot what it was.

She leaned in and kissed him.

***

I almost ended this with something lame and witty, but instead, I just ended with the kiss.

I also almost quoted The Fault in Our Stars, when Augustus says something like, "You're beautiful, and I don't deny myself the simple pleasure of looking at beautiful things." (or whatever John Green wrote, I read that book 5 years ago lmao)

And finally: I just really like writing about people falling in love in the moonlight (I did something super similar in Irresistible).