"It looks like there are a thousand stars above," I marveled.
Arnold giggled from where he lay next to me on his lawn. "I bet Dorothy Ann could tell us just how many there were, exactly."
I laughed. "'According to my research, Phoebe, that's a gross understatement.' That is what she'd say."
"Sometimes, I think DA gets too caught up in science," Arnold murmured.
I turned to face him, raising my eyebrows in question. "How do you mean?"
"She thinks too much. Overanalyzes," he clarified. "Sometimes things don't have to be explained in science to be real."
"For instance?"
"This, right now. Sitting with you. It's nice, but I don't think DA would understand it. It's not intellectual enough."
I chuckled. "What about the patterns in a pretty rock? I know how much you love those," I teased him.
He blushed slightly. "Or a cute animal. You love those more than almost anything."
"I do," I admitted. "But I love you more." Arnold shifted uncomfortably. I knew that for all his loyalty, he wasn't always comfortable with expressions of affection.
"I love you more than rocks," he said quietly. And maybe that doesn't sound like a particularly romantic thing to say, but coming from Arnold, it was all I needed to hear.