I knew there wasn’t anything going on with Sarah. Number one, Sterling would never be that unprofessional. And number two, Sterling would never be that unprofessional.
I’m not blind anyway. I noticed the way she batted her eyelashes at him the first time I was there. It just caught me so off guard. I reacted before I even had a chance to think about what I was doing.
And what I was doing, as I mentioned, was acting like a child.
This whole misunderstanding thing is completely my fault anyway. I’m the one who keeps holding Sterling at arm’s length. And for what? Just to please my brother?
Sterling’s been so patient and honest with me, telling me everything about his past. And what have I done? Continued to push him away, while flirting with him at the same time. It’s not fair. I see that now.
Then, according to my friends, he spent hours searching for me after work. He texted them all day to see if I had gotten in touch because he was worried about me.
He really is a very sweet guy.
That’s the type of thing you see in movies. I can picture it now, him driving all over town while a cheesy love song plays in the background. And he did it for me.
After he left last night, the girls and I talked for hours. Well, I talked mostly. They are the world’s best listeners.
Today, I'm making a running list titled 'Pros and Cons of Getting into a Relationship with Sterling,' and here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
Pros: He makes me laugh. He makes me smile. He is thoughtful and caring. He loves animals. He’s gorgeous, with his wavy brown hair, mahogany eyes, and dimples that appear every time he smiles.
I was trying not to be superficial, so I didn’t even mention his muscles, but take my word for it, they are there, and they are quite lovely.
More pros: He works hard. He’s a great friend. He appreciates the little things.
The pro I’ve been putting off but it must be listed: His kisses are magical.
I think that when someone’s kisses literally make you weak in the knees, you’ve got something.
Cons: Um, hmmm. Let’s try this again. Thinking, thinking.
Cons: I guess maybe because his kisses make me weak in the knees combined with my tripping history, I could get injured somehow. It’s possible I could maybe fall over on a hard surface or something.
To turn that back into a pro, we could just head right to a couch. I might have to look into that, but that would involve kissing him more. So now we’ve circled right back around to a pro again.
Oh well. Moving on.
Cons, Cons: Oh, I got one. He lives here and I live in Memphis. That’s definitely a con. That and Peter, but honestly, I don’t think Peter’s a big problem anymore. I think I’m just using him as an excuse to take things slow.
Deep down, Peter knows that Sterling and I are good for each other, always have been. Plus, we’re adults. There’s not much he can do about it anyway. He’s just trying to be a good big brother, and I appreciate that.
Clearly, it’s a lopsided list. So here I am, sitting in my hotel room trying to figure out what to do next.
It needs to be something big, a grand gesture. Well, no, it doesn’t have to be, but I want it to be. He deserves it. For now, I’ll just do my best not to flirt with him when we’re together until I figure out what to do.
We don’t have plans to see each other over the next few days because everything is all set for the final two events. They are back-to-back, with the silent auction taking place on Friday and the concert on Saturday.
Until then, I’ll just keep brainstorming.
***
It’s Friday. The week’s going by surprisingly fast. I spent most of the days just double checking on the details for today and tomorrow, making sure we didn’t miss anything so that everything is as successful as it can be.
We switched girls’ night to last night because of the auction tonight. Mia and Zoe helped me come up with a plan for Sterling.
It’s going to be hard because it takes place at the concert on Saturday, so I’m going to have to play it cool tonight at the auction. Hopefully he won’t look too handsome when I see him.
Linda, Mia and Zoe all show up ahead of time to help the designer get things in place. Peter and Sterling got here early this morning to set up the tables and bring it all the donations.