Page 10 of Beyond The Stars

Before she could process what was happening, Qamar swept her into his arms, his warmth enveloping her like a soft blanket.

“You always smell so good,” he murmured in her ear, swaying them gently, and Siasia couldn’t help but close her eyes, savoring the moment. It felt so warm, safe, and calming—everything she didn’t want to get used to.

Clearing her throat, she reminded him he was crossing a line. “What, you don’t like physical touch?” His thick brows arched in playful inquiry, and she shrugged, trying to play it cool.

“Not really.” She shrugged. “Where we going?”

“You drove?” Qamar asked just as his phone chimed with a message. It was from Janay telling him she was staying at her mom’s house for the next few weeks since she was so close to her due date. Her mama missed her and wanted to be close just in case she had the baby. But in that moment, all that mattered was the heat of Qamar’s body against hers and the spark that ignited between them.

“I always drive,” she replied, rubbing her arms in hopes of warming up. The night air was cool with occasional gusts of wind. Although Lynn Beach didn’t get snow, to the locals it got cold enough to need a jacket and boots.

Qamar replied to Janay before looking up from his phone. “You trying to come chill with me at my place?”

“Um, I don’t know if I feel like being in some jock’s shared apartment with a bunch of nosey ass boys.”

“I live by myself, Siasia.” Qamar laughed.

The way he said her name—no one would ever be able to make her heart skip a beat just from saying the name she’d heard all of her life. Only Qamar. She could already tell he was one of one. “Yea, I’ll follow you.”

“Cool.” Qamar stepped to her. “Where you parked? I can drive you to your car.”

“I can walk. It’s just in the back.”

“Get in the car. I’m taking you round there. Plus, I gotta make sure you don’t disappear on me.”

“Oh lord.” Her head rolled dramatically. “I guess.” She faked annoyed.

“Girl stop acting like you don’t like me,” Qamar teased her as he pulled the passenger door open for her to get in. “You gone love it here.”

“I’m here for a good time, not a long time.”

An amused expression quirked up the sides of his mouth but he continued his stride to his side of the car. Like the last time, she’d leaned over to push the door open for him. “You here for as long as I say you are. Put your seatbelt on.”

4

“This is nice,” Siasia said in a casual tone, hoping to not sound too impressed.

The high-rise he resided in went beyond what she thought he lived in and her expectations were high. He casually drove around in a hundred-thousand-dollar car, so she knew his living arrangements had to be top tier. However, the home she’d just stepped foot in went beyond that. The building was techy and gave a Silicon Valley vibe. It was right on the coast of a private beach that she’d only seen in passing. She was in awe. The sound of his shoes coming off, alerted her to do the same.

“It don’t feel like home though.”

Facing him, her eyes swept his face. There was a curl of his lips yet the barely there smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Why?” Her head tilted.

Qamar’s socked feet padded to the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

“What you got?” She followed behind him, making sure to take in the scene before her. His kitchen and living room were bigger than her whole trailer. It smelled like sweet wood—a scent her nose was loving.

“Shit, everything.”

She peeked around him to get a look into the refrigerator. “You wasn’t lying, huh?” she joked, seeing Qamar indeed had everything. “I’ll take a beer.”

“You don’t look like a beer drinker,” he assessed.

“What I look like then?”

“Too pretty to drink beer. You look like you would order a lemon drop or some other girly shit like that.”

“I ain’t never even had that, so I know I don’t look like the kind of girl that would order it. What is it, anyway?” Her tight eyes showed how eager she was to learn—how eager she was to fit into his world. But what she didn’t know was that Qamar had already noticed her eagerness and was silently rooting for her to find her place in his world. He handed her a beer with a gentle smile, hoping to make her feel more at ease.

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