Page 2 of Connected By Stars
I’m not too far behind her at 5’7, and with my mom owning a yoga studio in town, we both are very fit and lean. We have the guys lining up for us in the small town, but no one has made us feel thatitfactor. We both date a lot, but we’ve made a pact to never settle. We want the hot, passionate love that you read about in my brother’s books. He’s recently found it, and we refuse to settle for less.
“It went great. The waves were firing just like Mav said they would be. You know how he studies the weather patterns and currents. I swear he was a merman in another life with the way he can sense the waves.” I set my bags down on the table and walk to the coffee pot to get some caffeine in me.
“Yeah, he’s been able to do that since he was little.” She laughs.
“How’s the grading coming along?” I point to the papers in front of her. Sophia is a second-grade teacher at our local elementary school in Crystal Isles. It’s the same one we all went to when we were little. Luna left not too long ago and is now at the middle school in seventh grade this year.
“I’m almost done. Luckily, it’s just second grade, so it’s not like I’m grading essays and term papers on a Sunday morning.”
“God, could you imagine yourself being a high school teacher? The boys would literally sit there with hard-ons during the whole class.” I bust out laughing at the image.
“Oh, my God. They’re so horny at that age, it would be awful.” She laughs with me. “I always wished I had a hot teacher in college so we could have one of those hot scandalous affairs, but now that I’m the teacher, it’s a completely different vibe.”
“Mmmmm, the college professor-student thing is a hot fantasy, but I totally get your point being on the other side of it.Younger guys are not our thing. Best to stick with the cute second graders where it’s safe.”
“Speaking of school,” her eyes light up with excitement, “do you remember how much I really wanted kindergarten when I first started teaching, and there were no spots open?”
“Oh my God! You got in, didn’t you?”
“I did! They just sent me an email saying a spot has opened up, and it’s mine if I want it. I’m going to be a kindergarten teacher next year!” She squeals, and I get up to crush her in a hug.
“I’m so happy for you! I know this has been your dream since you were little.”
“You should have been here when I opened the email. We may have gotten our first noise complaint because I’m pretty sure I screamed,” she says, laughing.
I wave my hand and dismiss the idea. “Our neighbors love us, and I’m sure they are used to our noise by now.” I look at her, beaming with pride. “My best friend is a kindergarten teacher.”
“You know how much I love kids, especially that age. They’re so cute and adorable with the things they say. I have all these ideas running through my head, and just the thought of teaching these kids how to read and introducing them to all the books I know they will love.” She gets a dreamy look in her eyes and smiles. “I can’t wait to have one of my own. Down the road, though,” she laughs.
“You’ll make a great mom someday. But I agree, let’s put the kids on hold for a while, at least until you meet Mr. Perfect.” I grin at her above my coffee cup rim.
“Definitely, but if I don’t find Mr. Perfect before I turn thirty, I’m picking him out of a catalog and having a baby with him that way.”
“Maybe they can give us a two-for-one deal?” We bust out laughing. “Can you imagine us asking if they do a BOGOdeal on sperm?” Tears fall down my face as I shake with laughter.
“I’ll keep an eye out for coupons, just in case.” We are laughing so hard she can hardly get the words out.
Calming down, I wipe my eyes. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Same.” She smiles at me.
I let her get back to grading and take my camera gear back to my office. We live in a small apartment complex in town and got lucky with our three bedrooms. It’s on the ground level, and our patio has a view of the canal out back. We have a community dock that we can walk to, and most days, you can see a dolphin or manatee swimming by.
I let Sophia have the master bedroom and bathroom in exchange for the smaller bedroom and office. With me working from home, it’s nice to have a quiet place to work.
I get the memory card from my camera and load the footage onto my MacBook Pro. Images of Maverick appear on the screen. I scan through the videos and still shots that I captured. It’s very hard to take a bad picture of him. I don’t even think it’s possible, so I have a ton of footage to work with.
I look through some of the videos to make sure I captured all of his best waves and smile when I see one of him in the air. He’s going to love that one.
I get them all uploaded and spend the next hour sorting through the ones I want to edit into reels and photography stills. I stop on one of him that I took. He didn’t see me take this one off to the side. He’s at the water’s edge, looking out at the waves and studying them. I zoomed in on his face and captured the intensity and longing in his beautiful green eyes. You can see his love for the ocean and surfing by the way he looks at the water. I reach out and touch the screen, tracing the lines of his face. I remove my hand and sigh.
I hold my biggest secret close to my heart, and it’s killing me the older I get. I think of Sophia and my brother, Noah. Maverick’s not only my best friend’s older brother but he’s been Noah’s best friend since birth. What would they do if they knew? I’m the only one who knows that I’ve been secretly in love with Maverick Alexander Lane my entire life, and my biggest fear is that I’ll never feel with anybody the way I feel when I’m around him.
Chapter Two
Maverick
Slidingthe key into the door, I walk intoLane’s Surf Shackand turn on the lights. Every time I walk in here, I feel a sense of accomplishment. When my dad told me he wanted to pass it on to me, I jumped at the chance. I’ve had ideas in my head for a while now on what I wanted to do with the place, and so far, everything has gone according to plan. The business is growing, and I couldn’t be happier.
