Page 45 of Connected By Stars
“I’m the lucky one around here. Sara is a damn good legal aide. Samuel was an idiot letting this one go.”
“Thanks, Don. It all worked out in the end because I get to work with my favorite lawyer in the firm.”
“We make a good team.” He beams at her. “I better go make my rounds. It was nice meeting you, Maverick.”
“You too.” I smile at him as he walks away. “So, which one is he?” I look around and try to figure out who the asshole is.
“He’s at the other end of the bar with the blonde,” she says quietly, looking down at her drink.
I glance down the bar and see him looking at us with a frown on his face. He’s a good-looking guy in a business-type ofway. Hair is done to perfection, and the suit is nice and pressed. The blond beside him is on her phone and looks bored out of her mind. I smile at him and then bend down and whisper in Sara’s ear. “He’s looking at you, and he’s not happy that I’m here. Laugh like I said something funny.”
She laughs, and I grin at her. “He doesn’t look happy?”
“Nope, he’s probably tired of hearing about the latest TikTok trends and is regretting his choices right about now.”
She busts out laughing, and a few people glance our way. Laughing, we take our drinks and find a place to sit down and eat. Luckily, we are seated next to Don and his wife, Grace, along with two other couples who Sara likes. Samuel and his date are sitting at the table next to us, and unfortunately for him, he gets a perfect view of us the whole time.
Throughout dinner, we make small talk, and I make sure to put my arm on the back of her chair. By the end of the night, Sara has accomplished what she set out to do. Samuel leaves early, and the blonde can barely keep up with him as he storms off once dinner is finished. He’s definitely pissed she brought a date and probably more pissed that she had a great time and never once looked his way.
“Did you see his face when he left?” She asks, laughing. We’re sitting at the table, finishing our drinks after dinner.
“He definitely wasn’t happy you were here with me.” I grin at her and take a sip of my beer.
“How is your situation going? We haven’t spoken about it since the bar.” I smile as thoughts of Bell enter my mind. “Well, if that smile is any indication, I would say things are going pretty well.”
“I’ve just never felt this way before. We watched the sunrise yesterday, and even a simple thing as hand-holding got me all excited. When I’m not with her, I want to be, and when I’mwith her, I feel like I can never get enough of wanting to be near her.”
“You’ve just said what every girl in the world wants to hear,” she sighs with a dreamy look on her face. “The sex must be on a whole other level with feelings like that.”
“That’s just it. We haven’t had sex.”
“What? Why? Does she want to wait?”
I think of all the times I almost caved to Bell’s pleas and grin. “No, it’s actually me that wants to wait, if you can believe that,” I laugh. “I’ve either lost my mind, or it’s clear for the first time in my life. I told her that I want to wait until after the wedding when we can be honest with our families about seeing where this goes. I always go straight to sex, and with her, I want to take things slower. I don’t want to mess this up, and sleeping with her and keeping this secret from her brother doesn’t sound like I would be off to a good start.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with the guy in the bar I met?”
Laughing, I lean back and take a sip of my beer. “I’m just trying to be who she deserves. Someone Noah would want for his sister. For the first time, it doesn’t feel right to go straight to sex even though I really, really want to.” God, do I want to. “There’s also a part of me that’s scared to death to take the next step with her.”
I sigh and decide to be completely honest with her. At this point, she’s the only one I can really talk to about this. “I’ve never slept with someone I truly care about. It’s opening myself up to being vulnerable, and I don’t like it. I’m used to being in control, but with her, I feel like she has all the power. If I let her in all the way and she decides I’m not enough, I don’t think I could take it.”
“Love is scary, and it’s about being vulnerable with the person you are with, but it’s also the most amazing feeling in theworld. She’s scared too, trust me, but you have to trust each other enough not to break each other’s hearts. I think Noah would be very lucky to have his sister date you. I also think you’re doing the right thing. There are a lot of people who are involved, and it’s good that you’re taking things slow and making sure that this is what you both want. Sex can sometimes complicate things, or in your case, it’s just your way of not dealing with feelings and getting instant gratification.”
“I just hope you’re right about Noah. I can’t change my past, but I’m hoping to prove to him that I’m good enough to be in his sister’s future.”
I walk upthe stairs to my apartment building an hour later and see a note on my door.
Meet me at the dock.
I grin at the same note I gave her and turn around, heading back down the stairs again before walking across the grass to the gazebo. I see her sitting on our bench, hugging her knees. She has her head back, and she’s staring at the full moon.
I stop and take in her beauty, bathed in moonlight. God, she’s beautiful. I remember at a young age thinking Noah’s sister was pretty, but it wasn’t until she was in high school that I really started to see how beautiful she was. It just made my need to protect her all the more harder. I would have done anything to keep her safe. I still would. She must sense me staring at her because she turns her head to meet my gaze.
“Hi, I see you got my note.” She smiles at me, and I nod.
“I came here as soon as I read it. I probably should have changed first.” I look down at my suit and laugh. Iwasn’t thinking of anything when I read the note except seeing her. I take off my jacket and lay it on the bench next to me before undoing my cuffs and rolling them up because of the heat.
She gets up and walks over to me, eyeing my clothes. “I’m glad you didn’t change. I find you extremely sexy, all dressed up like this.” She slides her hands up my shirt and grabs my collar in both hands.
