Page 9 of Connected By Stars
I turn on the lights and walk to the back room to make some coffee. I have the next three days off while Cole and Skye are here, so I have a lot of work to get done before our dinner tonight. I’m looking forward to relaxing with the guys and having fun this weekend.
I pour two mugs of coffee and add the creamer she likes when I hear the front door open. I wipe my hands on my boardies, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I’ve been alone with her a million times before. Today is no different. I take a deep breath and walk to my desk, setting the coffee down.
I hear her come back, and I glance up at her. She’s wearing cutoff shorts with a t-shirt from my shop. She has it tied, showing off her toned abs and her belly button piercing. I swallow hard and meet her eyes. She’s got her no-nonsense look on her face. I try and read her and see no trace of what I saw last Sunday.
“Hi, I made us some coffee.” I point to my desk. She looks over at my desk before looking back at me.
“Thanks. Let me set up my laptop, and I’ll show you what I came up with.” She walks over, sits behind my desk like she always does, and starts to load the images and videos. Taking a sip of her coffee, she focuses on the screen. I guess we’re back to the way things were before. This is what I wanted. I should be happy. Instead, disappointment weaves its way in, leaving me with an uneasy feeling.
I go and stand behind her so I can see the screen. I sip my coffee as she shows me the first clip. She filmed me running to the water just as the sun is coming up. I smile as I watch how she puts my board maneuvers to the music.
“These are great,” I say, leaning over her to get a better look. “You got it!” I grin and point to the air I did. She turns to me and smiles at my excitement. God, I love seeing her happy.
“I told you I would capture it if you did one while I was there.” She laughs, and just like that, we’re back to normal. She shows me the rest of the videos she edited, along with the stills. Taking a sip of her coffee, she pulls her long hair to the side, giving me a clear view of her slender neck. I’m so close at this angle that I can smell the vanilla with just a hint of coconut that invaded my senses last night as I lay in bed. A scent I’ve come to crave.
All it would take is for me to turn my head slightly, and I could taste her. She turns her head at the exact moment, and I can feel her breath on my face. I can hear her breathing increase, but her eyes give nothing away. I feel myself go hard and force myself to look away, breaking the eye contact. I stand up and get some distance between us to clear my head.
I rub the back of my neck to ease the tension. “These are really good Bell. They should get some good views for the business. You’re good at writing captions, so go ahead and post themthis week. I’m going to get the front ready to open. The new inventory is all set up and displayed, so when you want to film and take some pictures, it’s ready for you.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll be out in a second.” She shuts down her laptop and begins to get her camera gear out.
Needing some air, I go up front and unlock the front door before stepping outside. I take deep breaths, breathing in the salty air and willing my body to relax. It’s not like I’ve never noticed Bell before. We grew up together, and I watched her grow into the beautiful woman she is today. I just neverletmyself go there. She’s Noah’s little sister and has always been this perfect, untouchable girl in my eyes.
Besides, Noah knows me and my past. He would kill me if I slept with her, and I can’t do that to her. Her heart would get involved, and I can’t risk my friendship with Noah and his family. I just have to ride out this attraction and pray it goes away.
Taking one last deep breath, I go back inside and see her filming in the back corner. She’s bent over to get a certain angle on the merchandise, and that perfect ass is just begging me to touch it. Why can’t she be in baggy joggers instead of shorts that make her tanned legs look so damn good? I’ve seen her in joggers, though, too, and it wouldn’t matter.
I sigh and walk to the register to get it ready. Thankfully, a customer comes in, and I can focus on someone else. I look him over as he walks my way. He must be around my age. He’s got blond hair and is around my height and build. He’s what you picture every lifeguard on the East Coast to look like. He smiles at me and shows me a perfect set of teeth.
“Hey, man. This place is great.” He looks around and takes in all the merchandise. “I’m looking for a new board and heard this is the place to go.”
“Thanks. How did you hear about us?” I see him look pastme and smile. I follow his stare and see Bell still bent over, taking more shots.
I move to block his view. “Um,” he glances back at me. “I came across your social media page and saw your new board inventory.”
“It’s this way.” I move him away from Bell toward the boards along the wall. “Anything in particular that you’re looking for? Short, long?” I glance at him, and he’s still focused on Bell. Feeling my irritation rise, I clear my throat. He looks back at me.
“Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was asking what you were looking for?”
“I need a short board.”
“Okay, that would be these over here.” I point to the selection we have and hear the door open again. “I’ll be right back. Take a look at what we have, and let me know if you have any questions. We have leashes and traction pads on that wall there.” I gesture to my right.
“Sounds good. Thanks.” He starts to look through the boards, and I head up front to greet the next customer.
I finish ringing up the last of the crowd that came in when I hear Bell laugh. Frowning, I put the items in the bag and do my best to smile at the couple in front of me before they leave the store. I look back and see the lifeguard dude talking to Bell. She puts her hand on his arm and laughs at something he says. Jealousy hits me like a freight train, throwing me off guard. Trying to reign in my emotions, I walk to them and turn to this David Hasselhoff wannabee.
“Did you find the board you wanted?” I come off a little harsher than I wanted because he’s still a customer, but I don’t care at this point.
Mr. Blondie turns to look at me with a surprised look on his face. “Uh, yeah. I found the one I need. Bell was just telling meabout some surf spots I have to try out around this area.” He grins at Bell, and she smiles back at him.
He called her Bell. Everyone calls her Bella, butme. I fist my hands at my side before I do something stupid like throw him out of my store.
“Did she now.” I look at Bell and give her a death stare. She blinks, surprised, before she puts her armor on and crosses her arms over her chest, giving me an equally effective stare.
“I did. Logan is new in town, so I thought I would help him out.” She narrows her eyes at me, daring me to say something.
