Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
HEATH
Stella’s smile as she answered the door made my drive across town on icy roads worth every white-knuckled second. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I grinned and stepped inside, sweeping her into my arms and dipping her low for a kiss.
She smiled against my mouth, her hands instantly wrapping around my shoulders. When I finally stood her up, she laughed, the light in those hazel eyes dancing. “Trying to sweep me off my feet?”
“Maybe.” I chuckled. “Is it working?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I kissed her forehead, then kicked off my shoes before following her into the living room and joining her on the couch. “How was your day?”
“Busy. I deep cleaned, did laundry and braved Costco. You?”
“Worked for a while. Let Mom drag me downtown for shopping.” I pulled a red square jewelry box out of my jeans pocket and handed it over. “For you. ”
“Another gift? That’s two days in a row.” She took the box. “Now I feel like I should have bought you a jumbo-sized box of Cheerios from the store.”
“I do love my Cheerios.”
“I know.” She smiled. “Mom would always make sure to have them whenever you and Guy had sleepovers.”
Looking back at our memories together was an unexpected thrill about being with Stella. It was fun to see what details she remembered. The ones I did.
Our history was the reason I’d had a near-constant smile since last night. It was like a piece had clicked into place. A piece I hadn’t realized was missing.
Stella filled the gap.
She opened the box and another breathtaking smile stretched across her mouth. “Bows.”
“I saw them and had to get them. They made me think of you.”
“You thought of me?”
“Nonstop.”
She blushed and pulled one of the earrings out of the box, a tiny golden bow adorned with rainbow-colored jewels. Stella put it in her ear, then did the same with the other. “I love rainbow colors.”
“I know.”
No sooner than the words had left my mouth, she launched herself at me, flattening my back to the couch as she surged. I wrapped her tight, not wasting a second.
As much fun as it had been having sex on the couch, tonight, I wanted some space. So with her still in my arms, our mouths fused, I stood and carried her down the hallway, hoping like hell I found a bed.
My guess was solid .
We emerged from her room an hour later after a couple of orgasms and a shower.
Stella and I returned to the couch, and as I lay down, I tucked her into my side. A natural fit.
How many movies had we watched in the basement of her parents’ house? How many nights had I missed doing this? Hell, I wouldn’t have realized it even if I’d tried back then. As a teenaged boy, I hadn’t been into cuddling with girls. I probably would have broken her heart, and then Guy would have had a good reason to kick my ass.
There was a reason he’d forbidden any of his friends from going near Stella. We’d all been as bad as him, looking for a score and nothing more. Except I’d grown out of that. The closer I got to thirty, the more casual hookups had lost their appeal. My last girlfriend had been months ago. But I liked commitment. I liked being tied to a person.
I wouldn’t miss a chance at being tied to Stella.
“I like your place,” I told her.
Her apartment was finished in neutrals, like most complexes around town. Beige walls. Taupe carpet. But she’d added pops of color with the furniture, decor and artwork. The TV stand was a bold coral. The toss pillow behind my head was teal. The coffee table was mustard yellow and the rug beneath had flecks of everything, pulling it all together.
Rainbow colors for my bright, beautiful girl.
“Thanks. It’s just an apartment.” She shrugged. “It’s boring. But I’m saving to buy a house. I want a hefty down payment so it’s taking me a while.”
“Ever think about building? I know a guy who owns a construction company.”
She smiled and curled deeper into my side. “Maybe, I, um... never mind.”
“What? ”
“Don’t flip out, okay?”
“When a woman tells a man not to flip out, it means he’s probably going to flip out.”
“Fine.” She zipped her lips shut.
I waited, listening to the clock tick on the wall. But the curiosity got the better of me as the second hand lapped the twelve twice. “Okay, fine. No flip-outs. Promise. Tell me what you were going to say.”
“I want to get a house in a good school district. I know that marriage and kids are a ways off, and I’m not saying this about you, but it’s a consideration because?—”
“You’re a planner.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m a planner too, Stell. Why do you think I bought the best lot in the best neighborhood with the best elementary school and built a five-bedroom house with a huge yard?” I wasn’t going to live in that house by myself for the rest of my life.
“You’re not freaked out by this?”
I shifted so I could get a better look at her face. “Ten years ago? Yeah. I would have been out the door. But I’m not here for a hookup or something casual.”
She smiled but there was a wariness in her gaze.
Stella still didn’t believe me. But she would.
I was all about exploring this thing with her. I wanted the first dates. I wanted the sleepovers. I wanted the calls when she was at the grocery store to see if I needed anything.
“I guessI’m still expecting you to react like Guy.” She dropped her forehead to my chest, her beautiful blond hair draping around us.
“Guy’s my best friend.” I twisted a lock of her sunshine strands between my fingers. “But we’re not the same. We’re exploring this. Got it? ”
“Got it,” she breathed. “Thank you for my earrings.”
“You’re welcome.”
She propped her chin up on her hands. “How was Tobias?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t home and he didn’t answer when I called.” Ten times. I’d left here last night to track him down but wherever he’d been, he hadn’t wanted to be found.
“Guy showed up after you left.”
Then it was probably a good thing I’d been gone. Having him show up and see us together would not be a good way to tell him I was claiming his sister. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Maybe I should.”
“No, it should be me.” If I was in his shoes, I’d want my friend to tell me. I wouldn’t put this on Stella.
“Okay.” She sighed. “How do you think he’ll take it?”
“I don’t know,” I lied.
Guy was going to rage. He’d probably try and pick a fight. But she was worth a few punches. If that’s what it took, I’d let Guy hit me square in the face.
We lay together, just breathing, until she yawned.
“I should let you hit the straw.”
She laughed. “Do you want to stay?”
“Yes, but I’d better get home. I am going to swing by Tobias’s place again. See if I can catch him.”
“Okay.” She shifted, standing from the couch. “When... never mind.”
“Say it.”
“When will I see you again?”
I ran my fingers over her cheek. “Was that so hard to ask?”
“I don’t want you to think I’m clingy.”
“But you are clingy.”
She frowned and a cute little crease formed between her eyebrows. “No, I’m not.”
“It’s not an insult, baby. I know you. Like you know me. I like that you want to plan when we’ll see each other again. I like that you’re trying to be chill about this, but Stella, I’m not chill about this. So you don’t need to be either.”
Never in my life had I thought about a woman as much as I’d thought about Stella since the party. Never had I watched the clock, waiting for the right time to go over. Never had I planned to see a woman day after day after day.
“This is happening so fast.” She shook her head. “I’m still catching up.”
“You will.” I kissed her again. “Get some rest. Tomorrow night I’m staying and there won’t be much sleep.”
Her face lit up. “Promise? Maybe I should hydrate.”
I chuckled. “Definitely hydrate. And make no plans for Thursday morning.”
If we were both on vacation, we might as well enjoy it.
With another kiss at the door, I left her for the frigid winter air. I slid behind the wheel of my truck, cranked the heat, intending to hunt down my brother and find out what had crawled up his ass this week. But as I pulled onto the street, I made a last-second decision to search for another brother instead.
The drive to Guy’s condo was short. He’d bought a place close to Stella’s apartment on purpose, saying he wanted to be around in case she needed help. In reality, it was because he was just as clingy as Stella and craved attention. So on the nights when there wasn’t anything else to entertain him, he’d visit his sister.
Their parents still lived in the neighborhood where I’d grown up. That was before both Mom’s and Dad’s businesses had boomed and they’d decided to build a massive home in the mountain foothills.
My parents, also planners, had added plenty of bedrooms for future grandchildren .
I parked next to Guy’s truck and went straight for the door, squaring my shoulders as I rang the bell. There was no time to overthink this. He was going to be pissed so I might as well get it over with.
“Hey.” He swung the door open, lifting the beer bottle in his hand. “Good timing. I just opened this. Want one?”
“Sure.” I stepped inside. “But do you have any cans?”
He gave me a strange look. “Uh... yeah.”
“Then I’ll have a can.”
That bottle was a weapon. I’d wait to tell him about Stella until he’d finished drinking and it was safely stowed in the garbage where it couldn’t be broken in half over my skull.
Guy led the way to his fridge, pulling out a Bud Light.
“Thanks.” I popped the top and gulped.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked. “Maybe after we finish these we could head downtown.”
“Maybe.” I walked to the living room off the kitchen, sitting down in a chair that faced the TV. My knee began bouncing.
Guy sank into his couch and grabbed the remote to mute EPSN. “Can I ask you something?”
Shit. He knew. The fucker already knew. “What’s up?”
“Have any guys been visiting Stella at work?”
“Uh, no.” I gave him a sideways glance, keeping an eye on that beer bottle. It would hurt like a motherfucker if he threw it at my face. “Why?”
“I think she’s dating someone.”
I blinked. Was this a trick?
“So?” He raised his eyebrows.
I took a gulp of my beer to clear my throat. “So, what?”
“Sohave you seen anyone come to work? Take her out to lunch or anything?”
“No.”
He frowned. “Huh. ”
I waited for more. I waited for an attack. But he simply sat there, pondering my answer. “Why do you think she’s dating?”
“I went over to her place last night. She was wearing this slutty pajama outfit thing and when she opened the door, it was like she expected me to be someone else.”
Me. She’d expected him to be me.
This was the perfect opportunity to spill and get it over with. But did I fess up? Did I tell him that those pajamas weren’t slutty and that if he ever used the word slut in the same sentence as his sister’s name again I’d break his nose? No. I sat there like a coward.
“So what if she’s seeing someone?” I took another long drink. “She’s an adult.”
“I don’t like that she’s hiding it from me.”
Tell him. “Maybe it’s new and she doesn’t want to introduce the guy to her family yet.”
He shook his head. “She should still tell me. After the shit she went through in college, she knows I worry.”
“Wait. What?” I set my beer down and leaned forward. “What shit in college?”
He took a drink, draining his bottle dry. “You can’t tell her I told you. She made me promise not to tell.”
“Of course. What happened?”
“This friend of mine. Former friend. He lived in our dorm freshman year.”
“Which friend?”
“Dave.”
Dave . I searched my memory, trying to place a Dave with a face. Who the fuck was Dave? The name was growing more familiar, but I couldn’t put it with a face. “Did I know him?”
Guy shook his head. “No. He lived on the fourth floor. I’d go up and play video games with him sometimes.”
Video games hadn’t ever been my thing and I’d spent my freshman year in class while Guy had barely passed. He’d aced the art of skipping. The days when I’d been taking notes in a lecture hall, he’d been with Dave .
“How would Stella know him?” She hadn’t come to MSU until long after we’d left the dorms for our apartment off campus.
“I kept in touch with him.” Guy’s jaw clenched. “We had a couple of core classes together. I’d meet him in the library to study. One day, Stella was there with me. I introduced them. And...”
“And?”
His nostrils flared. “He took her out. Didn’t tell me about it. She went with him to a frat party, and he slipped something into her drink.”
My temperature spiked from normal to boiling in a flash. I was seconds from exploding as my arms began to shake and my hands balled so tight my nails dug into my palms. I didn’t trust myself to speak so I sat there, my jaw locked, and waited for him to continue.
“I showed up at the party too. Thank fuck. Showed up right as he was trying to drag her off to a room. She was totally out of it. I’ve never seen her like that. It scared the hell out of me.”
“Tell me you beat the shit out of Dave.”
“I beat the shit out of Dave. That’s the reason I got banned from every frat house.”
Guy had told me about the fight, just not the reason it had started. I’d rolled my eyes at the time because, by our junior year, I’d been more focused on school than I had been on partying. But not Guy.
Now I wish I would have been with him. Now I wish I would have met Dave.
“After that, I made Stella promise to tell me when she started dating anyone,” he said .
“Why didn’t I know about this?”
“Like I said, she made me promise. It shook her up. She was really embarrassed, and it was hard for her to trust anyone for a while.”
For that alone, I wanted to strangle Dave. I dragged a hand through my hair. “I had no idea.”
“No one does. She didn’t even tell Mom and she tells Mom just about everything.”
Damn . This was certainly not what I’d expected to hear coming over tonight.
“I just...” He smacked a hand on his leg. “I have a feeling she’s seeing someone.”
Yeah. Me. “Her freshman year was a long time ago.”
“She’s my sister, man. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“Maybe the guy she’s seeing isn’t a Dave. Maybe he’s decent.”
Guy scoffed. “Or maybe he’s a prick.”
“Come on.” My heart was racing again. The conversation hadn’t gone as I’d expected so far, but maybe that would work in my favor. Compared to the fuckwad Dave, I was a saint, right? I would never disrespect Stella, Guy had to know that. “What if she was dating someone like me?”
Or me.
Guy started laughing. “That’s my nightmare, man. That’s my nightmare.”
“What? Why?”
“Dude. You slept with half the cheerleaders our senior year.”
“In high school. That was over ten years ago. And you slept with the other half.”
“Exactly. The last person I want Stella with is anyone like you and me. She’s too good. ”
I couldn’t exactly argue with that. Stella was as pure and perfect as they came. But damn it, I wanted to earn her. I liked to think so far, I was doing a good job.
Guy stood, picking up his beer bottle. He took a step like he was going to head to the kitchen for another, but stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “This is all rhetorical, right? You’re joking.”
“Uh, yeah.” Heath, you spineless bastard.
“Good. Because I’d have to kill you if you ever went after my sister.”
I tipped the beer can to my lips, using it to hide my disappointment as he left the room.
Guy wanted a decent man for Stella.
Apparently, he didn’t think his best friend fit that bill.
Fucking hell. How could he not think I was good enough? I had a great job. A fantastic house. So what if I hadn’t dated much? I hadn’t met a woman who made me want a long-term commitment. Until Stella.
I shoved out of my seat, taking my beer can to the kitchen. I dumped out the dregs and put the can in the recycling bin beneath the sink. Because decent men recycled and I was a fucking decent man.
“I’m going to take off.”
“What?” Guy popped out of the fridge, two fresh beers in his hand. “You just got here.”
“I remembered something I needed to do for work,” I lied.
“I thought you guys were closed this week.”
“Just because the office is closed doesn’t mean I don’t have work to do.”
“Fine,” he muttered with a scowl. “You’re in a piss mood anyway.”
Nice . “Bye.” Without another word, I walked to the door, ripped it open with too much force and marched to my truck. The blood roaring in my veins kept me warm as I drove to Stella’s apartment and stood at her door, waiting for her to answer.
The deadbolt flipped first, then there she was. Tonight’s pajamas were a tie-dyed sleepshirt that hit her at the knees. The arms were so big they draped to her elbows. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I stepped inside. “So I just left Guy’s place.”
“W-what?”
“I went over to tell him that I was going to ask you on a date.”
“You did?”
I nodded and fisted my hands on my hips. “Yep. It went great,” I deadpanned.
Stella cringed. “Is he mad?”
“No, I didn’t tell him.” But he’d told me plenty.
Plenty that I couldn’t bring up, not yet. Someday soon, I wanted to hear Stella’s side of the story with Dave. But I was too angry about it tonight. When—if—she wanted to talk, I needed to be there to listen, not fume.
“He was in a shit mood,” I lied. “Thought it would be better to wait. You know how he is.”
“Yes, I do.” Her shoulders fell and she tugged at the collar of her shirt. “What now?”
We didn’t have a lot of options. Not until I told Guy.
So I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Can you keep a secret?”