Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
STELLA
All day my body buzzes with excitement over my date with Drew. Or maybe it’s anxiety. It’s hard to tell. By the afternoon, I’ve already zoned out multiple times thinking of him. He sent me a good morning text today, and I’ve reread it twenty-one times so far.
Julia’s been in the bookstore for ten minutes when she asks, “Are you okay?”
“Drew asked me out on a date for tonight,” I blurt out. “I’m freaking out a little.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Why? It’s just Drew. He’s over here all the time.”
“But it’s a date. Dating is very different from hanging out. Dates include feelings and hand holding and kissing.”
If I’m lucky. For Drew, I will definitely break my no-kissing-on-the-first-few-dates rule.
Julia pauses in her scanning of barcodes and stares at me for a long few seconds. “You’ve never been on a date before? I thought you were in your thirties.”
That’s a nice way to tell me I’m acting like I’m sixteen and not thirty-five.
To hide my embarrassment at my juvenile behavior, I walk a stack of books to the front desk so they’re ready to add to the tables outside when there’s room.
I’ve managed to off-load hundreds of books in the last few days, which is satisfying. I love sharing books.
When I return to Julia, I explain, “I’ve never been on a date with someone I like as much as I like him. It’s exciting, but scary. I don’t want to ruin things between us.”
She nods in understanding. “That’s how I felt when Anthony asked me out. We’d been friends for a long time, and I thought we’d screw everything up if we dated. We did.”
That is not encouraging. Though should I be seeking encouragement from a high school student’s relationship? Easy answer: no.
“Why did you two break up?” I ask.
“Because I want to stay in Blissful, and he was headed off to go to school in Tempe.”
“You didn’t want to do long distance? Tempe is only a few hours away and his family still lives here, right? He’ll come home for holidays and school breaks.”
She scans a few books before answering. “He wanted to keep dating. I didn’t. It wasn’t fair to keep him tied to this town. He doesn’t love it like I do.”
“Do you miss him?”
She nods ever so slightly. “Every day,” she whispers.
I think about Drew and Quinn. She made a decision based on what she thought was best for Drew, which wasn’t fair to him or her. I can’t help but offer one bit of advice.
“Don’t write him off completely. Maybe you’re not meant to be in a relationship, but good friends should be held onto, no matter where they end up living.”
She nods as if I’ve offered a pearl of wisdom. “Okay.”
After dropping Julia off at the lane to her house, I speed home but barely make it by seven. Drew’s waiting at my door, dressed in gray slacks and a navy blue button-down. From the light of my headlights, his kind eyes sparkle from his smile.
When I climb out of my car, he takes in my navy dress with a gray cardigan and cowboy boots. We both burst out laughing at our matching outfits.
“Should I change?” he asks, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to his loft.
I shake my head. “No. What we should do is take a selfie.”
So we do. Then he takes my hand in his rough one and interlocks our fingers. I lean into his side, loving this closeness and how natural it feels.
“Ready?” he asks. “I thought we could walk.”
“Ready.”
Our pace is more of a stroll as we set out. Our conversation is easy as we talk about our day. It doesn’t take me long to figure out we’re not going to a restaurant, but to his house on Fifth Street.
When we reach it, there are curtains over the windows, with light shining through. It feels welcoming. Drew pushes open the door. The paint supplies are gone from the front room. The place smells like an Italian restaurant. Orchestral music plays softly.
We walk through to the dining room where there are at least one hundred candles lit. Some on the counter, others on the perimeter of the mostly empty room. In the middle is a square folding table with a checkered tablecloth and two folding chairs.
It’s uber romantic, except…
“I have a fireman for a brother-in-law,” I say. “I can’t help but comment that this is a fire hazard.”
He’s not offended. He picks one up from the table. They’re fake. They run on batteries, but flicker like real flames.
“Centerpieces from Lauren’s wedding.” He puts it back, then waves around the room. “I hope this is okay. Since we love to gossip in Blissful, I thought it was safer than going out in public for our first date, and I only had a day to plan.”
“It’s perfect. Sorry to make you rush.”
He leans in close. “I’m not complaining. Hungry?”
In more ways than one. Only a few inches more and our lips would touch. My lungs shudder with the idea of finally kissing him.
“Yes,” I breathe out.
He pulls away. “Then let’s eat.”
I sit in the chair Drew pulls out for me. He serves delicious eggplant parmesan, Caprese salad, and his mom’s rolls with whipped butter.
The food is delicious, the conversation easy, my date the best kind of eye candy. There was no reason for me to be nervous about tonight. Besides labeling this a “date,” being with him is as comfortable as that first time we spoke outside of my apartment door.
When I’ve finished eating, he flips off the music as he leaves the room. A moment later he returns with his guitar. I wasn’t lying when I told him I find his guitar playing sexy.
I cover my smile with both hands. “Someone was paying attention last night.”
“Hey, I’m no dummy.”
He starts with an Ed Sheeran, then an Oz and the Wizards classic, followed by an eclectic mix of songs from different music genres, and finishes with “Stella by Starlight.” It’s the best concert I’ve ever attended. I could listen to him sing and play for days.
“My dad used to sing me ‘Stella by Starlight’ as a lullaby when I was a kid,” I tell him.
“I learned it years ago because of you.”
My blush is instant. “Me?”
“Never underestimate the power of a ten-year-old’s crush,” he says with a flirtatious grin. “Are you ready for your second guitar lesson?”
I sit up straight in my seat. “What? Now?”
He lifts the guitar from his lap and pats his knee. “Yeah, why not?”
His invitation has me laughing. “I’m not sitting on your lap.”
“I’ll be a gentleman, I promise.”
I can’t resist his puppy-dog eyes and sit in his lap, leaning back into his chest. He rests his chin on my shoulder as he brings the guitar in front of me.
“I’m not sure I remember the first lesson,” I admit.
“How about you strum, and I play the chords?”
His hand takes the place of mine on the fretboard. His other hand rests on my leg in a very gentlemanly manner.
“One, two, three, four,” he counts.
His mouth is close to my ear, and I shiver, but I don’t miss strumming on the downbeat. It takes a few measures for me to realize he’s playing Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
He croons the song and the words go straight into my heart.
With every word, the lyrics become more personal.
I strum one last time, then all is silent.
I’m aware how close his lips are. I could easily turn in his lap and lay mine on his.
After that song, I have no doubt he would kiss me as passionately as he sang.
Before I make the move, he lifts the guitar from my lap and kisses me just behind my ear. I gasp at the contact.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks, his voice low and sexy.
Not at all, but I can’t stay on his lap forever. I stand on shaky legs and gather up the dishes.
“You can leave them there,” he says.
He sounds normal, as if he didn’t just sing me a love song, while my body still hasn’t recovered.
“You’re sure?” I ask.
“Yeah. I haven’t turned the water on yet. I’ll come back tomorrow to grab them.”
I leave the dishes on the counter and make my way to the hallway. As I pass him, Drew catches my hand and tugs me to a stop. I lean my back against the kitchen wall. He steps close, totally getting into my personal space. I don’t mind.
“I need to ask for your advice,” he says. “For a friend.”
My grin is instantaneous. This sounds familiar. “I’m listening.”
“He is gone over this girl. Has been for a while now, and they’re finally on their first date.”
No one has ever looked at me as intently as he is at this moment. He’s pinning me in place with his eyes as effectively as if his arms were around me.
My heart picks up speed. “And?”
“He really wants to kiss her, but he’s afraid he might scare her off if he moves too fast. She ran away when he asked her out on a date.”
My face goes warm, and I cover my cheeks with my hands. “What a fool she was.”
Drew takes both of my hands gently in his. “What do you think? Should he kiss her? Or wait?”
He kisses my palm without breaking eye contact. My whole body shivers.
“She wants to be kissed,” I whisper.
“Right now?”
“Preferably, yes.”
He releases my hands and moves his to either side of my neck. His fingers weave through my hair; his thumb traces my bottom lip. I close my eyes seconds before his lips touch mine. Every inch of my body sings with the contact. The kiss lasts only a few seconds, and I feel the loss as he pulls away.
My eyes remain closed while I focus on reviving my lungs since they’ve forgotten how to function.
Drew doesn’t move far. I feel the heat of his body mere inches from mine, and his breath on my forehead. I can only imagine what he sees on my face. Wonder? Happiness? Joy?
It may have been a short kiss, but it made something very clear: I love Drew Yarrow, and not as a friend. Or, more correctly, as more than a friend. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I won’t let myself think about losing him. I’m trusting, not fearing.
“No urge to run?” he asks.
I couldn’t if I wanted to, and there is nowhere I would rather be than right here.
I open my eyes to find him studying me.
“Not even a bit.”
He grins. I reach out and fist his shirt, pulling him closer. This time when we kiss, it isn’t tentative like the first one. He leans into me. My arms wrap up around the back of his head, my elbows propped on his shoulders. Absolute heaven. We kiss and kiss, and kiss some more.
When he finally breaks away, breathing hard, he kisses my temple, then the space just behind my ear. My jaw.
In his arms, I feel secure. On metaphorical stable ground, unlike ever before. This is real. Everything about him and us together feels as if it were always meant to be.
This his lips are back on mine. It’s a good thing he has his arms around me, because my legs are as weak as pool noodles.
Eventually, Drew pulls away. “It’s late. I need to get you home.”
I lean my head into his chest. “I’m not ready for tonight to end. It’s been perfect.”
“We have lots of days in the future to look forward to.”
That makes me so happy, as does the knowledge that us together will only get better.
After one last kiss, we leave. I love this house even more than I did at the start of our date. We walk hand in hand the short distance back to Second Street. Billions of stars shine down on us. I’m so content, it’s hard to stop myself from skipping.
I think of what Drew said months ago on our first late night walk through town. Everyone has a chair in the living room that faces the front window. By tomorrow the whole town will know exactly where we were. Probably know what we were doing, even with the new curtains.
As uncomfortable as it makes me to have everyone know my business, I love Blissful. My neighbors caring about what’s happening in my life is part of what makes this place so charming.
I go up on tip-toes and kiss Drew’s cheek. If they’re up this late, I might as well give them a good show.