Starless Nights (Hale Brothers Series Book 2) (20 page)

Drew and I picked up Ali first since she lived across the street and together the three of us drove to Leila’s house to pick her up. I had already called her when we were on our way but deep down, there is this little part of me that fears she might change her mind.

Walking to her front door, sweat is dripping down my back. I am so nervous. I hear the click of the lock and the door flies open. Leila is standing on the other side of the screen door and, I swear, she causes my heart to stop beating.

I should have guessed that she would be wearing purple, but it’s lighter than that; almost like lavender. Her dress is strapless, cut low enough in the front to show off a lot of her ivory skin, there’s a belt/sash thing around her waist, and the skirt is short but full of layers. Her hair is down and full of those beautiful curls. Her shoes are tall, nude colored, and strappy, and she’s wearing the jewelry that I gave her. She looks stunning, elegant, and beautiful all at once.

She steps outside, and never in my entire life have I seen anything more beautiful than the sight before me.

We spend most of the night laughing and dancing with Drew and Ali. There are a few people who give us strange looks but then there are others like Grant who just look at us knowingly.

By the time the night ends, I drop Drew and Ali off at her house so I can have a few more minutes with Leila.

“Do you want to go down to Bean Point?” she asks.

I’m shocked. We haven’t been there together in years. I’m glad that she wants to extend our night together, but to end up there, a place that’s filled with so many memories, I can’t help the anxiety that takes over.

I park the Tahoe at the entrance and turn off the engine.

“I’m going to leave my shoes in the car, okay?”

“Yeah, I should do the same.”

Leila pulls her legs into the seat and her dress slides up toward her waist. I know I shouldn’t be checking her out, but she has always had a killer body, and those legs make me need to take a moment.

Gripping the steering wheel, I close my eyes and remind myself again why this girl and I can never happen. She broke me once, has already left me twice, and if I let her in, I am certain she would only do it again.

In the back of my mind, I hear my dad whisper, “No one will ever want you.”

“What’s wrong?” she asks me.

“Nothing, just a little tired.” I look over at her and she’s watching me.

“Oh, I’m sorry, we can go home if you want,” she says quietly.

“No, I’m good, just needed a moment.”

“Alright.”

I throw open the door, slip off my shoes and socks, and walk around to her side of the car.

“Piggy-back ride?” I ask.

She giggles. “Okay”

Her arms slide around my neck. I feel her lean into me and wrap her legs around my waist.

Slowly, in the dark, I take us down the familiar dirt trail, over the wooden walkway, and down to the beach.

Once we reach the water’s edge, she slides down the back of me until her feet hit the sand. Her hands are still on my arms and she hugs me from behind. I’m frozen from the alarm bells that are going off in my head. She’s pressing her face on my back. I should hug her back, but I don’t. She drops her hands and steps away.

“Come on, let’s walk.” I hold my hand out for hers. The moonlight sparkles off of the necklace, her beautiful long hair is curled and blowing around in the breeze, and her eyes shine up at me with happiness. I want to burn this moment into my memory.

Her fingers slide in between mine, and together we walk the beach listening to the quiet sounds of the Gulf as it laps on to the shore.

“I had a really great time tonight. Thank you for asking me, Beau.”

I look down at her and squeeze her hand.

“Do you ever come out here?” I’m not sure why I asked her this, but I am curious.

“All the time. Do you?”

Her answer surprises me.

“Yes, I do. I like to see the stars.” She tilts her head up, our eyes lock, and smiles at me knowingly. The stars weren’t just my thing, they were our thing. Seeing the stars, made me feel closer to her, even though we weren’t anymore.

“Will you do something for me?”

“Sure, what?”

She stops walking and pulls on my hand so I am facing her.

“Will you kiss me?” she looks at me hesitantly.

“Lei . . .” The nerves in the bottom of my stomach start bouncing.

“I’ve…I’ve never really been kissed before,” she says before I can say anything further. Her gaze drops to the ground and I feel her twitch her fingers against my hand. She’s nervous.

“What do you mean? Why not?”

Leila is by far the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I’ve heard guys at school talk about her, and although I’ve never seen her with any, I just find it so hard to believe that none of them have had the balls enough to try and kiss her.

“Truth?” she whispers, while tilting her head to the side.

“Please.”

“Well, you kissed me when I was fourteen and I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone else. I always wanted it to be you.”

She says things like this to me and although my heart is rejoicing, she confuses me so much. If she’s always wanted it to be me, then why didn’t she come to me so many years ago, and why did she send me that letter?

Blinking, I clear away the confusion, and my eyes drop to her mouth. She doesn’t need to ask me twice. I’ve dreamt of this moment more times than I care to admit.

I let go of her hand, move mine to the small of her back, and slowly pull her into me. Her body is flush with mine and she arches her back so she can look at me. Wrapping my other hand around the side of her face, I tilt it up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she answers, barely a whisper.

I know that I should be gentle with her but I just can’t. I have wanted to kiss her for years and now that I am about to, I know I’m never going to want to stop.

Lowering my head, my mouth hovers over hers. She licks her lips, and with just that small glimpse of her tongue, I’m lost.

“Leila, this isn’t going to be sweet and romantic.”

“I don’t want that, I just want you . . . to kiss me.”

The underlying message in that statement comes through loud and clear, and my fingers tighten in her hair.

Closing the distance, my mouth connects with hers. An electric shock, almost like one that comes from static, shoots straight down to my toes.

My lips attach on to her upper one sucking on it slightly and then my tongue slides across lower one. She opens her mouth and I take what should have always been mine.

Her skin, her hair, her smell, her lips, her tongue, her taste . . . I am lost in it all.

In a way I feel bad that she isn’t getting the Hollywood leg popping kiss, but at the same time, she asked for me, and this is me. I’m not just kissing her, I am devouring her.

Once the shock of my assault on her has settled in, her arms wrap around my neck, and she presses her body even closer and completely into mine.

Leila kisses me like she was created just for me. There’s no awkwardness or fumbling. The way her lips, tongue, and breath melt into mine, I can’t help but feel somewhat proud that I am the first and only one to do this with her. She has given me both of her first kisses and this fuels my love for her even more.

“Beau . . .” she says my name with adoration and my heart cracks.

I slow the kiss down a little and attempt to give her sweet. I don’t know how much time has passed, but I could stand here and kiss her all night.

My forehead lands on hers, both of us are panting. “You should let me take you home,” I whisper against her lips.

“But, I don’t want to go home.”

That’s the best thing she has said to me all night.

Pulling back, I look at her and tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “Oh, well where did you want to go?”

She pauses for a minute and her eyes drop back to my mouth. “I want to go with you.”

Hell yeah!
The thought of making out with her most of the night makes my blood to race.

“I’m headed back to Ali’s.”

“Is that okay? Would she mind?” she asks hesitantly.

“Yes, that’s okay and no I don’t think she’ll mind at all.”

Together we turn, and with our fingers laced together, we start walking back toward my Tahoe.

“I don’t have anything to change into though.” Her look is sheepish.

I can’t help the smirk that flashes on my face.

She turns beet red.

“No worries, I’ll give you a T-shirt.”

SHORTLY AFTER ALI and I moved to the city, we were out walking through the Central Park and we happened to spot this place across the street, Sarabeth’s Central Park West. It turns out that it is pretty well known, but to us, it was a gem find, and we have loved it ever since.

Sarabeth’s is unique and lovely at the same time. It has a full menu but we love to come for afternoon tea. The seats are covered in a zebra fabric and there are old black and white photos hanging on the walls, some of which include Audrey Hepburn. It’s beautifully lit and always covered in gorgeous flower arrangements.

Every second Sunday of the month, I meet Ali for a little girl time. I’m running a few minutes late, so when I walk through the front door and see both her and Camille sitting there, I almost turn around and walk out.

Why did she invite that girl to our lunch? Not that there is anything wrong with her. She seems nice enough, but Ali has to know how it made me feel to watch her leave right after Beau the other night.

It’s been eating away at me, just the thought of him with her. She’s so tiny and beautiful, and well, I’m just me.

I’m not quick enough to duck out. Ali spots me and waves.

I weave my way through the tables and give her a look that lets her know I’m not happy.

“Yay, I’m so glad you made it. I was starting to wonder if you were going to cancel.” She stands up and gives me a hug.

“I know, I’m sorry. Time got away from me and the bus today seemed to take forever.” I sit down at the little four top table. Ali is to my left and Camille is directly across from me. Just great. There’s no avoiding her now. I may as well just stare at her.

“Leila, you remember my friend Camille, right?” She smiles her million dollar megawatt smile and I want to cringe.

Putting on my best fake face, I smile back, “Yes, I do. How are you?”

“I’m great. Thank you so much for letting me crash your lunch today. I never get out and have any fun, so this is super exciting for me.”

“Why don’t you ever get out?” Now that she’s here in front of me, I’m actually a little curious about her. After Ali’s party, all I could think about was her looks, how perfect they would look together, and how essentially she was spending time with Beau and I wasn’t. But there must be more to her if Ali is friends with her.

“No time I guess. My parents were extremely strict with my schedule when I was growing up and it’s all I really know how to do: dance, school, and dance.” She drops her gaze and picks up the tea cup. When you first look at her, you are blinded by her beauty, but once you see past that, she looks really sad. I’m starting to think that maybe Ali was right, she does need friends.

“Well, you should give me your number and we should try to get together for coffee sometime.” Her eyes light up and she smiles so big, I smile back.

“I would really like that, but enough about me, we’re here to talk about you.” She takes the tea pot and pours me a cup.

“I can’t even begin to tell you both how crazy this last week has been, and how crazy next week will be. In six days, all of this will be over. Ali, did you get your tickets?” I drop in a few sugar cubes and stir.

“I did.”

Suddenly, I feel bad for mentioning this in front of Camille. She’d probably love to go to the show, only I don’t have tickets. They asked for names and addresses from me and that’s it. There’s nothing to hand out.

“I’m sorry I don’t have any extra tickets Camille or I would give you one,” I say looking at her apologetically.

“That’s okay. I’ll hold you to that coffee and you can tell me all about it afterward.” She takes a sip of her tea.