I was done with this. I wanted to leave with her and return to the bubble we’d built for just the two of us, the one where we could read, talk, and exist while pretending the world outside that space didn’t exist.
I closed the distance between us, crooking my finger beneath her chin to turn her attention to me. Her eyes immediately softened upon meeting mine.
“Let’s get out of here, Star,” I whispered.
She nodded slowly. “Okay. Where’s Bradley? I should probably tell him bye.”
“Fuck him. Let’s go. Just you and me.”
Yeah. You and me. The way it’s supposed to be.
Two Months Ago
Diary Entry 143
Dear Twila,
I came to you with something exciting today! I know—big change from our usual talks. But I’m just so excited! The evening was hard today because of the usual dumb stuff, but …
I MET DANTE FROM SINNERS DO IT BETTER!!!
We bumped into each other at the bar. He got my drink and even took a photo with me. I tried really hard to act cool and natural. He’s even more handsome in person, Twila. I’ll print out the photo to slip here one day.
I know he’s probably already forgotten about that meeting. After all, it was a couple hours ago now. But I’ll remember it forever.
Chapter 22
Serenity
I FOLLOWED DANTE THROUGH THE trees behind his house, my hand in one of his while he held a basket of unknown items in the other. He hadn’t told me what we were doing or why we were weaving through the dark forest, but I didn’t really care about the reason. I trusted that he’d lead me somewhere better than where I was—lost in my mind, spiraling alongside the thoughts of inadequacy and despair from both my book release sales and Bradley’s hard truth.
“Almost there,” Dante told me as he helped me climb over a fallen log.
When we emerged from a break in the trees, moonlight showered the open area in a white glow. The naked branches surrounded a drop off that went straight down to jagged rocks and more towering trees as the forest continued on below. But from this height, we were now above the treetops, bathed in bright light. A cool wind swept over us, and if I leaned into that breeze and stared down at the vast treetops, I could almost pretend I was soaring through the winter night air.
“This is amazing,” I told Dante with a smile climbing my face.
He grinned and turned his head to scan the forest beneath the tall, deep drop-off, his nose ring and bar ear piercing glinting in the moonlight. “I like to sit here on occasion and read. I thought you might like it.”
He set the basket down and produced a large blanket from within. He tossed it over the ground and along the edge where we both sat, our feet dangling over the ledge of the cliff. Digging back in the basket, he pulled out two glass flutes, a champagne bottle, and a container with fruits, cheese, and crackers—our go-to snack when the two of us were just relaxing. He poured us the sweet champagne and held one out to me before raising his closer to mine.
“To you and your new book. Writing a book is a tremendous accomplishment, let alone three. You’re truly amazing. Congratulations on another book, Star.”
Despite the numb hurt that had grown in my chest after dealing with Bradley, that tightness began to ebb. Filling the cracks was warmth and weightlessness.
“Thank you,” I replied tenderly before we both sipped the bubbly drink.
Serene silence wrapped around us. Unlike the tense quiet with others that brewed discomfort and awkwardness, the one that manifested with Dante was one of solace. I closed my eyes and breathed in the quiet calm of the night and Dante’s masculine scent. Slowly, the ache in my chest eased more and more.
After many moments of the wind moving through branches and distant animals moving through their forested home, Dante apologized softly, “I’m sorry for agreeing to go out with those douchebags. We should’ve come here from the start.”
I shook my head and gently kicked my feet, watching them dangle above the dark abyss. “I’m sorry I ruined the mood back there with my … well …mood.”
Dante’s hand suddenly rested on top of mine, and when I met his gaze, it was as fierce and adamant as his voice. “You have nothing to apologize for. You didn’t ruin anything. Bradley doesn’t understand a damn thing he’s talking about. Don’t lethim make you feel like there’s something wrong with you. Whatever you were feeling about what you saw on your phone or about what the fucker said was completely valid.”
His words shook me up inside. All I could do was hold his dark gaze with my own wide eyes.
“That’s a first,” I said slowly. “I’ve always been told that what I feel is wrong. I’ve been punished for my feelings. Shamed. Scruntized. Like some caged animal that doesn’t understand the trick everyone else seems to get so easily.”
