However, I remember that Carl is making me leave early tomorrow morning and that I’ll be working away for a few days. How can I ask Starlet to be my girlfriend and then just take off like that, expecting her to wait around five or six days until I’m back? It isn’t fair on her and it doesn’t seem the right time.
I stop myself from kissing her and look away sadly. What if by then she’s found someone else? I’ll never forgive Carl if he makes me lose my chance with her.
“Star,” I say, deciding I’ll have to confess about it. “I’ve gotta go away tomorrow for a mission. I’ll be staying somewhere else for a few days so I won’t be around for a while.”
I see sadness in her eyes at the thought of me going away and I just want to hold her again and promise I’ll never leave.
Instead I promise I’ll text her while I’m away and that I’d like to take her out for a second date, if she wants to and if she’s still free then. She happily agrees and I feel a little reassured.
“I guess you’ll be busy training tomorrow morning, so I’ll see you when I get back.”
“Okay.”
I don’t know how to say goodbye to her. I want to kiss her or hold her in my arms for a long time; but instead I just say, “Later, Star,” giving her a wink before I go.
Chapter 4
I send a text message to Starlet the next morning before I set off:
Hey Star, how’s trainin going? xxx
I’m pretty busy for most of the day but I manage to check my mobile in the afternoon and see that she’s replied back:
Ok I guess. I gt covered in flour wen I didnt get the bomb deactivation rite and I really cant do computer hacking yt. Hows the mission going? xxx
I smile, thinking the flour accident is pretty funny and type a reply back:
LOL u wil get there wiv practice and I guess I cud help u out wiv the computer hackin Im pretty gud at that. Its goin ok thanx. Cant wait 2 get bak xxx
It’s only late at night when I’m going to bed that I check my phone again and read a new message from her:
Interview went great! Im starting a dance show Saturday nite! xxx
I grin, feeling so happy for her and reply back:
Awesome! Well done Star. Cant wait to watch it ;-) What time do u go on? xxx
She replies back straight away:
8pm. Wil u b back then? Xxx
I text back: I promise I wil
The week seems to drag by and I’m craving to be back with Starlet so bad. I can’t stop thinking about her and I’m excited for Saturday night when I can see her again and watch her perform her first dance show.
I’m relieved when Saturday finally arrives and I can finish up work and drive back home to the city. I arrive at Indigo Bar right on eight o’clock and go in, hoping I haven’t missed anything. I spot her friend with the purple hair waiting near the stage, and a few seconds later Starlet appears on it, the stage lights shining on her.
The music starts and I watch her fascinated as she works through five songs with amazing dance routines. I feel disappointed when she finishes, but I cheer loudly for her with the rest of the people at the bar.
I go to find her when she’s left the stage and spot her walking out from backstage with her friend.
“It was so amazing being up there,” I hear her saying, her eyes shining with excitement. She’s looks so hyper and alive. “I can’t wait to do it all again next weekend.”
She looks even more gorgeous close up. She’s wearing tight denim shorts and a sexy purple top that clings to her curves. She’s wearing make-up again too: mascara, purple eye shadow, some glittery blusher on her cheeks and sparkling lip gloss. Her hair is straightened as usual and her blue highlights look brighter, so she must have had them re-dyed.
“Hey Star, really cool dancing,” I say, arriving by her side.
She turns and smiles when she sees I’m here, “You made it!”
“Sure I did,” I grin. “There’s no way I was missin’ your performance.”
Her friend realizes we want some time alone and quickly leaves us.
“I’m really glad you came,” she blushes.
“So how about we go for that second date I promised you?” I ask.
“Okay, where are we…..” but she doesn’t have time to finish.
Her answer is interrupted by a loud crash nearby and she breaks our gaze. My heart starts to thud hard inside of me as I see a raid happening. Everyone’s rushing around trying to get out, bar windows are smashed and the door gets broken through as four police officers enter and look around.
“Run,” I tell Starlet and grab her hand, pulling her along with me.
I get her outside and to my motorbike.
“Why are we running? What’s happening?” she asks as I give her the spare helmet.
She looks panicked and confused, not knowing what’s going on. I quickly explain that they are corrupt police officers who are hunting down our employees and they’ve probably seen me and come into the bar to arrest me.
I’m scared that Starlet isn’t protected enough, so I give her my bullet proof jacket to wear for safety. We get onto the motorbike and that’s when the chase begins.
I warn her to hold on tight and race off on the motorbike away from the police officers that are in pursuit.
As I’m driving I hear police sirens and Starlet warns me that they’re chasing us in a vehicle. They fire guns at us and I manage to dodge the shots and go faster. I do a sudden turn into a side street and loose them, racing ahead until we’re out of sight.
“I think we’re safe now. You okay?”
She tells me she’s fine, but she starts asking why they were after me and how they knew who I was, since we’re supposed to keep our identities a secret for work.
I tell her that unfortunately they found out who I am and now I’m put down as a wanted criminal, with a reward ransom for anyone who hunts me down. I warn her that she has to be careful because I don’t want the same thing to happen for her.
I sigh, “I’m so stupid, I shouldn’t have been anywhere near you in front of the cops. I had no idea they’d followed me to the bar.”
“It’s okay,” she reassures me. “I was wearing a helmet for most of the time so they won’t know who I am.”
“Still, I should have known it would be too dangerous. I’m sorry Star, I didn’t mean to drag you into that; I just wanted to get you away from them. I don’t want you to get arrested.”
“It’s okay, thanks for helping me.”
I smile and suggest going to a club, where we’ll be safe from the corrupt police, and begin to drive there.
Chapter 5
We spend the rest of our night at a secret bar. Luckily our second date is back on track and we’re relaxed and enjoying spending time alone together. I buy us some Pepsi and we head out into the outdoor gardens to talk under the stars, with the loud music inside faded into the background.
“I always love looking up at the stars,” she tells me while I’m standing close to her. “They’re so beautiful.”
“Yeah, but not as amazin’ as you,” I say in her ear.
She looks up at me and blushes at the compliment.
“I’ve had an awesome night. I can forget all about the trouble in Twilight City when I’m with you and just be happy.”
“Yeah, me too,” I stare into her eyes. “Y’know, now I’ve met you things doesn’t feel so bad.”
“I know, if only things could stay as good as this.”
She stares back into my eyes too, so I finally lean closer and kiss her, the way I’ve wanted to ever since I first met her. I love feeling her lips against mine and she’s an amazing kisser. The chemistry is electric and I can feel shocks running through my body as I slip my hands around her waist. I could stay holding and kissing her forever, but after five minutes it’s over and we part.
I really need to ask her out now, so I know if we have a chance of a relationship. I don’t want the moment to pass.
&
nbsp; “So does this mean I’m lucky enough to be your boyfriend?” I ask her and grin, still feeling so happy that we kissed.
“Yeah, it does,” she smiles and cuddles up to me.
I feel so mega happy. Starlet’s finally my girlfriend and I can hardly believe it. I hold her close and we stay in each other’s arms for a while.
“I’m so happy I met you, Star. It’s hard having relationships with all the freedom fighter stuff goin’ on, but I really think it’ll be different with me and you ‘cause we’re both freedom fighters.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be fun when I’m fully trained and we can work together.”
“My bro doesn’t think so,” I admit, thinking back to how Carl reacted and wondering what he’s going to say once he finds out me and Starlet are an item now. “He wasn’t really happy about it when we started going on dates…”
I know I’m lying again, but I can’t tell her that I’ve been sneaking around, taking her on dates behind Carls’ back and hoping he won’t find out. She’ll get the wrong impression and I don’t think she’ll understand my reasons yet.
“Doesn’t he like me?” she asks, looking a little hurt.
“’Course he likes you, who wouldn’t? He was just annoyed with me, thinkin’ I’d distract you while you were trainin’. He just wants you to do well so I guess he wanted me to stay out of the picture.”
“But that doesn’t mean I won’t work hard. Being a freedom fighter is really important to me.”
“I know, but he just thinks if we start workin’ together things might get awkward and we really need to concentrate if we’re on a mission. I don’t think it’ll affect you, I think you’ll be a great freedom fighter when you’ve finished trainin’.”
“I hope so. Maybe we can go on some of your missions together soon?”
I grin, “Definitely, it’ll make it way more fun,” and then I kiss her again.
“I really hope things work out for us, Star,” I say afterwards. “I really like you and I can’t let anythin’ stop us from being together.”
“Me neither.”
I feel curious and ask her where she’s from, since I’ve never seen her around the city before and I would have obviously remembered if I had. She tells me she’s lived at the sanctuary since she was a baby, after the evil dictator, who we are currently fighting against, killed both her parents.
Her eyes water as she tells me about them and my heart aches at seeing her upset.
“I’m really sorry,” I say sympathetically and hug her, wishing I could fix it somehow.
She rests her head on my chest and cries for a while, so I hold her close and look after her.
“I know it must be hard loosin’ both your parents, especially knowin’ what happened,” I say gently, “but you can get through it, I know you can.”
She tells me that she only found out when she was thirteen years old and how hard it was growing up without a family.
“I feel so alone, Rickie,” she says tearfully.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “I know you might not have your parents, but all the other freedom fighters are a sort of family to you now; and I’ll always be here to look after you.”
She snuggles into my chest and I just want to look after her all night and make sure she’s okay.
“Thanks Rickie, that means a lot to me.”
“It’s no probs,” I stroke her hair affectionately.
She asks me what my story is and how I became a freedom fighter. I don’t usually like telling people about my past, but Starlet has already shared a lot with me and I feel close enough to talk to her about it.
I tell her that Carl and I ran away from home when I was fourteen, deciding to become freedom fighters and live at the secret base instead. She’s surprised at that and looks upset, asking if my family miss me.
I shrug and tell her my stepdad definitely won’t since we hate each other. He was working for the evil dictator and trying to force me and Carl to follow in his footsteps, but we knew it was wrong and refused to.
I think of my mum, feeling sad, and say that maybe she’ll miss me but it doesn’t matter. I have to block out the awful thoughts of how much I need her and miss her and somehow keep the sadness pushed down. I refuse to let myself have those feelings because what’s the point? She never fought for us like she should have done.
Starlet looks troubled and insists that my mum will be worried and would I tell her where I am just so she knows I’m okay.
I sigh and explain that there’s no way I can tell her, because if I do it’s giving away our location and risking our safety. I know if I ever did she’d probably tell our stepdad, who would happily run to his boss and grass us in.
“Maybe your mother won’t,” Starlet tries to reason. “She wouldn’t want to get you and Carl arrested.”
“Trust me, there’s no way she’d stand up to my stepdad,” I answer, feeling annoyance and anger at thinking about how things were back then.
I explain to her briefly how things were, that my stepdad was in charge and would order my mum to do whatever he wanted. My mum always seemed afraid of him and let him bully and push her around. There was no way she would have stood up to him about us, so the only thing we could do was run away and make our own choices.
“That’s awful,” she says sympathetically. “I bet you miss her though.”
“Not really,” I lie, hoping it’s true and ignoring the pain that’s saying it isn’t. “If she won’t stand up for her own kids then what’s the point missing her.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” she apologises.
“It’s ‘kay,” I tell her, feeling sort of relieved to talk to someone about it. “I don’t mind.”
We spend a few hours there, drinking and talking, mostly about work now that the deep topics are over with.
Once I’ve drove us back to the secret base, I walk with her to her flat, smiling in amusement at seeing her so blissful. Her eyes have gone dreamy, her happy smile is dazzling and her skin is glowing and radiant. She looks so beautiful and I feel warm inside knowing that I’ve made her this extremely happy.
I think about what a cool personality she has and how close I feel to her. We can talk about anything and chat for hours. I trust her, and tonight’s proven that we can open up to each other. I’ve never had a girlfriend who I’ve been able to tell about my past or what’s really going on with me, but with her it’s so easy and I don’t have to hide it. That’s pretty special.
I suddenly have a weird feeling in my heart, like something has changed. I know right away that I’ve fallen in love with her. I’ve never felt such a strong feeling for any of my other girlfriends. I always thought that being ‘in love’ was just having a girlfriend who you had feelings for and cared about; but I was so wrong. I realise now that I’ve never been madly in love with a girl before, even though I thought I had.
The things I’m feeling for Starlet right now is way more than that and it kind of scares me at how intense it is. I can’t stop thinking about her and I feel like I’m floating. The world magically seems brighter and better, as if I’m high on drugs or something. It feels more amazing than any words can describe.
I’m in such a daze that it takes me awhile to realise that we’ve reached her flat. Luckily she stops when we arrive or else I would have probably carried on walking around the whole building without noticing.
“I’d better go in, it’s getting late,” she says, giving me a hug.
We share a goodnight kiss and a big rush of electricity runs through my body as our lips touch again. Fireworks are going off in my head and I’m feeling so high I’m surprised my feet are still on the ground.
“Good night, Rickie,” she says, reluctantly parting from me so she can enter inside her flat.
“Good night,” I reply, feeling misery wash through me at having to leave her. “See you tomorrow.”
Chapter 6
It was so hard to leave her last night. I had to somehow
force myself away from her flat and make it back down the corridor to mine, although I was dying to go back. I hardly slept last night with wanting to go back over there and kiss her so badly. This love stuff is already driving me crazy. I can’t stop getting cravings for her, as if I have an addiction and she’s my drug. No matter how hard I try I can’t stop thinking of her.
I meet up with Mick at the cafeteria before work, so I can fill him in on everything while we eat breakfast.
“So c’mon, how did the second date go?” he asks excitedly, while we dig into our bacon, egg and sausages.
I grin, “It was awesome. I watched her dance show, we got chased and shot at by police, and then we spent the rest of the night at the club.”
“Sounds eventful,” he smiles approvingly. “Trust you to get into more trouble.”
“Dude, it wasn’t my fault. The police must have seen me and followed me there,” I say. “It was no probs, I easily lost them.”
“So what happened later at the club?” he asks.
“We talked a lot and I kissed her,” I tell him, feeling really happy thinking about it. “I asked her out so she’s my official girlfriend now.”
“Cool. I’m really happy for you,” he smiles. “Are you still gonna keep it a secret from Carl? He’s not gonna be thrilled when he finds out.”
“I’ll have to tell him,” I say, dreading it. “He’ll find out sooner or later and there’s no way I can keep sneaking around with her, especially now we’re together.”
“Good luck with that,” he smirks. “It is kinda funny though. He warned you to stay away and tried to keep you apart, and then you two still ended up getting together. She’s definitely your Juliette.”
I grin, amused at her new nickname. He’ll probably call me ‘Romeo’ even more now.
“There’s somethin’ else too,” I say, feeling weird and awkward. “Last night…I fell for her.”
He almost chokes on his orange juice, “What?! Dude, you’ve only just become her boyfriend!”
Sexy Love Page 2