In the Stars

by Joan Duszynski

  As I watch her walk to the counter again, I have to wonder how I became such a sucker. It would be nice, though, to make a new friend, since this year hasn’t gone anything like my first year at college when Raleigh was my roommate. I really miss her, and rooming with Piper and her trashy ass sucks. If Tara only knew the fact that Andrew having a girlfriend would have meant nothing to Piper, but no need to relate that right now.

  Once Tara gets back to our table, she sets my order down in front of me. I notice that she hasn’t gotten anything else for herself, though. “Ok, here is your coffee and muffin. Where to start at now? I guess I should explain that when Andrew and I got together during High School… although he wasn’t my first boyfriend, he was my first serious boyfriend. I fell for him, hard and fast.” She takes both her hands and places them over her heart, while letting out a moan. “My brothers never cared for him, so, of course, this situation will add to the, I told you to dump that loser a long time ago speech. I seem to be drawn to the somewhat trouble maker type of guy. I don’t want mister perfect fancy boy.” I snarl up my lips, and start shaking my head back and forth. “I have to agree with you there, Tara; preppy and perfect never really has done it for me, either.”

  She nods and says, “Exactly.”

  Then the hands start moving again with her nervous energy. “My brothers really shouldn’t judge so much anyway; being that they aren’t exactly prim and proper themselves. Anyway, Andrew was my first and only. Sorry if that is a bit too much information, but I figure we are both adults here, so why not just put that out there? I wasn’t his first, but he claims to have been with no one but me since we became a couple. Now I wonder if I can truly believe him with anything he has told me.”

  I finally feel the need to grab at one of her hands. “Do you always use your hands so much when you talk? You are going to smack yourself in the face eventually.”

  She gives me a shy smile, and tucks her hair again. “I have been told I do that a lot when I am worked up. I didn’t even realize it honestly. I will try and keep them at bay.”

  She then takes both her hands and entwines them together, with a napkin scrunched up between them, placing them on the table. She looks to the side, then back at me, taking another deep breath in and out. I nod my head at her, as to say go ahead and continue. “I was nervous about college starting, and honestly I knew things would change. I had this talk with him many times over the summer, but he kept assuring me how much he loved me and couldn’t imagine life without me. That we were building ourselves into our future selves as individuals, and as a couple, so we could have a comfortable and secure life together. He did comfort me in my feelings about it all, and I felt a lot more relaxed once college was getting ready to start. Although, he did have that bad boy persona, he was, honestly, always really good with me. A little rough around the edges here and there, but good.”

  As I listened, I notice Tara seemed lost in thought at times, and I could see her ringing her napkin tightly in her hands as she continued to speak. I could tell she was picturing the moments as she spoke of them. “I could see major changes, though, by the third week into school. Just as I feared, college did begin to change him and fast. He was calling and meeting up with me less. Sometimes he would say he was busy with papers or studying, and other times it was about the importance of getting to know the guys in the Frats and making a place for himself. Therefore, going out regularly for that all so important guy time.”

  Tara hangs her head, pausing for a moment. I don’t know why, but I feel the need to reach out and pat one of her hands lightly. She then raises her head again, looks down at my hand, and wipes at her face with her other hand, while giving me a slight smile.

  “I would catch him walking out of classes sometimes, with a group of girls and guys all laughing, and one of the girls may be leaning in on him or grabbing at his arm. He would always come to me and put his arm around my shoulder, and when I would question him about the group, especially the girls, he would just shrug. Saying things like: Oh they are just class mates; no one important, especially not as important as you. Then he would give me his killer reassuring smile. Of course, now, if I think about it, that was probably his way of getting me to drop the subject, and it worked. Last night, he was supposed to be at some Sorority meeting; all guys of course. I guess plans changed, and he just somehow forgot about getting in touch with me; hence my sarcasm here.” With that, I raise up my eyebrows, and she lets out a huff while rolling her eyes.

  “He didn’t even text or call me to say goodnight, and make sure I was ok. I live in a rental house nearby on my own, and he always checks on me to make sure I am ok. I basically followed him to school here; yet, most of my close friends went away to other states. My parents pay the rent, though, so there was no way he could move in with me. I’m sure, now, he is happy that worked out in his favor after all. So, the fact that he didn’t get hold of me last night already had me over thinking, and, obviously, this time, it wasn’t just my mind over working.” Tara sighs again, and wipes away more tears that have started to come back.

  I have now finished my muffin, and am half way through my second cup of coffee. I am slightly starting to feel the jitters from the caffeine, which I seem to get every time. “Ok, Tara, honestly I can’t say I know what you are going through, because, honestly, I don’t know if I have ever truly been in love before. I do know that, even though this statement is probably over used it is true: Life goes on, and you will make it through this.”

  Tara starts to shake her head back and forth, as if to say no I won’t. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes slightly. “I had a steady boyfriend through High School myself, and, honestly, he was a great guy. We both decided, though, after our Senior year that, since he was going to college in a different state and I was staying here in Virginia, that we honestly needed to call the relationship off. Although I miss him very much, I didn’t feel heartbroken over the situation, so I know I couldn’t have been truly in love. I had a couple boyfriends last year during my first year of college here, but nothing of major significance. The first one only lasted a month, and the second one lasted about five months. You and I are young, though, and you should look at your time here as your chance to make an important career opportunity for yourself, as well as living it up some along the way.” I give her a sincere look, and let her continue on with more of her story.

  AS TARA IS talking, I’m looking around Starbucks, noticing it is sunny out now and a lot busier inside. I’m also noticing quick glances over our way from our register boy. This isn’t the first time I have noticed this since we have been here, and I am pretty sure it’s Tara that he keeps looking toward. Huh; interesting.

  I look up at the door as it is opening with someone else walking in. I take that back; someone is a very weak description. I believe all the coffee has given me more than the jitters, because I have to be hallucinating now. I am pretty certain I’m looking at Himeros, the Greek God of sexual desire, walking in the door. He is wearing Ray Bans, and jeans that sit just right at his hips and are frayed at the bottoms. His grey shirt fits tight around his oh so perfect biceps. He has to be about 6’4 or taller, with a very strong jaw line and dark blonde hair in a Military style cut. Seriously, he should be wearing a neon sign that reads out: Sex Allure Walking, because I have nothing but that running through me at the sight of him. I actually gasp, and my natural olive complexion feels red hot all over.

  Tara stops talking, and turns to see what I am now probably drooling over. Once she turns her head, he catches sight of her and removes his sunglasses, tucking them in his shirt, and revealing emerald green eyes as he starts our way. Oh my God, this has to be Tara’s brother. The intensity of that green shade is unmistakable. I try and pull my wide open mouth back closed, as Tara turns to me quickly and mouths “I’m sorry”, tucking her hair back behind her ears again and slowly rising from her seat. I just sit there, not sure what to do, and I am, honestly, worried my legs might give out if I try to stand at
this moment. Tara’s brother is staring right at her with a very stern look on his face, while making quick strides to our table.

  He hasn’t even looked at me yet, and as soon as he is in front of her he starts in on her. “What is going on, Tara? Why am I getting called early in the morning, being told you have gone postal, and are on your way to some girl’s place—whom you don’t even know—to kick her ass?” Tara straightens her shoulders, and raises her hand for him to stop talking.

  My thought, however, is I don’t want him to stop talking. That voice—although it is definitely angry, it has a sexy, raspy deepness to it, reminding me of Gary Allan’s voice when he sings. This, of course, makes my current lust issue even worse. What is wrong with me? Snap out of it, Caroline! As I’m shaking my head, trying to pull myself together, he looks over at me for the first time, while Tara starts to speak to him about sitting down and keeping his tone down as well.

  I notice that the current squint he has to his eyes, from anger at Tara, suddenly dissolves. I could be completely misjudging this next thing, being as I’m still not one hundred percent convinced that I am not hallucinating, but it seems his eyes get a slight hungry look to them, and the side of his mouth goes up into a smile. It doesn’t last long, though, being that Tara is now grabbing at his hand to try and sit him down. He blinks and looks away from me, and back down at his sister.

  I take this as my cue to leave. I really don’t need to get myself anymore involved in this conversation than I already seem to be. I go to stand on—yep. I was right, shaky legs—when both of them stop whatever it was they had started to say, and look at me. I suddenly feel like I am on display. Being as that his presence and initial loud tone had grabbed other customers attention already, and since both he and Tara were now staring at me, all other curious eyes seemed to want to look my way as well. Suddenly, my typically very moist full lips feel very dry, and now my hand is slightly shaking. Damn, where is a girl’s lip gloss when she needs it? Oh God, speaking of lip gloss, hello Ms. Just Rolled Out Of Bed Look. This day just got even better. I just got my first sighting of a Greek sex god, and I look like a wreck—nice.

  Tara gives me a very embarrassed expression. “Oh, Caroline, I am so sorry for not introducing you. This is my over bearing brother, Eric. Eric, this is...”

  He then cuts her off with “Caroline, Caroline Reyes. Hello, I am Eric Wright. AKA the someone who needs to keep this sister of mine straight.” He gives Tara an irritated expression, and then looks at me, raising his eyebrow and extending his hand for our introduction.

  Oh no, my hands just got clammy; I can’t touch this man. Although, that is all I really want to do, and in so many ways at that. So, instead of reaching for his hand to shake it, I stutter out, “How did you know my last name?”

  He then gives me a sneaky grin as he says, “Well, I am a detective so once I was given Piper Frost’s name, I located her information, including room number and roommate. Once Tara said the name Caroline, I knew the rest.” I can’t help but wonder what else he might know. “Oh ok; well, nice to meet you both. I am going to be leaving now, and let you two take it from here. I hope the rest of your day gets better, Tara, and good luck with everything.”

  Tara looks at me with a very sad expression, and reaches for my arm as I go to step away. “Caroline, wait, I drove you here; I will drive you back. I will meet Eric back here, or he can follow us if he wants, and then he can talk to me out in the campus lot. Plus, if you don’t mind I would really like to keep in touch if I could have your number.”

  I pull my arm away from Tara, and reach in my pocket for my phone. “Here, Tara, just send a text from my phone to yours, and then we will have each other’s numbers. As far as getting back, the walk really isn’t that far, and I honestly like walking.”

  Tara pouts, and takes my phone from my hand and starts typing. I notice Eric giving me a stern look now, and I can’t decide if it makes me nervous, or even more turned on then I already was. “I will drive you both back to Caroline’s in my truck, and then you and I can go somewhere and talk, Tara, because I am not sitting in that little Mini of yours, and you will be explaining yourself to me.”

  Tara and I both look at him, dumbstruck. Yet, he just cocks his head to the side slightly, and gives me an I dare you to argue look. So, of course, I cross my arms under my chest and I do just that. “Really? I am twenty years old, and walk around here plenty on my own. I am sure I can manage today, as well.” I notice his eyes look down at where my arms are crossed and the way it lifts up on my chest. His gaze stays there a little longer than necessary. So, yes, for a tiny built girl I was blessed with, as I have been told, a very nice rack. He then looks up at me and smiles again. I swear his eyes seem to literally glisten as he does this. Tara just stands there, staring back and forth between the two of us. You can tell she feels very uncomfortable, and I see her reaching out to hand me my phone back. I smile at her while taking my phone, and start to walk away again.

  Eric steps slightly to the side, blocking me. “Really, Caroline, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I truly insist on giving you that ride.”

  Get your mind out of the gutter, Caroline; he is talking about a ride in his truck, and not the type of ride you can’t seem to stop thinking about around him. I bite down on my lip, and roll my eyes at him. “Well, insisting must be hereditary then, because Tara used that same word on me earlier this morning.” I then gesture toward the door. “So, where did you park?” With that, I get a grin from both of them. Tara’s being happy, and Eric’s being a bit of a don’t push me type of grin.

  WE GRAB UP our trash and take it to the trash can. There aren’t nearly as many eyes on us now, but I do notice many of the eyes that are still watching belong to females, and they surely aren’t looking at either Tara or me. I also notice said Register boy’s eyes, and they are definitely watching Tara. We follow Eric out to a black four door, four wheel drive Ford truck. Nice, one sibling has little car dreams, and then we have one that has big truck dreams. I wonder if their personalities are as different as their taste in vehicles. Maybe it is just a guy, girl thing? I am one of those I have dreams but I will take what I can get type, which explains my 2000 Chevrolet Blazer. It is a little run down looking, but it starts right up and gets me from point A to point B, so that is what matters. I am also pretty good with numbers and money. Therefore, I am what I like to call thrifty, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The only time I ever really need it is to go to work a few nights a week, and to go visit family and Raleigh, so it works out just fine.

  As I hear the doors unlock, I reach for the rear passenger side door. As I go to pull the handle, a very large warm hand grabs over it as well. I jump slightly at the contact, but let out a slight moan at the same time. Seriously, what is wrong with me? It is just a slight touch of the hand, and I can’t fully control my responses. I can feel his warm breath at my ear as he bends down to speak. “Here, Caroline, let me help you in.”

  Ok, I know I am short, but does he look at me as a small child unable to pull themselves into the truck. Whether I am little or not, I am no weakling, so pulling myself up is no hardship at all. I turn to tell him thanks but I got this, and get tongue tied once I see those eyes so close to mine. He is gazing at me as though he has a lot of things running through his mind as well, and I can’t help but hope at least one of those things is along the same line as what I have been thinking about him. He opens the door, and then grabs me at each side of my waist and lifts me like I weigh as little as a feather and sits me down in the seat. He proceeds to give me a full on pearly white smile, which must be contagious, because I can’t help but give him one back. “Oh, look, you can give a genuine smile, huh, Caroline? Cute dimple by the way. Now, don’t forget to buckle up.”

  With that, my mouth drops open again, and he closes the door. Tara is already sitting in the front passenger seat, and I can’t help but notice he didn’t help her in the truck. Is it because he looks at me as small and incapable, like I t
hought before, or is it maybe that he wanted to put his hands on me as badly I do on him? Once again, Caroline, get your thoughts straight. Remember your appearance at the moment. Plus, being that he is obviously older than me by a few years, I am sure he is used to more mature women.

  I hear the truck starting up, and it startles me, because my mind was wandering so much, that I didn’t even notice him hop in. He sure does look damn good sitting behind the wheel, though, and he has his Ray Bans back on—yum.

  As he grips the steering wheel, turning out of the lot, I notice the muscles in his forearm bulge out, as well as a tattoo peeking from under his sleeve. How in the world did I miss that? It is like icing on the cake. “So, I am guessing I don’t need to tell you where to go to take me back, since you already know all about me, right?” I see his head raise, and can tell he is glancing up in the rear view mirror at me. He gives me that I know you want me grin. Honestly, with the way I have acted, I am sure there is no doubt that he does know that. “No, Caroline, you don’t need to tell me.”

  I love the way he just slightly lingered on my name when he said it. I want to hear him saying it, over and over again. Ok, I can’t keep watching this man. I have had men catch my eye before, and yeah, I might linger for a while, but everything about Eric draws me in like a moth to a flame. I am out of control, and I honestly don’t really care for that feeling of not having full control of myself. I decide to look out the side window, watching buildings pass by, instead of watching Eric behind the wheel.

  I keep feeling like he is staring me down through the mirror, but I refuse to let myself look up and see. Then he starts to speak again with that oh so sexy voice. “Ok, I have to tell both of you ladies that I think you have pulled some really reckless, stupid moves today. Tara, you go showing up at some complete stranger’s door, ready for war. I know that prick, Andrew, has something to do with that, but we will discuss that part in a minute. She could have beaten the shit out of you, Tara, or filed charges. I mean, honestly, you had no idea what you were walking into.”