Discovering Stella

by K. M. Golland

  “Did I tell you we met while I was backpacking overseas?” he whispered, jerking his head toward the kitchen to indicate we move the conversation there.

  “No, you didn’t, but Meg mentioned it the day I arrived here. She’s very forthcoming with info, you know.”

  We entered the kitchen, and Todd headed straight for the kettle to switch it on before pulling out two mugs and a big tin of Milo. My heart raced as I remembered back to when we were teenagers, when we used to sit on his bedroom floor and eat spoonfuls of the malt chocolate directly out of the tin.

  “Why? What did Meg tell you?” he asked, as he concentrated on making our hot chocolates.

  “Ah ... nothing. Just that you used to show off and pretend to be Tom Cruise from Cocktailat the bar in England that you both worked in.”

  He turned around while shoving a spoonful of Milo into his mouth. “Hey, that Cruise guy has nothing on me,” he mumbled.

  I giggled. “Prove it!”

  Todd raised his eyebrows then nodded and wiped his hands on the tea towel hanging from the cupboard door next to him. “I will,” he said surely, before placing the lid back on the tin and giving it a mighty whack. Todd then tossed it into the air and caught it with one hand while keeping his eyes steadfastly on mine and his face devoid of emotion.

  I bit my lip to supress a smile ... it didn’t work.

  The next thing he did was grab two tall plastic drinking cups from out of a cupboard and tossed them around, flipping them in front of him and then behind his back. He was skilled, I’ll give him that, but he was also overly cocky and tried catching one cup inside the other. Unfortunately for him, the cup bounced off and hit the benchtop before bouncing again and hitting the floor with a loud bang.

  “Shit!” he said, quickly trying to pick it up before it bounced and made any more of a racket.

  I giggled and turned to look at the door, which led to the lounge room, only to find Meg shuffling in and rubbing her sleepy eyes with her hands.

  “What are you doing?” she asked groggily.

  “Sorry, babe, I dropped a cup.” Todd walked over to where she was standing like a zombie and kissed her forehead. “You want a hot Milo?”

  She shook her head.

  “Okay, why don’t you go to bed. I’ll be there shortly.”

  “Don’t be long.” She pouted at Todd then looked over his shoulder at me. “Night, Stel. Oh, by the way, good song choice.”

  My eyes widened at her knowledge of Lawson’s and my exchange of messages, but I still managed to reply with a long “thaaaanks” as she left the room.

  “What was that about?” Todd queried.

  “Nothing, really. She was just referring to the songs Lawson and I have been sending each other.”

  He raised an eyebrow in question. “Songs?”

  “Yeah, he sent me a song link as a way to say sorry for how he acted last night. I sent one back which basically said that I accepted his apology and wanted to maybe give us another try.”

  Todd sat down once he’d finished making our drinks and handed me my mug. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I like him. He gets me. I tried to ignore it but ... it’s impossible.”

  “Well, as long as you’re sure,” he said, gently blowing the surface of his drink. “You seem a little fragile at the moment. I don’t want you to break.”

  Dropping my gaze to the porcelain mug cupped within my hands, I mumbled, “You can’t break if you’re already broken.”

  Todd stopped his blowing action. “Stel, what happened? Did your husband hurt you?”

  “Yes,” I sighed sadly, meeting his eyes, “but not in the way you are thinking. What he did destroyed everything, and nothing hurts more than that.”

  “What did he do?”

  I stood up and brought my mug with me. “Not tonight, okay? And anyway, Meg is waiting for you.” I blew him a kiss goodnight. He nodded, indicating he understood, so I left the kitchen and headed for my room. When I opened the door, I was met with a bunch of assorted flowers, sitting in a vase on my bedside table. I had a sneaking suspicion they were from Lawson so smiled when I read the card that was poking out of the top:

  My mother once told me that you haven’t really said sorry to a woman until you have given her a bunch of flowers. Mum was always right ~ Lawson

  Smiling, I blushed as joy filtered through my body. It was such a simple, yet sweet, gesture. It was also the first time since my husband’s death that I had been given flowers that didn’t signify grief.

  Bending over, I sniffed a carnation then sat on my bed, pulling out my phone to send Lawson the song link ‘Thank You For The Music’ by ABBA, together with the words ‘and the flowers’. I pressed send, giggled and prepared for bed, knowing that when he turned his phone on in the morning it would be the first thing he saw. I also knew that, come morning, my new life really was just beginning.

  F O U R T E E N

  Mine

  There’s not much that comes close to the sensation you feel when your blood heats and travels through your body right before you blow your load.

  Fuck that feels good.Opening my eyes, that very feeling was sweeping across me and settling at the tip of my cock, which was when I realised that I was, in fact, about to shoot jizz over my sheets. “Shit!” I said, cupping my hand and catching my wood’s morning explosion. “Jesus! What the fuck?”

  Obviously the dream I’d just had was a good one, no doubt involving Stella and those perfect tits of hers ... or those lips ... or that warm, wet pussy. Damn! I need a shower.

  I quickly cleaned myself up and grabbed my phone, finding a message with a brand new song link. I tapped it open and waited before hearing what could only be described as diarrhoea for the ears when ABBA started singing ‘Thank You For The Music’.

  Laughing, I shook my head and switched the shit off. Clever little princess. Hmm ... princess, I wonder? Wanting to be just as clever, I googled songs about princesses and toads and found the best hit ever. I practically jumped up and down and giggled like a tosser while I copied the link of ‘Mario Kart Love Song’ into a message for Stella. Then, really needing that bloody shower, I made my way to the bathroom figuring I would be done before she woke for the day.

  * * *

  Waiting impatiently in the kitchen as I poured myself a glass of OJ, I was highly agitated — in a good way — and unable to stop smiling, no doubt looking like an eight-year-old kid on Christmas morning.

  “Why are you so happy?” Todd asked from his seat at the dining table. He was reading the local newspaper.

  I glanced at him while taking a sip of juice. “No reason. Just happy.”

  “Wouldn’t have anything to do with Stel giving you a second chance, would it?” The cocky fucker flipped a page and took a bite of his toast.

  I was just about to answer and tell him “Yeah, it fuckin’ is,” when the sound of Stella’s laughter echoed down the hallway. Both Todd and I stopped what we were doing and looked toward the door.

  “Gee, that’s nice to hear,” Todd said, smiling, before he resumed reading his paper.

  “Tell me about it.” I grinned to myself, knowing why she had laughed. Well ... I hoped it was because she’d listened to the song I’d sent her.

  “Word of advice, mate. Don’t fuck this up. You won’t get another chance if you do.”

  Relationship advice from Todd wasn’t something I needed, so I turned my back to him and opened the refrigerator. The escaping air settled over my skin, but the goosebumps that appeared were not the result of the cold temperature. No. They were from the knowledge that Stella had just entered the room. Her presence had the ability to change the atmosphere wherever she entered, as if she’d tripped an invisible alarm and lit the place up.

  “Morning,” she practically sang, her cheerful voice heightening my already happy mood.

  I stood upright and looked over the fridge door. “Morning,” I replied at the same time as Todd.

  Stella’s eyes locked on mine an
d blared something I hadn’t seen in them before. Something promising. Something I liked. She just looked ... happy. Genuinely happy.

  Todd smirked like a tool at her over the rim of his reading glasses. “Have a nice sleep?”

  “Yes, thank you, I did! I had a very good sleep,” she replied, in a tone that hinted of a secret. I wondered whether her secret was the same as why I’d slept well and woken up in the manner that I had.

  Unable to stop my eyes from scanning the length of her body, I took note that she was still in her PJs, those fucking cute pussy PJs. The shorts were tiny and barely covered her perfect arse, and the pussy-printed singlet top she wore clung to her tits, showcasing their faultless shape and size. Fuck me.The sheer sight of her stirred my dick to life.

  Stella smiled and sauntered toward me — yes, fucking sauntered— swaying her hips like a born temptress. She stopped and, brushing her breast against my arm, leaned forward and grabbed the OJ from my hand before I’d had the chance to put it back in the fridge.

  “Do you mind?” she asked coyly, but with a mischievous grin.

  I shook my head slowly, as if hypnotised by some invisible pussy PJ power.

  “I’m thirsty.” She glanced at my lips before finding my eyes again.

  I was fucking frozen to the spot: legs, arms and jaw all tightly locked and stunned into submission. Stella was deliberately seducing me ... with fucking orange juice, of all things.

  “Lawson,” she whispered, leaning in unbearably close and casting a wave of scented apple to intoxicate me, “let go of the OJ.”

  “What?” Snapping out of my dick-teased state, I relaxed my grip and let go of the carton. “Shit, sorry.”

  She bit her lip and winked then walked to the cupboard and stretched on her tippy-toes to reach for a glass. Faaark! Her tiny shorts rode up to apex-heaven, revealing the most delectable arse cheek I’d ever seen. Round. Firm. Soft ...

  “Ahem,” Todd sounded, clearing his throat.

  Struggling — because I swear my eyes were magnetised somehow — I slowly dragged my stare from the perfection that was her rear end and met Todd’s annoyed gaze. Shit! Busted.

  “Morning,” Meg groaned, shuffling into the kitchen and heading straight for the toaster, her blonde hair standing up in all kinds of different directions.

  “Morning,” we all answered simultaneously, and I felt as if I was in the middle of a bloody sitcom.

  I chuckled. “Did you sleepwalk and get struck by lightning?”

  “What?” She smoothed down her hair. “Shut up. Sorry I don’t spend half an hour brushing my hair before I leave my room, unlike someone I know.”

  “Obviously,” I countered, finally closing the fridge door and moving to lean against the bench.

  Stella stopped beside me and placed her cup down before reaching up and slowly sliding her hand down my ponytail. “Yeah, but he does a good job, don’t ya think?”

  Her hand lingered there for the smallest of seconds before she gently licked her bottom lip and turned toward Meg. And I swear to fucking god that if Stella and I were alone in the room, I’d have her naked and sprawled in front of me quicker than you could blink.

  I wanted her. I wanted her so badly that my palms moistened and my lungs almost collapsed for not knowing how to expand and let me breathe. Just her mere presence had the ability to confuse how my mind and body were supposed to function. I was completely and utterly whipped.

  “So, Stel, seeing as it’s your birthday this weekend,” Todd announced, breaking my inner drooling and my staring at the skin of her neck, “how ‘bout we have a little celebration at the pub?”

  “No! I don’t do birthdays.” She turned away to put the OJ back in the fridge.

  Todd scoffed. “Bullshit, you don’t.”

  “Really, I don’t. It’s fine. It’s no big deal. It’s just another day.”

  Meg appeared to be seconds away from taking a bite out of her toast when she paused, instead handing it to Stella with a smile bathed in bribery. “Come on, Stel, it will be fun. We can dress up and make a night of it,” she pleaded.

  “Well, you see, that’s the thing, I don’t have anything to dress up in. I didn’t exactly pack for a permanent stay when I came here. I kind of left everything behind.”

  “Do you want to go and get your things?” I asked. “I don’t mind taking you back to Melbourne while your car is getting fixed.” I don’t fucking mind at all. Three hours in the car with Stella beside me? Bring it on.

  Her eyes snapped to mine. “NO!” Damn! Why the fuck not? “No, I don’t want to go back, but I do need to go shopping somewhere. I was thinking of going to Shepparton at some stage.”

  “Well, what about today? I’m going there to pick up the cylinder head for your car. You can come with me and I’ll take you shopping.”

  Todd choked on his drink. “You? Shopping?”

  “What?” I asked defensively. All right, so shopping for girly shit had never really been my thing, but this time it meant spending time with Stella.

  “Thank you, but maybe I could just catch a lift with you to Shepparton and then get the bus back or something. That way you don’t have to hang around and wait,” Stella offered sheepishly.

  “You’re not catching the bus back. I’m taking you and that’s all there is to it. Now hurry up and go get ready, unless you want to wear that,” I said, nodding to her PJs with a premeditated grin.

  She looked down at herself. “No, not really. I guess I’d better go and get dressed then. Seems I’ll be going shopping and celebrating my birthday after all.”

  * * *

  I drove Stella to Shepparton and dropped her off at the plaza, explaining I would call her when I returned after picking up the part for her car. During the one hour drive it had taken to get there, we hadn’t mentioned what lay ahead for our relationship, although I had no doubt that the question had hung as heavily on her mind as it had mine. I wanted to know what she wanted — what I could give her, do to her and say to her. It was driving me bloody crazy. But I also hadn’t wanted to ruin the awesome mood she seemed to be in, so I’d kept my questions under wraps.

  As I was about to pull my phone out and call her in order to find out what shop she was in, I spotted some charms in a jewellery store window — a charm of a knight, in particular, catching my eye. It was fucking perfect.

  Stepping into the store, I headed straight to the counter and asked to see it. The sales assistant happily grabbed the display tray, which was when I noticed a toad charm as well. I couldn’t believe my luck.

  “Do you happen to have a charm of a princess, too?” I asked dubiously.

  She smiled. Good sign. “Yes, we do. We have different ones, and we can order more in if you like. Here,” she said, handing me a small brochure. “There are hundreds, and many more online.”

  “Sweet! Thank you. I’ll take the knight, toad and princess for now,” I said eagerly, not even worried about the price. Honestly, I didn’t care. Money wasn’t something I was short of. I worked bloody hard and didn’t have the need to spend much.

  “Does your girlfriend have a bracelet these can go on?” the assistant asked.

  My girlfriend? Fuck! Is Stella my girlfriend? I sure as hell wanted her to be. I just wasn’t sure where her mind was at.

  Realising that I would have to sort this girlfriend-label shit out soon, I went along with the sales assistant’s assumption. “No, she hasn’t. Which one do you suggest?”

  She smiled brightly. “We have some lovely charm bracelets. Come over here and I’ll show you.”

  After buying a bracelet and happily spending a shitload of money for the first time in a long time, I rang Stella to find out where she was.

  “Hi,” she answered, her voice strained.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in ... Chic ... Ex ... press.” Her voice strangled yet again.

  I narrowed my eyes ... not that she could see them. “You all right?”

  “Yeah, just having an i
ssue with this dress. Why there is a need for ten different straps is beyond me.”

  I laughed. “Hold tight, I’ll be there in a minute. Maybe I can help you with that problem.”

  Silence.

  “Maybe you can,” she said in a tone that made my dick jump. Then, she hung up.

  Just. Like. That. Was that an invitation?

  Looking at my phone, I didn’t question any longer. I picked up my pace and practically ran for the shop — its whereabouts, I had no bloody idea.

  After asking a couple of teenage girls where Chic Express was and having to endure their moment of silly giggles, they pointed me in the right direction, soon finding myself standing outside the store’s change rooms.

  “Your royal highness, how may I be of assistance?” I announced rather loudly.

  Three curtains moved in succession, together with three female faces peeking curiously through the material. One of them was Stella’s, and she was laughing hysterically.

  “Get in here, you idiot,” she said playfully, reaching out and grabbing me by the scruff of the neck, pulling me into her cubicle. Her bold move shocked me, so at first I stood there, a little dumb- founded, not knowing what I was supposed to be doing. I figured I should comment on the dress she was wearing. It was black, showed her shoulder and was covered in small flowers. She looked great. “I like it!” I said, eyeing her up and down.

  She turned and looked in the mirror. “Liar. It’s hideous.”

  Really? How the fuck should I know? It looks perfectly fine. “I don’t think anything you wear could look hideous.”

  Her cheeks flushed pink as she looked away from our reflection. “Can you do me a favour?”

  “Sure,” I answered, shuffling on the spot and hoping the favour was to remove the ‘hideous’ dress.

  Stella handed me an article of clothing. “I need a smaller size in this one. Can you please ask the sales assistant to grab it for me?”