When a Star Falls (Stars Book 1)

by Rachael Eliker

  The bright sliver of the moon hung above, and I tilted my head back to better admire the cosmos. “What time is it?” I wondered aloud, digging in my coat pockets for my phone.

  “Almost one,” Collin said as he checked his wristwatch.

  “You’re kidding!” I gasped. “I’d better get going home. I left a note for Vanessa but I wouldn’t want her to worry. I mean, it’s not like me to be out later than her. Like, ever.” Quickly, I added, “And I have plans tomorrow morning. Don’t want to sleep in too late.” That was a teensy bit of a lie. I didn’t need Collin thinking I sat around all weekend with nowhere to go.

  “Of course,” Collin said, rushing me over to his car. The lights blinked as he unlocked it and again, opened the door for me. When he got in and started the car, he casually mentioned, “I hope you don’t mind but I posted your video.”

  I blinked. “Unedited?” Mentally, I slapped myself. Could I sound any more vain? “I mean, I have lots of videos out on my YouTube channel but usually, I edit them so they’re the best they can be.”

  Collin turned to me, reaching behind my seat and draping his arm across my headrest. “Trust me. That performance was spot on. I know I’m no musician but that song gave me goosebumps. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

  “That’s what every artist wants to hear,” I breathed, trying not to boast. “I’ve been working harder on my own compositions now that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m graduating soon. That is, if I pass physics.”

  Collin pulled away and zipped down the streets, back toward my apartment. “You’ll pass physics if I have anything to do with it.”

  I tried to tone down the wattage of my grin, but I couldn’t stop smiling like my face might tear in half. He wanted to see me again, even if it was only in the capacity of tutoring? Fine by me.

  We were back in front of my apartment building within five minutes, and Collin pulled along the curb, turning off the engine. “Can I walk you in?”

  Though the streets were empty, and I would consider where we lived safe, I was more than okay with his offer. “Sure,” I chirped and immediately wished I could kick myself. Way to play it cool.

  The sound of my heels echoed in the building and up the stairs. On the third floor, I stopped at my door and found a note taped to it.

  “Uh-oh. Looks like Franco and Vanessa are having a spat already,” I muttered, peeling the paper off. Even the note smelled like he soaked it in his cologne. “He’s going to have to do something much more elaborate than that if he’s even going to have a shot at salvaging their relationship.”

  “Roses?”

  I shook my head. “More like a new pair of Jimmy Choo pumps or some Tiffany’s jewelry. The more diamonds, the better. Vanessa has expensive tastes.”

  “I see,” Collin agreed, pushing his hands into his pockets and rocking on his feet, the same way he’d done while he waited for me to change. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a tad bit nervous.

  A brief stint of awkward silence fell upon us until we both spoke at the same time.

  “I really—”

  “I hope you—”

  We both stopped and laughed nervously. I knew the goodbye was coming, but it’d been so long that I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Hug? Handshake? High five? Kiss? I gulped at the thought.

  “I had a really great time, Collin,” I said, guarding my eyes with downturned lashes.

  “That’s fantastic. I am sorry again for showing up unannounced.”

  “Drop by anytime.” I was sounding desperate. “No biggie if you don’t,” I said with a shrug. Ugh. Noncommittal didn’t sound much better.

  Collin dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “May I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “May I kiss you goodnight?”

  My heart, already beating like a hummingbird on caffeine, leapt into my throat and went into overdrive.

  “A real gentleman?” I questioned, more to myself than him.

  “I try my best.”

  Coyly, I whispered, “You may.” Closing my eyes, I puckered slightly in anticipation but instead of pressing his mouth on mine, I felt his lips lightly brush my cheek. It was so subtle, I opened my eyes to see if it was real. The kiss was just a tease, and in no way was Collin claiming me as his own. The tenderness of it, Collin’s manners, his undeniable attractiveness…I couldn’t help myself and I turned slightly, pulling him into a real kiss.

  The slight stubble on his chin tickled my face and his mouth tasted like spearmint. He was so warm, soft yet firm and totally confident in his kissing abilities, which, if I were to score them, would give him a perfect ten. We were about two seconds away from being full-on passionate, but right as Collin slipped one arm around my waist and the other up around the back of my neck, he snagged his watchband in my hair.

  “Ow!” I yelped in pain as I felt a chunk of hair being uprooted.

  His eyes popped open, and any special moment between us came to a screeching halt. My ill-timed giggles echoed down the hallway, and before I knew it, we were both laughing with tears streaming down our cheeks. After a few failed attempts, where all of Collin’s efforts to untangle his watch only made it more knotted—probably because he was trying to profusely apologize while laughing and fumbling with my hair—I was finally freed. My elegant bun was no doubt obliterated. I felt the throbbing spot on my head and wondered if I had any noticeable bald patches. The wad of hair that had detached itself along with Collin’s watch seemed to strongly suggest I might.

  Collin’s face was ruddy, and I’m sure mine was too—I felt like a mercury thermometer on a course toward the center of the sun. I tried to smooth my hair to appear composed, but I was certain I looked worse than Donald Trump on a windy day.

  “Goodnight, then,” I said. Pulling a spare business card from the bottom of my coat pocket, I handed it over to Collin. “Here’s my number. In case, you know, you want to call.”

  Collin grabbed it and smirked as he flipped it over, reading every line of print. He looked up at me with his beautiful blue eyes and assured, “I’ll be in touch soon.”

  I fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door, quietly shutting it behind me. Hanging up my coat, I glanced back at the door, wondering if he’d already left. I tiptoed to the peephole and squinted. In the hallway, Collin leaned with his hands on either side of the door; his head hung down. I watched him for a moment until he startled me by looking up. Could he see me? He wore the biggest smile I’d seen yet, and he took a deep breath, raking his fingers through his hair before straightening himself and walking away. I watched as long as I could through the tiny hole, and when he was gone, I turned and slid down on my back until I was in a heap on the ground, grinning dumbly to myself.

  That is what I would call the ending of a perfect day.

  Chapter Five

  Thwamp! A pillow slammed down on my head, abruptly waking me from my very pleasant and vivid dream of yesterday’s goodnight kiss with Collin. Immediately, I bounced off the bed and rubbed my eyes until a blurry Vanessa came into focus. She stood in front of me in her favorite silk robe, her hair twisted in a messy bun, holding a can of uncapped Rediwhip. I’d half expected to find her on the couch last night in a food coma, watching reruns of The Bachelor, but she’d already gone to bed, and the apartment was quiet. Unable to sleep, I had sat on the kitchen counter barstool in the still darkness and replayed the evening, while admiring the tiny Lemon Ball (so the plastic card stuck in the side told me) cactus Collin had given me. The entire experience verged on magical.

  “What time is it?” I croaked.

  Ignoring me, Vanessa demanded, “Where were you? I got home at eleven, only to discover you weren’t here.”

  I shrugged nonchalantly, regretting nothing about last night. Except maybe Collin’s watch getting stuck in my hair. “I’m usually asleep by then anyway.”

  “I needed some consoling after I dumped Franco,” she pouted. I knew her well enough to know that now was not th
e time to point out she was the one who dumped him.

  “Sorry,” I yawned. “What’d he do?”

  “It was horrible. I caught him—” she dropped off mid-sentence, a shuttering sob escaping her lips. She shot a squirt of whipped cream into her mouth and gulped it down.

  “Caught him what?”

  “Flirting.”

  “Flirting?” I almost snorted, but I mercifully managed to rein it in. I knew better than to be on Vanessa’s bad side at a time like this. “How so?”

  “I saw him. He…he,” she stuttered. “I caught him with his hands all over some woman.”

  “That is bad,” I said sympathetically but not surprised.

  She sniffled and continued, “He was helping her get her coat on. I saw the whole thing. He wasn’t even attempting to hide it.”

  I tried. A peal of laughter escaped my mouth before I could clamp my hand over my mouth.

  “Ruby!” Vanessa screeched.

  “I’m sorry! It’s just, that’s probably the most gentlemanly thing Franco’s ever done. Helping a woman put her coat on is hardly flirting.”

  Vanessa grabbed a notebook off my dresser and threw it at me, while I continued to laugh. “It’s very intimate, having a man help put your coat on.”

  She tried her best to continue her pouty face but with my shoulders still shaking, she cracked and started laughing, too.

  “I think maybe you were getting tired of him and were looking for a way out,” I suggested.

  Shrugging, Vanessa admitted, “Maybe you’re right. He was always talking about himself.”

  I snorted and rolled my eyes, flopping back down onto my warm bed. The sun was already peeking in through the cracks in the blinds so climbing back under the covers to hibernate a little while longer was going to be difficult unless I pulled the sheets over my face.

  “Enough about my night. Where were you?”

  As long as Vanessa was here, sleep wasn’t going to happen. I sighed and said, “Didn’t you read my note? I had a date.”

  “I thought you were joking. What if you’d gone to get more ice cream, and had gotten kidnapped and all the police had to go on was your lie.”

  “Well, in this case, I didn’t need more ice cream and I really did do what I said I was doing.”

  Vanessa’s dark eyes widened, and she put her hands on her hips. “With who? Do I know this boy?”

  “No, Mom,” I sassed. “I met him yesterday in class.”

  I could tell by how intently Vanessa studied me that she was running a million scenarios in her head. I sat patiently until she overcame her disbelief. Heck, I barely believed my fairy tale evening, either.

  Seeing I had no guile, her face lit up, and she sat on the chair at my desk. “So, spill!”

  “You don’t want to talk about Franco’s betrayal anymore?”

  A shadow passed over Vanessa’s features, and she tilted her head back, squirting in more whipped cream before batting her hand at the comment. “He’s old news. Tell.”

  I filled her in on the whole enchanted evening, from Collin bringing me the tiny, adorable cactus that was the new centerpiece of our kitchen table (“I wondered what was up with that,” Vanessa blurted) to my first public performance of Heart on Fire, all the way to him swooping in and saving me from slobbering (literally) drunk Ernie. I omitted the part about our almost-steamy make out session in the hallway. That didn’t stop Vanessa from prying.

  “Did you kiss him?”

  Dang it. Did she have to be so perceptive? I faked disgust and said, “I think you know that I’d never kiss and tell.”

  “I knew it!” Vanessa shrieked, “There’s something different about you this morning. You’re practically glowing! It’s because you kissed him!”

  Heat crept up my face, and I tried to deny it, but I stuttered over my words until I finally accepted that it was futile to resist. I kissed and told. I don’t know why it felt like I was bragging to say it out loud but simply uttering the words made my ego overinflate.

  “When do I get to meet him?”

  “Who knows?” I sighed. “I gave him my number but I didn’t get his.”

  “What? How are you going to get a hold of him?”

  I smothered my face with my pillow and groaned, “I don’t know. I guess I was too preoccupied.”

  A sharp knock on the door interrupted our conversation, and I sat up a little straighter. “It’s probably Franco coming to apologize,” Vanessa frowned. “Will you get it? I don’t want to talk to him until I can get ready. I’ll be quick.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled. I shivered as my feet hit the floor, so I pulled a soft, droopy gray sweater off the back of my desk chair and yanked it over my head. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror and had to laugh about my appearance. My hair was rumpled, last night’s makeup that had stubbornly clung to my lids was now smudged under my eyes, my pajamas were anything but formfitting…I was a far cry from the elegance I’d managed to pull off only a few hours earlier.

  I swung the door open and said, “Look, Franco. I gave Vanessa your note, but she’s—”

  My throat closed up, and I couldn’t speak. Collin was standing in front of me, looking like a rugged lumberjack in jeans, a flannel shirt that seemed to be tailored to his muscular chest, and a day’s worth of facial stubble that’d he’d trimmed up so he looked tidy yet manly. I half-expected him to be leaning on an axe. And me? Not one, but two days in a row, I’d willingly opened the door to the hottest guy I’d ever seen looking like a bag lady. Dying of embarrassment would’ve been merciful.

  “Sorry for stopping by without permission again,” Collin said, looking like an apologetic boy who’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I wasn’t even sure you’d be here. I tried texting but figured you might have already left.”

  “Where would I be?”

  Collin shrugged and stuffed one hand into his jeans pocket. “You said you had plans this morning.”

  “Ah. Right. They weren’t really that important,” I lied.

  In the short time I’d made a fool of myself in front of Collin—again—Vanessa had changed and looked drop dead gorgeous, probably in preparation for confronting Franco. She stepped out of her room, cool and collected as ever. When she realized it wasn’t Franco coming to beg to have her back, she eyed Collin up and down and purred, “You must be Collin. Ruby here has told me all about you.”

  “Just a little bit,” I murmured. Sure, I was smitten, but Vanessa was practically broadcasting it for the whole apartment complex to hear.

  “I hope it was all good,” Collin answered, giving me a wink so quick I would have missed it if I blinked.

  “Nothing but the best,” Vanessa agreed.

  I made quick introductions, and when their conversation had enough momentum that it didn’t need my help, I silently crept to my room, hoping they wouldn’t notice my absence. When the door latched shut, I was in a flurry of motion, scrambling to the closet and sliding past in my socks, clawing at the doorframe to stop myself from smashing into the wall. In five minutes, I had changed into a pair of leggings and a long maroon sweater, then raked a brush through my hair, pulling it into a high ponytail. I gave myself thirty seconds to simultaneously brush my teeth and put on mascara, hiding the smears of leftover eyeliner with a dark brown eyeshadow. It wasn’t my best look but I’d channeled some of the secrets for looking presentable when in a hurry that I remembered my sister, Hannah, telling me when she went away to college.

  Reemerging, I found Vanessa and Collin right where I’d left them, still chattering away.

  “Wait a minute. Your dad is Antonio de la Paz? The wealthiest entrepreneur out of Columbia? The man who’s pushing the race to Mars to the next level with his company, StarTech?”

  Vanessa nodded, her oversized hoop earrings swinging from her lobes with the movement. “That’s my papi. He’s always loved space, but this is his first company that he’s been directly involved with.” Vanessa turned to me as I strolled down th
e hall and rejoined them. “Did you know Collin has a job lined up with my papi’s company in California?”

  “So, I guess this means you’re leaving?” I asked him, a bit disheartened.

  “End of semester, when I finish my doctorate. I’m lined up to be a performance engineer,” Collin said softly.

  “Well, that’ll be a great job for you,” I said, trying to be cheerful but sure it was coming off as utterly fake. “Sounds very exciting.”

  “I’m sure it will be. There’s lots of hands-on work and advanced mathematics in the position.”

  I chuckled, pointing out, “I don’t think most people would be excited about the prospect of advanced mathematics being included in the job description.”

  “Ruby!” Vanessa gasped, making me jump at her sudden outburst. “We should go out to California during spring break! You’ll be done with school and since you don’t have a job lined up, you wouldn’t have to worry about taking vacation time.” I rubbed a hand down the side of my face to hide my shame. “Maybe you could drop in on some recording studios and show them some of your music.”

  Giving her a look that begged her to shut up, I agreed, “Sounds fun.” Then, turning to Collin, my eyes shifting overtly to the door and back to him, I asked, “So, where are we headed?”

  “I have something to show you, and I thought maybe we could grab breakfast. Vanessa, would you like to join us?”

  I pursed my lips. Vanessa was my best friend, no question, but I greedily wanted more alone time with Collin without Vanessa doing all the talking for me, especially when she openly advertised my flaws, such as my impending unemployability as a composition music major. I stole a sideways glance up at Collin, who was already looking at me. In the morning light, his eyes were the kind of blue that reminded me of all those idyllic tropical beach photos that wind up on wall calendars. I could’ve dove right into those clear blue irises.

  I released the breath I was holding when Vanessa politely declined. “Wish I could, but I have an appointment to get threaded.” Gesturing to her eyebrows, she added, “These things will turn into fuzzy caterpillars if I don’t keep them under control.”