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“If you don’t want to talk about it today, that’s fine,” I say and feel her sigh in relief. “But we’ll come back to it. I want to know everything there is to know, the good and the bad.”
“That’s fair,” she says and clears her throat. “I’m having a great day, and I’d like to keep it that way, so do you mind if we shelve this for now?”
“No. I don’t mind.” I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles just before I pull into a parking garage. I find a spot, hurry around the car to open Starla’s door, then lace her fingers with mine and lead her down the steep hill to the market below.”
“Wait, I have to take a picture of this.” She stops me halfway down the hill and snaps a photo of the iconic Market sign with the Sound in the background.
“Alki is right over there.” I point straight ahead at the beach across from us.
“Wow, it looks so far away.” She sniffs the air. “Do I smell donuts?”
“You have the nose of a bloodhound.”
“I do when it comes to donuts,” she agrees. “And Mer told me about tiny donuts to die for.”
“They aren’t just a legend.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her wig as she loops her arm around my waist. “I’ll buy you all the donuts you want, babe.”
“Nice.” She smiles up at me. “Do we get to see flying fish, too?”
“You already know a lot about the market.”
“Yes, and now I get to see it.” She gives me a squeeze. “Thank you. For all of this. For all of today.”
“You’re welcome.”
The tiny donuts are a hit. She has to try some of every flavor, so we order three dozen of the little treats. I don’t complain; between the two of us, they’ll be gone before we leave here today.
“Holy shit,” she mutters, her mouth full of cinnamon and sugar deliciousness. “So damn good.”
“They’re my favorite.”
“I have to go dance with Jax tomorrow,” she says before taking another bite. “If I don’t, I’ll gain twenty pounds.”
“I think you’ll be okay.” We wander the short distance to where the fish throwers put on a show, and we’re not disappointed as a salmon goes flying through the air. We stand, eat, and watch until the crowd thins out a bit, then we walk on. Street musicians fill the air with songs, and we’re met with the scent of flowers and vegetables as we make our way farther into the covered market, weaving our way through the crowd.
“Oh my God, look that these.” Starla leans down to smell a bunch of flowers and smiles happily. “I’ll take two.”
“Two?”
“One for me, and one for Lia. She earned them.”
Starla’s kind-hearted. The more I’m with her, the more pulled to her I am. My dick is constantly at half-mast, and the slightest touch, the barest glance can set my body on fire.
But more than that, I’m entranced by her sweet nature. Her humor. Her intelligence. Being with Starla is no hardship.
We gather the flowers, pick through the produce to find some favorites, and then make our way back to the car.
“This was incredible.”
“I’m glad you liked it. We can come back anytime.”
“No one looked twice at me,” she continues. “No side-eyes, no gropes.”
“Wait. People grope you?”
“All the time.” She shrugs as if it’s no big thing, but I’m pissed.
“Why don’t you have security with you all the time?”
She rolls her eyes. “Now you sound like Donald.”
“Who the fuck is Donald?”
“My manager.” She frowns up at me. “I don’t have constant security because I’m a human being who wants to live a normal life.”
We get to the car, and I stow our things in the backseat before sitting next to her and slamming the door.
“I understand how normalcy would be important, but you’re also a megastar, and there are real challenges that come with that.”
“If you think I’m not aware of that—”
“I know you are, I just think you should have better security.”
“Thank you.” Her voice is calm, surprising me. “Thank you for caring enough about me to worry. It means more than you know.”
She takes my hand and presses it against her cheek before kissing my palm. I went from DEFCON 6 to calm in three seconds.
She’s amazing.
“I’m always careful. And now I have magic makeup powers to help disguise myself when I want to go to the market with my boyfriend.”
She’s smirking, but her eyes are serious as she watches for my reaction.
I lean over and press my lips to hers, softly. Sweetly.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you,” I promise. “Ever.”
“I know.”“And then we went to the Space Needle.” Starla’s standing next to Natalie in the kitchen, sampling the yellow peppers from the salad. “And we could see forever.”
