Page 21 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

She leaned back in her chair, heaving a pained breath. “You make this hard.”

“Make what hard?” I paused, though even I felt my tease fall flat. “Respecting me?”

“No.” She leaned forward, voice lowering. “You make it hard not to drag you into the bathroom and fuck you against the door.”

My mind fizzled out like a sparkler. After what was hopefully only a few seconds of rebooting, I made a show of glancing at the clock. “We have, like, two minutes.”

“You are on the clock.”

“Not for two more minutes.”

Alex shook her head, her grin returning. “Maybe next time, Princess.”

Despite my pout, this was the second time she’d said no in the last twelve hours. It was…kinda hot.

“So about last night,” Alex continued, actually looking a bit shy as she brought her drink closer to her chest.

She hesitated just long enough for my stomach to drop. I said nothing, just kept my forced smile.

“I really enjoyed talking with you,” she finally said. “I don’t even remember the last time I got to just unwind and laugh with someone. I’d like to do it again.”

“Is that not what we’re doing now?”

“I want to take you on a date.”

Try as I might, I failed to be cool, landing in the realm of ‘pathetic’ instead. “Really?”

“I told you I like you. I’m not fully convinced you like me though.” Despite her wink, I felt the blow to her ego. “I’ll leave you alone if you turn me down. We’ll go back to bantering only. But if you want to give this a try, I promise to treat you right.”

“I do like you,” I whispered, the statement as frightening as it was freeing. “We can go out if you want.”

“We can go out if you want.”

Dammit, I was starting to feel cornered. Not by her. She wasn’t a predator. But by a darker sensation I had yet to name. “I do want to.”

Alex’s smile was kind enough to leave me stunned. “It’s getting busy in here. I’ll text you details, okay?”

She was right, unfortunately, the noise of the shop increasingly difficult to ignore. “Okay.” I stood as she did, but pressure built in my chest. I had to say something. “Hey, Alex?”

She stilled. “Terra?”

‘Goodbye’ would’ve been nice and normal. ‘Nice ass’ would have been accurate. Instead, I choked as a pitiful, “Thanks,” tumbled out from my lips.

Her brow furrowed. “For what?”

For turning me down, but that was far too vulnerable. “Nothing. Just…thanks.”

Alex paused, her stare akin to looking at a shattered porcelain mug. “Do you need a hug?”

I shook my head. “I’ll cry if you hug me. But I look forward to your texts.”

Alex’s smile came sweetly.

Time passed in a bubble with me floating, elated, through my shift.

No text from Alex yet, but she was working. Everything was grand, and as I hung up my apron a few minutes after 2, my phone buzzed. I scrambled for my phone, too excited for words—

Cliff.