Page 7 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

My eyes locked onto Barbs. “I do know him.”

“And was he harassing you?”

My voice was barely a squeak, a mouse cornered by lions. “Yes.”

“Get out,” Barbs snapped, and Cliff had the temerity to look appalled.

“I paid for a drink!”

“Then wait outside. That’s where the dogs wait.”

He looked at me with predatory eyes. “Come on, Terra.”

“GET OUT!”

As Barbs made a fuss about calling the cops, a gentle hand on my arm pulled me away. People watched, but Alex paid them no mind, shoving through the crowd and escorting me to the back hallway, near the bathrooms.

Her gaze was unbearably soft. “You’re shaking.”

Was I? I tried to stiffen, hating the stinging in my eyes. If I cried, I wouldn’t stop.

“It’s probably for the best that I didn’t deck him,” Alex said, her nonchalance enough to pull a smile to my lips. “He’d sue, I’d pay him off, and he’d have a broken nose but enough cash to pay that scholarship back.”

The audacity of it broke the spell. I chuckled, though a few tears tried to escape along with it. I grabbed a napkin from my pocket, lest I smear my finally not-crusty mascara and show the world my hurt. “How did you know all those things about him?”

“You would be horrified by what Google can tell you in about four seconds.” Alex held up her phone, and there was the top headline: Perry High graduate, Cliff Benson, wins coveted football scholarship to Arizona State University. “You said his name, and the ASU keychain gave away the rest. I’ll be making some calls once I get my abomination drink. If he tries to contact you, ignore it and let me know.”

My thoughts raced miles per second, bombarded with old images of my own bloodied hands. “I-I don’t know if this is worth ruining his life over. He could retaliate. If he could find my work, he could find you. He could hurt you—”

“Hey.”

Suddenly, her hand was on my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. I tried to breathe but could only gasp, so dark her expression was. “Let me take care of you,” she whispered.

All the world quieted. My mind ceased spinning, lost instead in the void of her gaze. Breathless, I managed one word: “Okay.”

Alex’s smile returned as she released me, leaving me swaying. She glanced back at the commotion. When I followed her gaze, Cliff was gone, and Barbs had grabbed a mop.

“What time do you get off?” Alex asked.

“Two.”

She stared into my eyes once again, leaving us shrouded in our own little world. She felt like an umbrella in a storm, and surely it was hardly seconds, but my stomach unclenched, the shackles of panic falling away. “Do you drive?” Alex asked.

“I have my bike.”

“I’ll arrange for a ride.”

My breath caught. “I-I can’t accept that. You’ve already done so much. I’ll just ask Liam for a ride home. We get off at the same time.”

Scrutiny filled her gaze, and a part of me hoped she’d argue, hoped she’d take me into her arms and whisk me away….

“I can accept that,” Alex said. “And, again, if Cliff contacts you, let me know right away.”

I managed a shaky, “Okay.” But when she walked away, I found some of my bearings, enough to say, “Thank you.”

She turned around. For a moment, I wasn’t a latte-covered barista, instead transformed by the intensity of her gaze, worshipped by those beautiful siren eyes. “Always, Princess.”

That made her my knight in shining armor, didn’t it? I watched her go, imprisoned by my own sudden yearning. She grabbed her coffee—so mundane an act—swapped words with Barbs—what I would’ve given to hear them—and left, the chime of the bell breaking the spell.