3. Clara

Chapter 3

Clara

His hands are still on my hips and my heart is beating out of my chest. My brain is telling me to step back from the stranger and get out of the alley where we are basically alone, but my heart is telling me to stay right where I am. I hope that my heart doesn't get me in trouble, because I'm going to listen to her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, angel. I was looking down at my phone and not paying attention," he says. His voice sounds like a melody I've heard before.

"Let's just agree that maybe we both should pay more attention to where we are going." Smiling at him, I take a step back and his hands fall from my body. I hate the way it feels to lose that contact. How can it be that I've just met this man and his touch already feels familiar and necessary?

I look him up and down as he does the same to me. I feel his eyes as they look me over. My new friend is tall, probably half a foot taller than my five and a half feet, and built. I wonder what he does for work. I'm around a lot of muscley guys who work on the job sites with my brother, Miles, but this guy isn't built that way. This is more sculpted muscle, at least based on what I can tell from his form-fitting T-shirt and the shorts that grip his thighs. When I look up, he's watching me watch him and my face heats at being caught ogling him. His eyes sparkle behind his black-rimmed glasses. Maybe he doesn't mind me checking him out. "I'm Clara St. James." I introduce myself, at the very least we should know each other's names.

"It's great to meet you, Clara. I'm Ethan Gray." He holds his hand out to shake my hand, but he doesn't give my hand back after. He continues to hold it.

"Are you here on vacation?" he asks as we start to walk back down the alley toward the main street.

"Yes, it's a graduation gift from my family." Ethan is older than me and I hope this information doesn't make him think I'm too young. "What about you?"

He looks around for a moment before answering. "Not really a vacation, but I am just visiting."

Confused, I ask him what that means and he tells me about his travels. It sounds like a fun way to live for a while, but I would miss my family like crazy.

Suddenly, Ethan stops and turns to me. "Can I take you to dinner tonight, Clara St. James?"

We've been walking together for an hour. Trading stories about our families and places we'd like to travel. I've never had such a good time with a man and it kind of sucks that it's with someone I can't have a future with. Ethan is clearly still trying to find his way in his new normal and I have my roots planted in Star Mountain with my family and friends. But going to dinner with this gorgeous man who makes my heart race isn't an experience I'm willing to miss even if it puts said heart in danger.

"Of course, Ethan." I look down at the sundress I'm wearing. "Can I go back to my hotel and freshen up first?"

"You look gorgeous just as you are, angel, but of course you can. I'll walk you back to your hotel and then pick you up," he glances at his watch, "around seven?"

"Sounds perfect." That gives me plenty of time to get ready and maybe even call Ivy or Scarlett to check-in.

We slowly make our way back to the hotel. Even though I just met him, and I'll see him again in a few hours, I don't want our time together to end. Just being in his presence makes me feel like I'm on cloud nine. This trip was already a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but now that I've met Ethan, I can't imagine another trip ever matching this one.