Chapter 5

Starla

The heat in Aaron’s eyes as he stared at me is still lingering in my mind as I get the gear unloaded into Tiger’s Den. Poppy meets me at the door and grabs my bag so I can go back and get the other stuff. I can tell she’s about to lay into me. She knows I was daydreaming. As soon as I walk in the door, she starts asking questions.

“I heard you ran into that cute paramedic again.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“One of the guys on the engine booked a shoot for his girlfriend. I became friends with her, and she has all the tea.”

“Great, you have a whole gossip pipeline I’m part of and I just opened up shop.”

“You didn’t expect gossip? Even with this kind of store?”

“I guess I was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with the same shit from my hometown. I thought starting over would be different.”

“Seriously though, my source says there were some lingering looks going on between you two at the entrance to the school.”

“Your source? Fucking hell, Poppy. Fine, someone looking at us from far away might have interpreted what occurred as,” I use air quotes, “lingering looks.”

“And what are you going to do about that?” Poppy’s voice is slow, like she’s talking to a toddler. I have to refrain from rolling my eyes.

“Nothing! Aaron is a big shot hockey player and he’s everyone’s hero as a paramedic. I don’t want to rock the boat any more than I already have. The last thing I need is for those old bitty ladies to come around talking about how the adult boutique owner is leading Mr. Wonderful astray.”

“Mr. Wonderful, huh?”

“Oh, come on, Poppy, you know I mean they’ll see it that way. I can’t let anything else go wrong here. I need to just lay low.”

“You know they’re not calling Tiger’s Den an adult boutique, right?”

I let out a sigh. “What are they calling it?”

“A porn shop.”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with porn shops but this place is so much more than just sexual pleasure. I wish they could see that.”

“Okay, what you need is a girls’ night out and I have the perfect place.”

“Where?”

“Kissing Springs Ice Rink.”

“Ice rink? You don’t mean…” my voice trails off.

“Yes! The hockey game. It’s a whole big thing in the parking lot after it’s over. Like tailgating but different.”

I throw up my hands. At this point, a girls’ night out sounds awesome, even if it is a hockey game. The potential to see Aaron again is a bonus. Although, I’m not counting on anything.

***

I’m surprised at how much I like watching the game. It’s cool inside with all the ice but not too cold. November in Kentucky is always hit or miss on the weather. Tonight, it’s a beautiful sixty degrees without a cloud in the sky.

The guys have a few grills running, people brought other dishes to pass on a buffet table, and everyone else seems to have pitched in with drinks and snacks. One of the guys from the team puts up a bar table. Someone else has a DJ booth near the back of the parking lot.

The whole thing is set up so quickly, it goes by too fast for me to ask if I can help. It’s obviously not the first time they’ve done this because each person knows what to do without being asked. The music starts going and I look up at the stars.

There are lights in the parking lot, and I can’t see the whole sky. I walk a little farther down the lot where the lighting is much dimmer and lean against one of the trucks there, hoping whoever owns it isn’t going to come up and get upset any minute.

The night sky is mesmerizing. I can hear the party still going on in the distance but I’m happy to be alone over here. I had a lot of fun cheering on our home team (and Aaron) with Poppy and her friends in the stands. I need a moment before I have to keep mingling.

I nearly jump out of my skin when someone taps me on the shoulder.

“Fucking hell!”

“Whoa, I just brought you a plate, Starla.”

I try not to show my mortification but I’m pretty sure it’s written all over my face.

“Thanks, Aaron. How did you know I was over here?”

“I saw you walk away. Also, this is my truck.”

I take the plate with one hand and bury my face in the other. Of course it’s Aaron’s truck. Because the universe can’t just leave me be for a moment of peace. I lower my hand and look around, unsure how to eat salads and a burger while standing.

Aaron has a solution before I can figure it out. He goes over to the truck bed and pulls down the tailgate, then gestures for me to sit down. When I do, he pulls two beers out of his pockets and hands me one.

“How’d you like the game?”

“Surprisingly, I loved it. I’ve never been to a hockey game before.”

He almost spits out his beer. “Never? So Kissing Springs popped your hockey cherry then?”

“I suppose you can put it that way.” I chuckle and pick at the pasta salad on my plate.

“It’s good you came out with Poppy and her friends. People around here like her.”

“And you don’t think they like me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But it’s what you meant, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s just that…well you rocked the boat and it’s gonna take some time for that to settle.”

“I did a sexual health seminar at the school. I’m hoping that sways some people to my side.”

“You might be in for a shock there, actually. Some parents around here may not have appreciated that.”

“They don’t want teens learning about their sexual health?”

“They don’t want teens learning about sexual… anything.”

“Ugh, that’s such utter bullshit. It’s how I grew up and look where that led me. I was always more fascinated with sexual exploitation, mostly because I wasn’t allowed to explore.”

“Really?” He sips his beer, a note of playfulness in his tone.

“Yes, really. I was lucky to find a good group of friends in college who helped me figure things out safely. Not all teens have that, though.”

“Most don’t.”

“What about you? Did you grow up in Kissing Springs?”

“I did. Not everyone is super conservative. We have a few rigid people around here but, for the most part, I never felt I couldn’t explore. Just never really had the urge.”

“Really?” I sip my beer, the same note of playfulness in my voice.

“Yes,” he smiles. “But my dad has always been way into me playing hockey. He hates that I’m also a paramedic. He thinks I’m splitting my focus, and he doesn’t understand the concept of having a calling, something you feel compelled to do.”

“Hockey isn’t your calling?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love hockey. I don’t love it as much as my dad does, though. I enjoy helping people. I love seeing the look on their face when they realize they’re safe after I get there and calm the situation.”

I concentrate on my burger for a few minutes. He’s opening up to me right now but I’m not sure how far I want to go in returning the favor. I decide in the moment. I’m going for it.

“My parents are ultra conservative. They would flip out if my skirt was above calf length. They wanted me to marry some good Christian man and pop out a bunch of babies by the time I was twenty-five.”

“You don’t want kids?”

“Honestly? I don’t know yet. I’m happy living my life as it is. I have a business to build and that’s going to come first for me. I’ll see about kids in the future. If the right person comes along.”

“I get that.”

“I thought moving here would be different. No protests, no judgment, but it seems I’m going to face judgment no matter where I go.”

“Not from me,” he says.

I smile at him. We’re silent for a few moments, me working on my food and him sipping his beer. When I’m done, I put my plate aside and look up at the stars again.

“Do you want to head back to the party?” He starts to get up off the tailgate.

I grab his hand. “Can we sit here a while longer, look at the stars and relax? I’m not quite ready to go back yet.”

He sits back down. “Sure.”

He scoots over to me, and I lean my head on his shoulder. His arm comes around my back and I feel a tingle go down my spine. When I look up at him, I know he’s thinking the same thing I am.

His mouth is on mine before I can think about it. His tongue slips into my mouth, my hands are in his hair, his hands are moving towards my breasts.

And then we hear a voice. “Oh, shit, sorry.”

Aaron stops the kiss, glaring at the person who interrupted us.

“Cruz, seriously?”

“Everyone’s looking for you, Aaron. I thought you might have come out to your truck to get something when you didn’t answer your phone. You’re always leaving your charger in here.”

“It’s fine. I’ll meet you back over there in a minute.”

Cruz sets off back to the party at a jog. I know we won’t be going back to what we started. If people are looking for him, we’ll be interrupted again. We both slide off the tailgate and head back over to the party.

I see Poppy and I know she’s going to want all the details. For now, I want to savor the feeling of his lips on mine. I really hope we pick that up again soon.