Star-Struck, Book 1 (7 page)

“They fell in love, though my mother’s family had hand-picked a Spanish boy they wanted her to marry. I guess my dad’s family was pressuring him to come back to start medical school and her family didn’t want her to have anything to do with him. So he took what money he could get from his trust fund and they ran off to America. He was able to obtain a scholarship at the
University of Michigan
. So they moved there and she got jobs cleaning houses, while he went to school. She got pregnant, so they decided to get married at the courthouse. When she went into labor, he was in class, so a neighbor they had made friends with, drove her to the hospital. On his way to the hospital, my father was rushing and not paying attention, when a car struck him while he was crossing the street.” Sunny gasped, not realizing that the story would have such a tragic turn to it.

“He didn’t make it. But I guess he got to see me once, before he died. My mother was distraught and didn’t know how she would make it in this country without him. So her friend helped her get enough money to make it back to Spain. And she left me in the hopes that I would have better opportunities and a better life here. She left the note, a picture of her and my father and the blanket on her hospital bed, before she snuck out.” Gabe rubbed his hands over his face, through his hair and then starting fiddling with his empty glass. He looked so incredibly sad and remote. With the need to touch him, soothe him, Sunny reached over and clutched his hand. Giving it a firm squeeze.

Their bitch of a waitress came over to drop off their food and more drinks. Sunny could tell that she noticed the tension and their serious faces, and guessing wrong at the cause, because she gave a satisfied smile thinking that they were fighting or something. And she walked away, swaying her sad excuse for hips, as if Gabe would notice. But he was too deep in thought, to pay her much attention. Sunny wasn’t even sure if he realized that his food was now in front of him.

“You don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.” Sunny stroked his shoulder and back.

“No it’s okay. I want to tell you.” He blew out a breath making his cheeks puff out. “So as you can guess, like so many stories, I got lost in the system. I didn’t get adopted before I passed the cute baby stage. Then that’s when I got passed around from foster home to foster home. Some were better than others. Because I was a cute kid the foster mothers loved me. But that only pissed off the other foster kids, and they would find ways to pinch, hit or kick me when no one was looking. When I got older, I grew fast, and looked so much older than most of the other boys my age. The foster mothers noticed that too. And so did the foster fathers. My first time was with a foster mother. When her husband found out, he beat the shit outta me. And then I was sent off to the next foster home. This happened a lot. Either the husbands would send me packing before his wife could even think about getting to me or they would kick my ass when she did. I learned to defend myself pretty quickly and used gym class to bulk up and get stronger. But I think Child Services finally wised up and I was sent to a foster home where the parents were actually more like grandparents, so they were fine with me. Though, I was already almost seventeen by that time. So I only had about a year and a half before I was out of the system and on my own.

“That was when I found my passion. I was angry all the time. And the drama teacher noticed me and said that I could direct all my frustrations into acting. I got involved in the spring play and loved it. Was good at it. That’s when I got the idea to move to L.A. I found any jobs that I could get in order to save up enough money to buy a bus ticket. And I did. I graduated by the skin of my teeth in June and spent the next two months busting my ass. And when I turned eighteen that August, I was up and ready to go. Packed up the few clothes I had, my mother’s note, picture and blanket; and got on a bus. When I got to L.A., I worked as a waiter, of course, and stayed at a shelter because I didn’t have enough money for an apartment yet. I saw in the paper that they were casting extras for a movie. So I went and
people involved in the movie noticed me, I guess I stood out, and that was it. They set me up with an agent and I was cast in my first speaking role in a movie a month later. And it’s been chaos ever since.” He took a deep inhalation of air and blew it out quickly. Like finally getting it off his chest released something inside of him.

Sunny realized how crazy his life must feel to him. Going from feeling like absolutely no one wanted him to everyone wanting him in an instant. And not necessarily wanting him for who he is, but for his status. That had to be a little confusing. Technically, he had never been wanted or loved for who he truly is.
Well I plan on changing that right now!

“Have you ever tried to find your mother?”

“No.” The word was said sharply.
Uh oh, dangerous territory. Thread lightly.

“Why not? She obviously loved you. Wanted a better life for you. She probably didn’t think you would ever suffer the way you did.”

“I said no. She was weak; she left me, apparently didn’t love me enough and left me to have one hell of a childhood. She gave me a name and a few mementos. Great. I have nothing to say to her. And that’s final.” Gabe grabbed a knife and fork, cutting into his food angrily.

Sunny knew that she had crossed the line, but she felt she had to try. For his sake, and the sake of his mother, whom she was sure loved
him deeply. She quietly started eating as well, staying silent to give him some space.

Gabe startled her, when he suddenly grabbed her hand in a vise-like grip. Her head quickly turned to look at him.
He let go of her hand to envelope her face with his large hands. He looked at her with a kind of desperation.

“I’m so sorry Sunny. I didn’t mean to take out my anger on you. I just get so…I don’t know. Just please forgive me.”

“Oh Gabriel, I’m not mad at you. I can understand why you’re upset. I shouldn’t have pushed you.” She paused and placed her hand along his cheek. “I adore you Gabriel. You’re a good man.”

He instantly pulled her face to his, devouring her mouth. As if it was the last kiss they’d ever have. Sunny was thankful the lounge was pretty dark. Because she was sure they’d be causing more of a spectacle than they already were.

She pulled back, and with her hands on his face, she kissed his forehead, eyelids, nose, cheeks, strong chin and finally a soft peck on his firm lips. She was making sure she infused every ounce of the love she had to give and that he very much needed into every kiss.

Sunny finally pulled away from him. “Let’s finish our food”, she said smiling softly at him. As he gazed at her with what looked like adoration, which she tried to ignore for fear of hoping for too much.

~~~

Shit. Shit. Shit!
He was in love with her.
I am completely head over heels in love with her.
He couldn’t fathom how anyone could fall in love with someone after knowing them only a few days. But it was happening. To
him
. And it was scary as hell. He hadn’t let anyone in…ever. He had always been afraid of rejection. Of giving his heart to someone completely and risk them walking away when they found him lacking. But even after telling Sunny his story, she still looked at him as if he was anything but lacking. She seemed to accept him for who he really was.

Though he couldn’t entirely find fault with the women of his past. He had never given them the chance to know who he really was. Once the relationship got to the point of learning everything about each other, he would always find a way to bail. But Sunny did what she always does best. She saturated herself into his life and heart, like sunshine penetrates through the cracks in concrete. 

After they had finished their dinner, Sunny excused herself, and headed to the ladies’ room. Gabe watched as she walked away, admiring her form. He shook his head, trying to remove the hazy cloud of sensuality that blanketed him. That’s when he saw the over-inflated stick figure that was their waitress walking towards him. She tried sashaying her hips seductively, and after watching Sunny’s curvy hips sway, he found the waitress’s walk decidedly deficient.

“Here’s your check handsome. And if you’re ever interested in someone that is a little better suited for being on your arm, give me a call. My number is on the back of your receipt.” She bit the bottom of her unnaturally puffy Botox injected lip.

Gross.
Gabe couldn’t get over the nerve of this brash, deluded overconfident bimbo. He picked up the receipt with her number on it, inspected it thoughtfully. Then he slowly started tearing it into tiny little pieces in front of her face. Letting the pieces scatter across the table when he was finished, all the while looking right into her eyes.

“’Better suited’, huh? And you think
you’re
better suited? Sweetheart, when I take a woman into my bed, I need to make sure she’s got curves to handle my
size
. Curves you seem to be lacking. And I also don’t want to worry that when I squeeze too hard or kiss too roughly that she doesn’t pop from her expensive upgrades. I know what I need and want. And you’re not it.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, slid out his credit card and handed it to the dumbfounded waitress. Tears threatened to spill down her over-done face as she stormed away, and behind her stood Sunny.

“Holy shit! What in the world could she have said that made you say those things to her?”

Damn.
If Gabe didn’t tell her, he’d run the risk of her thinking he was a dick to wait staff just for shits and giggles. And if he did, it may hurt her feelings that the girl would think Sunny didn’t suit him.
Time to improvise.
“She just tried to give me her number behind your back. It was rude and disrespectful to you and me. I didn’t appreciate it, so I put her in her place.” He shrugged as if it was nothing.

“I’d say so. Man, I’d hate to be her right now.” Sunny cringed.

“You’d never be her, Sweet Girl. You’d never do something as classless as that.”

“I would hope not. But sometimes you find
people will do desperate things that they thought they’d never do for a chance at something they’ve always wanted. That includes stepping on others. Unfortunately. I guess I should just be lucky that I’ve found such a stand-up guy.” She gave him a sassy little smirk, making him chuckle.

Another waitress walked over to give Gabe the final receipt to add g
ratuity and sign. Their actual waitress must have been really upset if she sent someone else. She was nowhere to be seen. Gabe didn’t care. What she did was wrong. Normally he gave enormous tips, having been a waiter once upon a time, but this time he gave her the standard twenty percent. No more, no less. She didn’t deserve it. And since he’d been here quite a few times in the past and had tipped generously, he was sure she’d hear about it and know that it was how she acted that affected her tip.

“Alright, let’s get outta here”, he stood up and took Sunny’s hand to walk her out.

Once outside, Gabe stopped and took a deep breath of the fresh sea air. It was a beautiful spring night…perfect for a walk.

“I’m not ready to take you home yet.” Gabe looked down at Sunny.

“I’m not ready to go home yet.” She smiled up at him.

“How about a walk? It’s a beautiful night.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Gabe turned and started towards the beach, about three blocks away. He had to make sure that he watched his pace. Sunny was so small and his legs took much longer strides than her, that he’d end up dragging her along if he wasn’t paying attention. So he tried to match her small steps.

“Thank you.”

He looked over at her confused. “For what?”

“For slowing your pace. I’m shorter than most people and walking with really tall people sucks! I’m always out of breath trying to keep up. My dad is really tall, so I’ve been trying to keep up for nearly thirty-five years.” She looked at him with laughter in her eyes.

“Yeah, I was thinking that very same thing. I was like ‘if I walk too fast, I’ll end up dragging her’. So I tried slowing it down for you.” He winked at her, making her flush.

“Well, it’s much appreciated.”

“So you’re nearly thirty-five? I was wondering, but I know that you’re never supposed to ask a woman’s age.”

“Soon, I turn the big three-five in October. The eighteenth.”

“Wow. You look good. It was a hard guess. Your maturity says you’re in your thirties. But your fun-loving personality and spirit make you seem so much younger. Though I’m really glad you’re thirty-five, because you’re the perfect age for me.”

“Thanks. Yeah, you’re thirty-seven, soon to be thirty-eight, right?” She looked up at him sheepishly.

“I know, I know.
IMDB
, right?”

She giggled a little, “Yep. That’s where I get all my entertainment four-one-one.”

Gabe stopped, grabbed her around the waist and lifted her to his level with little effort. “You’re a dork…but an adorable one.” Then he kissed her soundly on the mouth, before putting her back on her feet.

Staying away from the busy and bright boardwalk, they made it to the beach, slipping their shoes off before stepping in the sand. The water was an inky black, hard to see in the darkness. Though Gabe could hear it, and the sound was soothing. They walked closer to the water, drawn to it. And Gabe rolled up his jeans when they were near the surf. He watched Sunny lift her dress higher to avoid the tide. The saltwater rushed up to their toes.