Star-Struck, Book 1 Read online

  “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 gratuity 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.

  “AH!” Sunny screeched and ran away from the water.

  “Woo! That’s cold!” Gabe shouted. Then before Sunny could get away, he snatched her up from behind and swung her towards the water.

  “Ahh! GABE!” He continued to swing her around inching her toes closer and closer to the rushing waves, laughing the whole time. “Gabriel Wolf! DON’T! YOU! DARE! Put me down!” As a wave came up, this time he dipped her legs up to her lower calves in the water. “NOOO! Not in the water, on the sand! You big jerk!”

  Finally, he put her down on the sand, grinning at her like the lovesick fool that he was. “You know, you’re adorable when you scream like a little girl.”

  “You’re a shithead, you know that?!” She scowled at him, as she playfully smacked at his chest.

  “I’ve been called worse, trust me.” He chuckled at her.

  “Harrumph. I’m sure.”

  “Come on; let’s go sit down for a little while.” He led her over to a lifeguard tower. They climbed up and sat on the top platform. “So you mentioned your dad earlier, I’d love to hear about your family. Your childhood. What makes you…you.”

  “Well, there’s not a whole lot to it. My parents are still together after forty-five years. My mother was an elementary school teacher and my dad worked as a technician for the electric company. Sam and Donna Stone. They’re both retired now and live in New Mexico. And I have an older brother, Jace. He’s head chef at a nice restaurant in downtown Chicago. And that’s my family. And I’m the slacker of the family.”

  “No you’re the baby. No wonder you’re so carefree and happy. You’ve been well loved.” She gave him a guilty look. “I know what you’re thinking. So stop it. You have nothing to feel guilty over, because you have a loving family. It just gives me hope that it’s all possible. Love, family…happiness.” Gabe gazed at her, hoping to convey in one look, how much he wanted that with her. A week ago I couldn’t imagine dating one woman exclusively. And now I’m imagining a lifetime with this one.

  “You should believe that it’s possible, because it is. And I think you deserve that happiness more than most.”

  He had to change the subject before she made him cry or something horrible like that. Jesus! “So, what else?”

  “What do you mean, ‘what else’?”

  “Tell me stories about your childhood, what made you who you are?”

  “There’s not much to tell. I played outside till the streetlights came on, drank from the garden hose, and ran through sprinklers in the summer”, she shrugged.

  “All of which sounds like perfection. But what made you so shy and self-conscious when it comes to men? You can be so down on yourself, and I just don’t get it. You’re beautiful.”

  “Ha.” She laughed without real humor. “Maybe you think so, which is strange to me, because most of the time I’m ignored by guys. And it only became worse when I got here, to California. But anyway, I guess it’s because I was teased when I was a kid for being chubby. And I just haven’t gotten over it.

  “I didn’t date all throughout high school and college. I was too shy and the guys I liked didn’t like me. And the guys that did like me, were way to sexually aggressive for my virgin sensibilities. They scared the crap outta me. It wasn’t until I was twenty-two that I lost my virginity, when I met my first love. Who turned out to be a minor klepto. That relationship lasted for a year. And I’ve only had one more relationship since then. That lasted four years and was a huge waste of time. He was a total commitment-phobe, and strung me along the whole time, claiming that he wanted to marry me. But I guess motorcycles and Mustangs were more important than buying a ring. That was four years ago. In the end I’m glad that it didn’t work out, because in hindsight, we were not a good match. The main thing I regret about that relationship was letti
ng him keep my dog when I moved out here. Oh, and guess what?”

  “What?”

  “My ex made sure he called me up this past Christmas to let me know that he proposed to his girlfriend of only one year. And he used my dog to propose! I swear you can’t make this shit up!” Sunny just shook her head.

  Gabe was speechless. This girl was amazing, and yet she had been made fun of, ignored or treated like shit. Thank God! Gabe realized his good fortune, because in normal circumstances, she’d have been snatched up years ago.

  “I’m truly baffled, but so incredibly thankful that none of them realized your worth.” Gabe jumped down to the platform that was a few feet below where they were sitting putting them more at eye-level, and stepped between her legs. “You’re stunning, and I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

  He brought his hands up to her face and pulled her in for a kiss. He gave her a soft peck, and then slowly brushed his mouth back and forth across her honeyed lips. Gabe’s tongue flicked between her lips. Sunny’s mouth opened on a sharp inhale and he took advantage of her offering to stroke his tongue deeper into her warm mouth. Their tongues were dancing together, not able to get enough.

  Gabe released her mouth, kissing a trail down her jaw to her neck. Kissing, licking, and biting the sensitive skin there. He moved to her shoulder and the straps of her dress and bra. Reaching up, he pulled down the left side, kissing the skin he bared. Now that the material was loose enough, he tugged down the material of her dress and the lacey cup of her bra to reveal one heavy decadent breast. It was dark chocolate tipped. Her areola was large and the cool air caused her nipple to pucker and harden.

  Her chest rose and fell with her labored breaths. Each inhale making her breast rise closer to his mouth. He had to taste her. His tongue flicked against her tender nipple, causing her to cry out. He swirled his tongue around, leaving her skin wet and gleaming. Needing to taste more of her, he sucked her breast into his mouth, trying to get as much of her as he could. Her constant cries were lost to the sounds of the wind and surf.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Gabe said pulling his mouth away from her flesh, then grabbing her face once more to devour her mouth.

  Her hands released the death grip she had on the wooden platform and plunged into his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp. She had him on fire. He needed to be inside her, but he knew she wasn’t ready. So he did the next best thing, he had to touch her. Sliding her dress up her legs, Sunny adjusted to give him better access. Once the dress was pushed up to her hips, his hand stroked up from her calf to tickle her knee, then up her luscious thighs to the juncture of her legs.

  He could feel the heat and dampness radiating off of her through the cotton of her panties. Not able to hold back any longer, he pushed the material to the side and touched her slick opening.

  “Aahhh!” Her head thrown back, she cried out and her hips rolled against his hand, trying to get closer.

  “Oh God, Sunny! You’re so wet.” Gabe slid his middle finger inside her snug opening. “And so tight.”

  “Ah…it…it’s been…ahhh!” Sunny stuttered.

  “What, Sweet Girl? ‘It’s been’ what? Gabe breathed the words against her lips.

  “…four ye…years. Gabe, please!” She begged.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

  He slid another finger in her soft wet walls that gripped his fingers. His fingers crooked forward in the ‘come here’ motion, connecting with her g-spot. At the very same time his thumb brushed lightly against her clit, once, twice and she detonated. Quickly Gabe covered her mouth with his as she screamed. Her inner walls flooded with moisture and contracted around his fingers. He milked every last spasm out of her, caressing her gently.

  He rested his forehead against Sunny’s, “You’re the sexiest, most responsive woman that I have ever met. You’re breathtaking.” He bent his head down to tease her exposed nipple one last time with his tongue. Her breath hitched and her sex fluttered reflexively.

  Slowly, reluctantly he slid his fingers from her warmth and brought his hand to his mouth to gently suck the juices from his two fingers. He never took his eyes off her in the process. And by this point he was going to explode from lack of release. He had been sporting a massive erection for about three quarters of the date. But the last thing he wanted to do was push her.

  Gabe slipped the straps of her bra and dress back into place, restored her panties to their original position and pulled her dress down over her legs.

  “And what about you? Don’t you deserve some release?” Sunny caressed the bulge in his jeans, then reached for his belt buckle, when a spotlight from a passing police patrol car in the parking lot, swept past them. Fuck!

  “The beach is now closed. Time to head home folks.” A disembodied voice said through a loud speaker. Luckily only part of them could be seen from the parking lot, with the lifeguard tower blocking most of them to the police. But it was still enough to get caught.

  Gabe re-buckled his belt. “Seriously! Your poor balls are going to explode at this point!” Sunny looked indignantly at the receding cop car.

  “Don’t worry about it Sunny. I’ll live. I’ll just go home and take a cold shower. Wait, on second thought, maybe I’ll take a hot shower and think about you the entire time.” He winked at Sunny devilishly.

  “You are a total scoundrel!” She pushed at him playfully.

  “Scoundrel? What am I, a seventeenth century pirate or something? Have you been reading a lot of romance novels lately?”

  “You have no idea. Come on, Captain Sparrow, we better get out of here.”

  Gabe barked out a laugh and grabbed the hand she held out.

  Chapter 8

  Sunny woke up the next day with the biggest smile possible. She was daydreaming about the previous night, before she realized what had woke her up in the first place. Her cellphone was blaring Buckcherry’s Crazy Bitch. It was Alyssa.

  “Hey.” She answered brightly, like she hadn’t been asleep just a moment ago.

  “Hey? That’s all you’ve got to say? The moment you saw it was me calling you should have answered, ‘yes, he is hung like a horse’ or ‘hello, he gave me multiple orgasms so good that my toes are still cramped from curling so much’.”

  Sunny giggled into her phone. “Well it wasn’t exactly like that, Nasty! I mean I did have a couple of orgasms, but we didn’t have sex.”

  “Wait! What? I need details!” Sunny had to hold the phone away from ear, because of Alyssa’s screeching.

  “You know…dry humping and hand jobs. That kind of thing. But it was more than that. He was so sweet and attentive. More often than not he was so much more than his status. And I got to see the man he is.” Sunny sighed; a goofy grin covering her face.

  “I seriously hate you, Sunny!” Alyssa said jokingly. “But as much as I hate you, you really do deserve to be happy. So he better be good to you or I’m gonna kick his tight perfect ass! Now get your ass up here. We can have coffee while you tell me everything.”

  Sunny got up and brushed her teeth before heading upstairs to give Alyssa a recap of the night. She knew she had to edit a little; the things about his private life that he shared with her were not open for discussion. He trusted her and she wanted to keep it that way.

  ~~~

  Gabe found himself smiling like a jackass on set all day. Occasionally, he’d catch himself whistling between takes. Since when have I ever whistled?

  “You’re awfully happy today, Gabe.” Jessica his co-star wife commented as she passed him on her way to her trailer.

  Gabe just gave a non-committal shrug. “Can’t a man have a good day”, he smiled.

  He liked her well enough, but her tendency towards diva behavior, stopped him from getting to close to her. They had decent chemistry on-screen, but that’s where it stopped.

  She didn’t seem to care enough to stop and question him further, and he was grateful. So while they had this break, he took time out to text Sunny. He would�
��ve called her, but he wasn’t sure whether she was getting ready for work or not.

  Gabe: Good morning, Sweet Girl.

  Sunny: Good morning, Gabriel. How r u?

  Gabe: Good. On set. Boring. I’d rather be with you. How r u?

  Sunny: I’m great. I doubt being on a movie set is boring. Just sitting having coffee with Alyssa. She’s badgering me for details. But no worries, ur private life will remain private. Just telling her how sexy u r. ;)

  Gabe: I trust you. Hmm…how sexy I am? Well, what’s the verdict? How sexy am I? :P

  Sunny: That kind of sexiness can’t be measured.

  Gabe: When can I see you again?

  Sunny: I don’t know. I’m off again Monday. Or maybe if you can get away, we could do lunch before I go to work or dinner after I get off?

  Gabe started to hatch a plan for next weekend.

  Gabe: Hey, try to see if you can get the weekend off. I’d like to spend it with you. We’re not filming because of Gay Pride this weekend.

  Sunny: Ok, I’ll see what I can do. But don’t get ur hopes up, weekends are hard to come by in retail.

  Gabe: See what u can do. But call off if they won’t give it to u. I’ll pay u double what u would get paid to make up for it.

  Sunny: I couldn’t do that!

  Gabe: I want to spend time with u. And I won’t take no for an answer, but I don’t want u to suffer financially because of it. So do what u can.

  Sunny: Ok. Well, I have to go get ready for work.

  Gabe: Ok. Have a good day. I’ll call u later to figure out when we can meet during the week. Don’t think I’m waiting till the weekend to see u.