Secret Rooms and Stolen Kisses: A Romance

by Brooke St. James

"A dance," I said, still catching my breath. I knew he loved it by the way he was acting, and it made me so happy. I could feel and see my own chest rising and falling as I breathed.

  Trey sat next to me and he leaned over, checking me out, looking me over. "Did you make that up just now?" he asked.

  I let out a humorless laugh, thinking about all the hours upon hours of work it took to make that look the way it did. "Nooo," I said, chuckling a little. "That was planned."

  He leaned closer to me, hovering over me. My eyes met his. The big lights were on dimmers, and I had them turned down for the performance. I also hung string lights that my dad had in the garage from Christmas. It was a magical room, and I had taken time to make it extra special for him.

  "We don't have to leave the lights up," I said. "I just put them up for the welcome party."

  "The lights are great," he said. "But I still haven't finished talking about that dance you just did."

  I was lying flat on my back, and I wiggled a little, getting closer to him. I tucked my legs and turned to the side, still lying down but making a posture like I was clinging onto him even though we weren't touching.

  "I was dancing for you," I said. "To welcome you to your new room."

  "I couldn't care less about this room right now," he said dazedly.

  "Trey!" I said, getting onto him even though I loved what he was saying.

  "I'm just kiddin', I love the room." He paused and stared upward, checking out the stairs and the new window. "This place is a masterpiece."

  I still worked to steady my breathing, but it was getting easier now that I was relaxing. He leaned over me, staring at me like he wanted to do something crazy. I grinned and squirmed. The music played softly and the late afternoon light spilled through the skylight and shone behind him. He was like an angel in that light. It was a moment I would always remember. If I were a painter like my mother, I would certainly paint this scene.

  "You did a lot of work in here," he said, speaking softly. "Not just on that dance, but also on this room. What's that chair all about? I was checking everything out before you came in. You got that chair, the lights, you put my books on the shelf, and that new stuff—the globe is new. So many things."

  "I had the globe in a closet at my parents' house. I thought it looked good in here."

  "It does," he said. "So does the chair."

  "I knew you'd like the chair. It's the one you talked about last time you were here."

  "I know," he said. "How did it get here?"

  "I bought it. I wanted to set the room up a little bit for when you saw it. I figured if you didn't like it in here, or you didn't want it, I could always take it back down to my apartment."

  Trey turned and checked out the chair. I watched him as he looked at it. He was quiet, and I just laid there and took in the curves of the underside of his chin and jaw. I was still breathing a little heavier than usual, but I was calm compared to a minute ago. I sat up long enough to take my hair down, shaking it out and letting it fall on my shoulders. I set the clip on the floor near me and relaxed again.

  I smiled up at Trey, who was just sitting there, patiently watching me. "I was calling it Dance of the Fairy in my head, but my outfit doesn't really look like a fairy. I'm missing my wings."

  "I watched you thinking you're so beautiful and yet I just had the urge to reach out and capture you—to hold you still. You were so beautiful that I almost felt like I couldn’t watch it."

  "Did you watch?" I asked, glancing at him.

  "Every single second," he said.

  "Did you like it?"

  "I want you to be mine, Tara Castro. Nobody's but mine. Would you please do that? Can we make that happen?"

  "Yes," I said.

  "Yes?"

  I shrugged. "I don't just go around making dances up for guys I don't like."

  "You like me?" He hovered over me, close to me, resting one hand on the other side of me for leverage. I reached up and touched him. I barely touched the back of his arm with my fingertips. "What if I do like you?" I asked, flirting with him.

  "If you do, it'll be good. I'll be happy."

  "I do then," I said.

  He stared at me. "Can you do that again?" he asked.

  "Can I do what?" I asked.

  "The dance."

  I let out a little laugh.

  "Maybe in a few days or a week," I said. "I have to give you the chance to forget what you saw so it'll seem special again."

  "I don’t want to forget it. And it already is special."

  I smiled and curled into him. "Just wait a day or two so you're impressed when you see it again."

  He reached out and touched me. He rubbed the back of his finger down my cheek. "You were a fairy," he said.

  I smiled at him as my eyes snapped to meet his. "Really? You think?"

  He nodded. "You wrote that in your note, but I think I would have realized what you were doing even if you hadn't told me."

  "Thank you," I said.

  "Thank you," he returned. "I mean it, Tara. I've never seen anything like this before. I'm not even able to concentrate on the construction that happened. I don't even care. I don't want this building if you're not in it."

  "I am in it," I said, reaching out and holding onto his arm. I ran my fingertips along the back side of it, touching him gently.

  "Then I want it."

  I stared at him. "I'm so glad you're here," I said.

  Chapter 14

  Trey

  It was Saturday morning, and he woke up thinking about that oversized chair in the corner of the secret room. He had been thinking about Tara since their reunion last night, and this morning, his thoughts led to the chair.

  Last night, she had surprised him with the room and the private ballet. Obviously, the dance itself was an amazing gift. All last evening, he was stunned by it and obsessed with locking it into his memory. He asked her more than a few times to perform it again, but she didn't.

  But this morning, he woke up feeling touched at the thought of that chair. Tara's parents had done well with their chosen occupations, and they helped her out with a few of her living expenses, but they certainly didn't provide her with a lavish lifestyle. She worked and made a paycheck like a normal person, and Trey felt touched that she would buy that chair.

  He wanted to give her his credit card and let her buy more things to put in that room. He wanted her to finish decorating it. She mentioned a rug, and he thought that should be the first thing they buy.

  Trey could not get Tara Castro out of his mind. That dance. He wished he had recorded it. He had vivid memories of it, but he knew there were things he missed or that he was forgetting. He remembered her dancing on the staircase, climbing that new section of stairs and performing a part of the dance up there.

  The two of them hung out until 2am, looking at all of the new trap door mechanisms and general construction. They went onto the roof for a while, and then at one point in the evening, they explored the downstairs where Tara would soon open a studio and gallery.

  She led him through a waltz in the main studio room. The floors were beautiful, and the color she chose for the walls looked serene, soft, and peaceful. She led Trey around the whole room twice before he got the hang of it and he started leading her.

  Even at two o'clock in the morning, their parting had been reluctant. Tara had plans to go to the gym at 9am, and Trey agreed to meet her there so that he could participate in the morning class.

  He was tired when his alarm went off, but he woke up thinking about her, and that made it much easier to get out of bed.

  Class, however, did not work out as planned.

  Billy Castro coached it, and he did not take it easy on Trey. He pushed his limits at everything. He not only tested him physically, but he made quick conversation with him, testing him mentally as well. It would have been bearable if Trey didn't have to worry about Tara the whole time.

  Tara's brother, Will, was there, but Billy still made Tara part
ner with a young fighter named Miguel. Trey got partnered with an older guy named Quentin who used to be a fighter but now worked a regular job and went there to train on weekends. He was tough, and he took Billy's lead and didn't take it easy on Trey.

  Trey tried to do the class to the best of his abilities, but he was not a trained boxer, and Billy was in the mood to test him. Eighty percent of the people at the gym were men, and a hundred percent of those men were protective of Tara. They knew Trey liked Tara, and in a way, it made him the enemy. None of them took it easy on him. They weren't mean, but at the same time, they weren't going out of their way to make him comfortable.

  Trey tried not to feel frustrated about it.

  He had changed and was heading out of the locker room when he overheard someone say his name from outside. He stopped short of leaving the locker room and tuned in to the conversation.

  "…standing here, waiting for Trey," was the first thing he heard. It was Tara speaking, and Trey slowed down and listened. "I'm glad I saw you," she continued. "I wanted to talk to you, anyway."

  "Oh really, what about?" It was Billy who answered. Tara was talking to her dad. Trey knew their voices.

  "I wanted to ask you to be nicer to Trey."

  "Trey's a man," Billy said. "And he's tough. I was just talking to Quentin about him. He's got some heavy hands, and some good instincts."

  "I know, but Dad, I'm not talking about his boxing. I'm talking about running him off in general."

  "I'm not running him off," Billy said.

  "But you're not making him comfortable, either."

  "I've never been comfortable a day of my life in here, training, Tara. That's the whole point of being in here, to get tough."

  "You know what I mean," she said. "I'm not talking about boxing. I'm willing to let y'all sort the boxing stuff out. I just wanted to make sure you knew he was with me and that it matters to me that he likes you."

  "What are you asking me, exactly?" Billy asked.

  "I'm just saying that it would mean a lot to me if you make him feel like he's welcome around here. I want you to be aware of the fact that he's here with me and he's not just some other boxing student."

  "Your mother was right," Billy said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "She told me you would intercede."

  There were a few seconds of silence, after which time Tara said, "I don't get it. Are you doing this just to see how I react?"

  "No," Billy said "But I do think it's interesting that you're reacting the way you are."

  "Why? Did you think I would never like a guy?"

  "No, you've liked plenty of guys. Twice, you've dated guys for months and just never brought them around. And the ones you did bring around, you did the whole, this-is-my-friend-so-and-so, bit. All I had to do was try to talk to them man-to-man, and I realized they weren't good enough."

  "Dad, that's the thing. It's not up to you to decide who's good enough for me. That's my decision."

  "This guy is from Tennessee, Tara. He doesn't even live here. He hasn't even been here in who knows how long. He's a nice guy, but I don't want him messing with you. I don't want you getting hurt."

  "Can you just let me be the judge of what I'm doing, Dad? Can you trust me enough to know that I won't get hurt?"

  Billy didn't answer. Trey assumed he must have answered her some other way. He was watching for shadows on the floor and poised to move just in case someone came into the locker room.

  The next thing Billy said was, "Did Miguel keep his hands up today?"

  "Most of the time. He was tired at the end, and started dropping them, but he's doing better."

  "Okay. Thank you. Marvin's waving at you."

  For a few seconds, Trey heard nothing else. The next thing he heard was footsteps and then he saw a shadow. It was with great haste that he tiptoed to the other side of the room, dropping his bag just in time to turn the sink on and pretend like he was washing his hands.

  Billy.

  It was Billy who came into the locker room several seconds later. "Just the man I was looking for," Billy said.

  "Yes sir?"

  "Come see me in my office before you leave, please."

  "Okay, well, I was heading out now," Trey said.

  "Okay, then come now. Wait for me outside and we'll walk over there together."

  "Okay, yes sir," Trey said. He waited by the exit of the locker room. He could see Tara, near the front entrance talking to Marvin Jones, but he didn't go to her or try to get her attention. He just stood there, feeling nervous and thoughtful about what Billy would say.

  "Come with me," Billy said. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

  They walked along the edge of the gym until they reached the offices. Billy walked into the small office that had once been Marvin's but was now his. Trey followed him.

  "Tara didn't know what it is your dad did besides real estate," Billy said.

  "He owns commercial real estate in Nashville, and he's also got some land and property in Brentwood, where we live. He's an investor. I got into investing at a young age. I didn't know my great-grandmother who used to live across the street."

  Trey took a deep breath, and Billy gestured for him to sit down. Instead of crossing to the other side of the desk to sit down across from Trey, Billy propped himself against his desk. He was so close to Trey that their legs were almost touching.

  Trey swiveled to create a little distance.

  "Do you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Mister Harper?"

  "Yes sir."

  "Have you ever been arrested?" Billy asked.

  "No sir."

  "Have you ever been married?"

  "No sir."

  "Okay, I'm going to make this as direct as I can," Billy said. "Tara is my first and only daughter. I didn't think I would be giving you this whole speech for a while, but she came in covered up today, and I knew something was going on."

  "I'm afraid I'm lost," Trey said.

  "My daughter came in this morning wearing those longer shorts and covering her legs up. Her shirt was different, too, bigger and baggier, and I knew something was going on."

  "I would think you would want her to wear longer shorts," Trey said. He glanced at Billy's desk, at the family photos he had sitting in the corner.

  "I do, but what I'm saying is that my daughter didn't realize she needed to cover herself up until she met you, Mister Harper. That might not mean much to you, but, to me, it means a lot. That's how innocent she is. She's just realizing that someone might want to look at her legs. What it implies is that Tara sees something new in you. You have to understand the significance of this and realize that Tara looks different than what she is."

  Billy paused and looked at Trey, waiting to hear if he was paying attention.

  "How so?" Trey asked.

  "She looks tough. She boxes, and she hits like a guy. She's fast and tough and brave. She even seems really mature, and she is, she is mature, I'm not saying she's not, but Trey, she's also innocent. She's pure. She's trusting, and she's new to all this. I can see her acting a certain way about you. And I just don't want to see her get hurt." He paused but then continued. "So, if you're just being casual with her, you might as well just keep moving. Or at least keep your relationship to one of a normal landlord/tenant. I'm respectfully asking you to do that." Billy regarded Trey who just looked back at him.

  "Okay," Trey said, finally.

  "Okay what?" Billy asked.

  "Okay, I would leave her alone, but I'm not being casual with Tara," Trey said, hoping and praying he was saying the right thing. He was nervous around Billy. "I'm honestly sitting here wondering what I can say to you to make you just snap and know what I'm thinking and feeling about her. I like her, Mister Castro. I really do. If I didn't like her so much, I'd probably give up on her by now because I'm so intimidated by you."

  Billy laughed at that, and Trey let out a laugh since he was relieved at the sight of Billy laughing.

&nb
sp; He would have to take to heart what Billy was saying. He was right, Tara was tough, but she was innocent, too. Trey was way more experienced with women than she was with men. He knew these things, and he knew he didn't want to hurt her, but Billy's warning carried weight, and Trey found himself reflecting on it for the next few days.

  Chapter 15

  Tara

  Four days later

  Trey had been quiet and thoughtful for the last few days. We had spent time together every day, and we had fun and got along great, but he was slightly introspective. We had kissed a few times, but it was restrained and didn't feel as passionate as that first night. After the way we acted that first night, I almost felt like we would go around announcing our love and being unable to keep our hands off of each other. But that was just a fantasy that had occurred in my own mind.

  We had met at the gym three times this week, and we kept our distance to the point where my family assumed we were just friends or getting to know each other. We were obviously attracted to each other, but there was no blatant, public boyfriend/girlfriend thing going on like I thought there would be.

  It was now Wednesday evening, and Trey would leave in a few days to go back to Nashville. He would be busy between now and then, entertaining a couple of friends from high school who were coming in to visit and see his property in Galveston.

  I had just come home from Miss Gwendolyn's studio. I knew Trey's friends were coming over this afternoon, so it didn't surprise me when I climbed the stairs and heard noise and talking. I thought the television was on because I heard women's voices as well, but I couldn't tell if it was live or recorded.

  The door to his apartment was open, and I did my best to sneak past it since I didn't want to interrupt.

  "Tara!" Trey called my name as I walked past, and I turned and glanced into his apartment. There were tons of people, and I didn't feel prepared to walk into the room wearing sweatpants over a ballet leotard. I smiled and waved but kept walking.

  "Tara." Trey came into the hallway, saying my name.

  I had almost made it to my door by this time, and I turned and looked at Trey. I had seen him earlier this morning, but it was brief and he had changed clothes since then.