Forever Yours

by Nicole Salmond

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Half an hour later Stella arrived back at the hotel and she made her way through Tristan’s penthouse suite. Sam had let her know he would be in the media room, should he be needed, and to make herself comfortable. She walked around the bedroom, not knowing what she should do, what she should expect. It was 8:30pm, still another two and a half hours until Tristan finished his concert. She needed to do something to fill in the time.

  She walked into the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She had barely had any time to get ready, which was clearly evident as she looked upon her messy hair. She also smelt like alcohol which someone must have spilt on her. A shower is what she needed. Turning her head to examine the bathroom she noticed the huge shower next to her with the biggest shower head she’d ever seen. “Oh what the hell. I might as well,” Stella said to herself. She didn’t want to look and feel the way she did right now when Tristan saw her again and she had plenty of time, he’d never know. She took her clothes off and jumped into the warm shower, it was even more relaxing than she had thought it would be.

  Once she had finished, she wrapped the hanging towel around her, deciding to also use the hair dryer to make herself as presentable as possible. After she’d finished her hair it only then dawned on her, what was she going to wear? Her dress was still wet from the spilt drink and she obviously didn’t have any other clothes with her. She looked into his walk in wardrobe, maybe he had something for her to wear. She could smell his breath-taking scent as she searched through his shirts. She quickly picked out the biggest one she could and put it on along with the underwear she had.

  After sitting through the only movie she could find on TV, trying to kill time, she found herself wondering what to do. Strangely enough she wasn’t tired, as she was too nervous to see Tristan. She decided to explore his room a little bit more. It was Tristan’s home. He only had a few personal items throughout the penthouse, Stella guessed because he was never in any place for too long he didn’t have the time to decorate it with his things. Looking at the chest of drawers she found a black photo frame with a picture of him singing on a stage with only a couple of people seated around him watching him, then she spotted the IPod and headphones on top of the drawers. She picked them up, placing the headphones in her ears, shuffling through the songs until it she found Tristan’s album. Clicking play on the first song she saw of his, she listened to his voice fill her ears. His voice was like a dream. . She closed her eyes and started slowly dancing around the room, completely out of character for her, but she couldn’t help but feel alive. Happy. Free.

  Tristan stood at the doorway, watching Stella move freely around the room. She had her eyes closed and she’d obviously not heard him come home. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her, she was stunning. Her beautiful dark blonde hair swayed softly against her back. She moved gracefully around the room, her hips moving to the song.

  The look of her in one of his shirts, the way it barely covered her legs, made his breath quicken. He’d never seen someone look so sexy before, his body was throbbing in desire.

  He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms and make love to her, but he wouldn’t. If this was going to work it had to be on her terms, he wasn’t about to let her go again, so he wasn’t going to give her a reason to. He would do whatever it took for their relationship to work, he was hers in every way possible.

  Stella couldn’t help but sway her hips to the sound of his music. His voice touched her soul with every note, as she turned once more she felt hands wrap her waist. She opened her eyes startled by the sudden contact. Tristan looked down at her smiling a sweet mischievous smile. She quickly pulled the headphones out.

  “You dance beautifully,” he said stroking the loose strands of her hair back off her face.

  She smiled, attempting to steady her feet. “Thank you.”

  “I see you’ve made yourself at home.” He eyed her up and down.

  Stella blushed. She’d hoped her dress would be dry by the time he came home and he wouldn’t catch her in his shirt. Here she now stood, the shirt barely covering her legs, leaving them fully exposed.

  “Um… Yes, sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” He grinned again. “You look much better in it than me.” He pulled the iPod out of her hand and placed it on the speaker dock, shuffling through the songs, and then pressing play. She instantly knew the song, it was Bloodstream by Stateless. Putting one hand behind his back and the holding the other hand out to her, he titled his head and politely asked, “May I have this dance Miss Green?”

  She smiled at him, thinking how ridiculous he was. “You may,” she replied, putting her hand in his. To her surprise he picked her up and spun her around in his arms.

  Both laughing he lowered her to the ground. “I’ll have you know I won the state dancing championship, twice,” Stella said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Did you now?” He held her waist pulling her closer. “And how old were you when you achieved such an accomplishment?” he said in a mocking tone.

  She tried to keep her face as serious as possible. “Seven,” she replied, they both erupted in laughter. Tristan traced her jawline as he leaned in, softly kissing her lips. She moved her lips against his feeling the softness of his touch.

  He pulled himself from their embrace, holding her head in his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about who I was-”

  She put her fingers to his lips. “It’s ok. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to me Stella. I don’t want to ever give you a reason to leave me or not want to be with me again. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else and I want to make this work. I want us to be together.”

  Stella’s heartbeat quickened, her breathing became more rapid. She wanted to be with him as well, but there was a part of her that was hesitant. She knew her past couldn’t be undone and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone, but she still couldn’t help but feel resistant. She had suppressed all feelings of love in her life, and vowed to never let herself fall so easily again. But then she had never felt like this with her last relationships, she’d never felt the burning desire to be with someone like she did with Tristan. That night at the hotel had been nothing like she’d ever experienced before.

  “I want to as well Tristan but I’m scared. Things happened in my past, things I’ll never be able to forget, never be able to take back.” Stella fought back her tears. “I’m not a relationship kind of person, I haven’t been in years. Being with you will go against everything I’ve told myself I don’t want to be. But, over the past few months I couldn’t help fight the feeling of wanting to be with you, it frustrates me and terrifies me at the same time. I wasn’t looking for a relationship, I didn’t want one, but ever since you came into my life I can’t shake the feeling of wanting to be with you.” Shaking her head she continued, “I can’t even believe I’m talking to you like this. This is not me. Well… it’s not the me I’ve been for the last four years. If we do this Tristan, we have to take things slow. I’m not sure if I’m ready for this, but I don’t think I can walk away now without giving it a try. But please understand this, I am making no promises. I can’t promise you I might not just walk away one day.”

  If she was honest with herself, the last time she had a proper relationship was four years ago. She was an adult now, being a couple now would be a lot different than a high school relationship, and after everything that had happened since then she didn’t even know how to do this.

  “I understand. Whatever you want Stella, I’ll do it.”

  She tilted her head upwards, touching her lips with his. “Thank you,” she whispered, letting her lips linger on his mouth. She wanted to be with him, the way they had been intimate the night at the hotel three months ago, but she knew she was doing the right thing. She needed to take things slow, make sure this was what they both wanted.

  “So what now?” Stella asked.

  “You tell me,” he s
aid with a husky voice, as he kissed her again, she melted in his arms. She had dreamt about the moment they would be together again many times in the months after their first encounter, and now it was finally happening. This was real.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Stella woke the next morning with the sudden fear that Tristan had left her when she found the bed empty and Tristan nowhere to be seen. Quickly leaping from the bed she walked over to the door leading out of the bedroom. She opened it, searching for him. She spotted him on the long white leather lounge talking on his phone, and let out a sigh of relief. Although she didn’t believe Tristan could just leave her, especially after recent events, she still found herself hesitant in truly trusting him. It had happened to her once before, by someone she once thought she loved. He had left her, and Tristan could do the same just as easily right now.

  Tristan smiled up at her and signalled he was nearly finished, so she decided not to hover and turned back into the room. The room was still dark, the curtains drawn closed. Looking at the clock, she saw it was nearly ten in the morning. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept in so late. Stella thought about convincing Tristan to come back to bed with her so they could spend the day together, but quickly realised she had no idea what his plans were today. He clearly had a lot going on, unlike herself. She sighed, her life was anything but interesting.

  She walked to the sliding doors, grabbing the curtains in her hands to open them, she wasn’t one to sleep the day away and she wasn’t about to do it with Tristan in the other room. She wanted to learn more about him, about his life, but most of all, she wanted to know where they stood with their relationship.

  Before she could open the curtains she heard a voice behind her, startling her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Stella quickly let her arms fall and turned to see Tristan standing at the doorway holding a tray in his hand “Unless of course you want pictures of yourself dressed like that all over the media.” His eyes moved up and down her body, raising his eyebrow as he did this. She quickly looked down, realising she was still wearing his shirt, exposing her legs. She hadn’t even thought about the media being outside, waiting to take photos of him at any possible opportunity.

  “Is it always like that? People waiting to snap pictures of you,” she asked.

  “Unfortunately yes,” he sighed, walking over to the nearby table, placing the tray down. “But it comes with the territory. Breakfast?” he asked her, pointing to the tray on the table.

  “Yes please,” Stella replied. She normally ate breakfast at seven in the morning, she could hear her tummy rumble at the mention of food.

  They both sat down at the table across from each other, Stella picking out the bits of bacon to eat while Tristan sipped on his coffee. He looked towards the balcony sliding doors. “Sometimes it feels like I’m trapped in this bubble. Everyone watching me, waiting for me to screw up, waiting for me to fail. I think about running away and leaving it all behind.”

  Stella could see the frown forming on his face. “So why don’t you?”

  “I wish it was that easy. No matter where I go they will still follow me. They have a way of finding you when you think no one can.” He exhaled, “Plus I love singing, I don’t know if I could give it up, it’s the best thing I have in my life. Well, of course until now.” He smiled at her now. “You’re the first person in a long time that I feel safe with. That I don’t feel like you’re just with me because of what I am. You’re with me for me. I feel so happy with you, it’s like you’ve lit a fire inside of me. Made me feel alive again, made me feel like me. I can’t tell you how many people have used me for my fame.”

  Stella couldn’t believe the way Tristan just laid it all on the table, so honest with his feelings. “Are you always so open with your feelings like this?” Stella questioned with a smile on her face, trying to lighten the mood.

  Tristan laughed, “No never.” He grabbed her free hand. “But with you, it seems like all I want to do is bare my soul to you.”

  “You really are a songwriter,” she laughed. Pulling her hand from his grip, she picked up the glass of orange juice and had a sip, her eye catching the picture on the chest of drawers.

  “Why is that the only picture you have?” Stella said, pointing over to the picture.

  “That was the very first time I sang on stage. The only people there were my family and friends. It was a surprise birthday present. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of the feeling I first felt singing on stage, it was exhilarating, complete happiness. It also brings me down to earth and lets me remember who I am and where I came from. To never let the fame go to my head,” he replied with certainty in his words.

  They sat in silence for a while, both content eating and enjoying the moment. Stella recalled their first meeting, remembering how it seemed so strange to her, the way the other men had acted around him, it all making sense now.

  “Why did you stay at my hotel that time, if you have this place?” she asked.

  “I didn’t have this place then. I move around a lot so it never seemed necessary for me to have my own place. Until I met you of course, then I knew I wanted somewhere to stay near you so I could hopefully one day meet you again.”

  She smiled, his response was not what she had expected to hear yet it was like music to her ears. He had wanted to see her again, he was willing to move here in the chance that they would meet again, it wasn’t just a one night stand for him. Could this really be real? Stella thought. Could the Tristan Woods want to date plain old Stella Green?

  “Have you called your sister yet to let her know you slept the night?” Tristan asked, pulling Stella out of her daydream.

  “Shit!” Stella exclaimed as she shot up from her chair rushing to her handbag on the floor to retrieve her phone. She had completely forgotten to call Claire to let her know she was staying the night. She had been so caught up in the moment with Tristan last night it didn’t even register in her thoughts that Claire might be worried about her.

  “You might also want to tell her you’ll be around there soon to pick a few things up before we head out for the day,” Tristan said to her as she pulled the phone from her bag.

  Stella looked at Tristan confused “What? What are you talking about Tristan? Where am I going?”

  “It’s a surprise. But we will need to drop by your place to get some more clothes for you. Can’t have you walking around in the clothes you wore last night,” he snickered. “Plus it’s still pretty cold outside, you’ll need warm clothes where we’re going.”

  A surprise? Stella thought. Stella wasn’t a fan of surprises. She liked to be in control of her life and know what she was doing each day. Being with Tristan however, she had endured many surprises already and had liked every one. With him she was a different person. She felt more relaxed, comfortable, and most importantly happy. “You’re not going to tell me where we are going, and what we plan on doing?”

  “No, it wouldn’t be a surprise then would it?” he replied, smiling from ear to ear. He raised himself from his chair and strolled across the room, proceeding towards the door to the lounge room. “We leave in ten Stella, so you better get a move on,” he called over his shoulder, before walking out of Stella’s view.

  She felt like she should be angry that he just assumed she had nothing planned and wanted to spend the day with him, but she couldn’t help but feel excited and curious of his plans intended for her. She held her phone in front of her noticing there were several calls and messages from Claire asking where she was and if she was coming home, then a cheeky one asking her what Tristan looked like naked. She dialled Claire’s number, not knowing if she would be angry or proud of her, for Claire had done the same thing many times, and Tristan wasn’t just any guy. He was Tristan Woods the famous singer/song writer as Claire so happily pointed out.

  “Well hello there stranger, I’m gathering your alive and well then?” Claire sounded amused when she answered the phone. Stella felt a weight lift from he
r shoulders, she wasn’t mad, thank goodness.

  “Hey Claire. Yeah I’m at Tristan’s now, everything’s alright. I had turned my phone on silent when we were at the concert and I had…well….um lost track of time.” She struggled finding the right words to explain her situation.

  “If that’s what you want to call it!” She could hear Claire laughing on the other side of the line. “What was he like Stella? Was he even better than I imagined?”

  Stella knew what she was talking about and there was no way she was about to have this conversation with her, especially when Tristan was in the other room. “Claire forget it! I’m not talking to you about this!”

  “Please Stella! I’m your sister, I need to know these things!”

  “No you don’t Claire, and I’m not going to tell you either.”

  “Suit yourself. But we all know you’ll eventually tell me.” She laughed again, not deterred by Stella’s determination to not reveal anything about last night. “When are you getting home anyway?”

  Stella welcomed the change of conversation. “I’m actually about to come by now and pick up a few things. Tristan’s taking me out for the day, I don’t know where we’re going through because apparently it’s a surprise.”

  “Oh Stella! How exciting! He is so romantic!” Claire exclaimed.

  “How do you know it’s going to be romantic? It could be shovelling horse shit for all we know.”

  “It’s the Tristan Woods we’re talking about here Stella! He is the epitome of romance. Hell, he only needs to say a few words and women fall at his feet, overwhelmed with love.”

  “More like infatuation,” Stella grunted. The thought of other women all over Tristan made her uncomfortable and sick. “Anyway I have to go Claire, see you soon.”