by Geri Watson
Tristan nodded and grabbed her hand, resting it on his chest as he calmed down. She could feel his rapid heartbeat and rested her forehead against his. "More time," she repeated softly.
"Mhm," Tristan responded, as he brushed the hair out of her face. At some point, her scrunchie had fallen out.
Star tried to focus on her surroundings a bit more and realized a few things. The first and foremost being that she was very tangled up with Tristan and draped across his chest. The second was that she didn't want to move, and lastly that all she had to do was lay her head down and she could fall asleep in his arms.
She watched Tristan as he continued to brush the hair away from her face and run his fingers through it as he set it over her shoulders. It was a simple task, but it felt heavenly. If someone had told her that this was how her night was going to end, she would have argued with them. Alex had never been in her room, let alone on her bed. She wondered why she was so much more comfortable with Tristan. Things seemed to keep happening between the two of them without her thinking it through. It was so unlike her. Over-analyzing stuff to death before acting was her usual forte.
"Tristan?" She looked into his eyes that were barely visible with the light shining in from the street.
"Yeah?" He stopped running his fingers through her hair and rested his hand on the small of her back.
"Do you think we're doomed?" she bit her lip.
"Doomed?" he repeated, confused. "Why would we be?"
Star shrugged. "If we're soulmates then I have to wonder if we are."
Tristan stretched out his back and pulled her against his chest again. "Because of all of the stories you've read, or what?"
"Well, yeah..." she tilted her head. "How many couples that were supposed to be soulmates do you know that ever got happy endings?"
Tristan was quiet for a few minutes. "That doesn't mean anything. Maybe we're the exception."
"You don't know either." Star lay her head down on his chest, and he ran his hand over her back slowly.
"All I know is that we're happy now, right? Isn't that all that matters?" he rested his head on hers.
She yawned and closed her eyes. "Maybe."
Star felt him shake his head and sigh. "Let's get some sleep."
CHAPTER 12
Tristan opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to gather his bearings. Feeling light breathing against his neck and a warm body wrapped around him, he realized he was still with Star. He moved enough that he could look at her features without waking her. Star's arm was tight around his waist, and her legs tucked around him, just like her face had been tucked into his neck a second ago. She had a euphoric look on her face, and her breathing was slow and even. Amazed that his arm still had any feeling in it, he found that he'd had his arm wrapped around her the entire night. Tristan was also surprised at how comfortable he was with Star tangled up with him like she was. If he tried to move to see what time it was on her nightstand clock, he'd wake her up, and he wasn't in any hurry to do so. Instead, he moved his arm and held her tighter against his chest then pulled the afghan back over them, relishing the warmth between them.
Star's room was unique. Above her bed was a large collage containing candid shots of her and what he assumed were friends and family. She also had several black and white poster prints adorning her walls. One of a large tree surrounded by fog, one was of Seattle with the stars out and then one of a thunderstorm over a beach with lightning shooting across the sky. Her dresser was sleek black with gold handles, and a natural wood desk with her laptop sitting on top of it looked dinged up and secondhand. A small television perched on a particle board entertainment center with a DVD player and a ton of DVDs of various genres tucked in every available slot. She had a queen bed, but the headboard looked like it had been handmade by her with fabric that showcased what appeared to be award-winning movies. He was surprised that nothing matched, but guessed that was probably due to her just collecting the pieces randomly here and there.
He'd blacked out again last night while they were watching the movie. Since Star was still asleep and he couldn't move, Tristan replayed the dream in his mind.
November 29, 1934
A snowy landscape loomed in front of him. There was at least a good foot on the ground for sure, maybe more. Hanging from his shoulder was a pair of ratty ice skates. A hand grabbed his, and he looked up at person smiling down at him, his older sister, Marie.
Richard Miller was six years old. His sister, who was fourteen, was his hero and she was taking him skating. The old pond at the other end of the farm had frozen over with this snowfall, and they had decided to check it out for themselves. Marie's skates dangled over her shoulder, and as Richard struggled to keep up, she pulled him up into her arms and then set him over her shoulders. He beamed. She was always doing fun things with him.
"So once we get out there I'll show you how, but you have to pay attention!" she directed.
"Mkay, Marie," he answered happily, trying not to wiggle around too much.
They walked another solid half a mile, and Marie set Richard down again. The snow wasn't as deep here, and the pond wasn't too much farther. He broke out in a sprint towards the pond.
"Hey, Richie! Wait up!" he heard her call. "It might not be safe!"
Richard skidded to a stop but lost his balance in the process. The ice on the pond hadn't been as frozen as they'd thought and he went right through it. It was bitterly cold. He felt like he was being shot with needles down his arms and his lungs felt like they were going to freeze shut.
"MARIE!" he screamed frantically.
"Oh God, Richie!" she arrived quickly and looked around the pond for a few seconds. Then she lay flat on the ice and held out her hand to him. "It'll be okay, just grab my hand!"
"I'm-s-so-c-cold." his teeth chattered.
"I'm here. I'll save you," Marie reassured him. "Keep trying."
Richard's hands felt numb as he tried to reach out to her. Marie was too far away. He saw her inch closer to the hole in the ice and close her eyes. He could tell she was trying not to let him see how scared she truly was. It wasn't working. Richard started to feel himself lose consciousness and fought to keep his eyes open. Then he went under the ice.
He woke up under a bunch of blankets in the hospital. It smelled like rubbing alcohol and made him uneasy.
"Richie?" his mother was by his side in an instant. She looked like she'd been crying.
"I'm sorry Mama," he said, thinking she was upset that he'd made Marie take him out. He didn't want to cause any trouble; he just wanted to have some fun.
"Oh, baby," she started crying harder and hugged the lump of blankets that he was somewhere inside of.
"Where's Marie?" he asked. "She saved me, huh? Isn't she a hero?"
"She is a hero, baby." she sobbed. "But we didn't get to her in time. You were so close to the house...but she couldn't make it, Richie. She's gone."
When he'd woken up and seen Star there and alive, it had taken everything in him to stop when she had asked him to. He'd felt euphoric that he was with her and she was living and breathing against him, considering he'd just felt the agony of losing her moments ago in the vision of their past. Then when she'd asked him if he thought they were doomed, he had almost lost his composure. He tried to play it off, but he wasn't sure how good of a job he'd done of it.
Tristan had heard Zack moving around the apartment, and the front door banged shut at one point, but other than that it had been quiet. Star yawned, and he realized she was starting to wake up. Her still sleepy hazel eyes raised up to meet his, and Tristan smiled at her. He felt her stretch against him, and she moved enough that he could get his arm out from underneath her as she propped herself against his chest.
Once he was sure Star was coherent, he kissed her. She returned the kiss fervently, and Tristan found himself in the same position they were in the night before when she stopped them from going any further. Doubting that she'd changed her mind in her sleep, Tristan
tried to restrain himself as it continued to get more heated between them. When she bit his lip, however, he pushed her off and got out of bed. "I can handle a lot Star, but that's pushing it if you want more time."
He watched her bow her head. "Sorry, got caught up in it."
Running his hand over his face and sighing, Tristan sat back down on the bed, and Star wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. He took one of her hands in his. "Maybe we should get out of bed so this doesn't keep happening, what do you think?"
"That might help," Tristan heard from behind him, although he felt her mouth at the crook of his neck doing the opposite of what she was saying.
He groaned and pulled her out from behind him and into his lap. "You're not helping."
Star wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I can't help it. You look extremely kissable with morning stubble and bedhead."
"Star, that has to be the most unromantic thing I've ever heard in my life," he chuckled into her kisses.
"It's true. I don't care if it doesn't sound romantic," she countered.
Honestly, Tristan had to admit she looked pretty cute with mussed hair and rumpled clothing, but he wasn't about to confess that to her. If he did, they were never going to make it out of her bedroom. As Star continued to assault him with kisses, in his mind wheels were turning on what they were going to do today. Art had said he wanted to meet her and seeing as he'd survived meeting Zack, Tristan figured she'd be up for meeting his brother. He pulled her legs around his waist, picked her up and kissed her slowly, making her smile into his mouth since he hadn't been responding to her other kisses.
"Can I take you home with me?" he asked her.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Take me home like you take a lost puppy home, or take me home to meet your family home?"
Tristan laughed. "Don't freak out, it's just my brother at home. My parents are out of the country."
"Oh." Star's face scrunched up in contemplation. "Yeah, I guess I could do that."
"Good." He set her down. "Go get ready then."
"You meant take me home today?" Star bit her lip.
Tristan ushered her into the bathroom attached to her bedroom. "Yes, today. He doesn't get that many days off, and I'm off work today so what better time?"
"Alright," she mumbled. "Oh hey! If you want to take a shower, you can use Zack's. I doubt he's still here. He had to work this morning."
"Ah. That explains the front door slamming I heard this morning," Tristan answered. "I was wondering why he was up so early on a Saturday."
Star shook her head. "That damn door. We talked to the landlord about it, but he said if we wanted something done about it to do it ourselves."
After she went into her bathroom, Tristan wandered out into the apartment. He thought it was a little odd that she had locked her bedroom door, but figured if Zack had walked in on them doing what they had last night or this morning it wouldn't have been a pretty picture, so it was good that she had.
Zack's bathroom wasn't attached to his bedroom but was next to it instead. He found it interesting that Zack's bathroom was so clean. Apparently, his workouts and Star weren't the only things he was anal about. Tristan took a quick shower and made his way back out to the kitchen. Since Star didn't appear finished primping, he started cooking breakfast. When she emerged from around the corner shortly afterward, Tristan looked up and waved with the spatula.
"Are you making French toast?" she asked surprised.
"What? You thought I couldn't cook?" he answered back indignantly. "My brother and I happen to be excellent cooks, thank you very much."
"Oh, excuse me," Star laughed as she sat down at the table.
Tristan brought her a plate and kissed her softly. "You're forgiven." Then he sat down across from her and started eating.
Star ate slowly, and he saw her make some pretty intense faces. "Tristan, this is the best French toast I've ever had."
"Told you," he smiled.
After they finished eating, Tristan cleaned up, and they headed out to his car and rode over to his house. He noticed Star's eyes widen as he turned into his development and felt a little guilty. It probably would have been a good idea to warn her that he lived in a million-dollar home by the water. Too late now. He felt guilty that he had left Scout cooped up in the house so long. Art had probably taken her out though once he realized Tristan hadn't come home. He pulled his car into the garage and got out, then looked over at Star who was looking back at him questioningly.
"Yeah...so this is my house!" Tristan plastered on a fake grin, and Star laughed.
"Christ Tristan, you could have told me your parents were loaded." She shook her head and walked over to him.
Tristan shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you I forgot to mention it?"
She scowled at him. "No."
"Okay then. I purposely didn't tell you because then you would have acted weird...like you are now."
"That I believe," Star said as she took his offered hand.
"You aren't afraid of dogs, or anything are you?" Tristan asked as he opened the garage door leading into the house.
"No... why?" Star asked as she watched a black and white blur pounce him and bark loudly.
Tristan grabbed Scout's collar and held her at his side. "She's why." he nodded down to her and Scout wiggled trying to break free.
Star closed the door, and he let go of Scout and watched as she leaped up on Star and almost knocked her over trying to lick her face. Star knelt down and dealt with the puppy kisses good-naturedly until Scout started to calm down. Well, that was one member of the family that accepted her. One more to go.
"Art?" Tristan called out. He knew he was home; he'd seen Art's car in the garage.
"Art?" asked Star.
"Yeah. Well, that's what I call him anyway. His name is Arthur."
Star giggled. "Arthur and Tristan? What's your dog’s name? Guinevere?"
"The dog's name is Scout, but that's only because she's Tristan's dog. Our mother is the one with the Arthurian Era obsession." a voice came from around the corner.
Tristan grabbed Star's hand and led her into the family room where Art was getting up from the couch.
"Ah. So you must be the shining Star Tristan was telling me about." Art smiled and hugged her. "It's so good to meet you!"
Tristan brought his palm up to his forehead. "Art, please don't embarrass me by being yourself."
"Don't be so sensitive," Art shot back. "You didn't tell me she was stunning, though."
Star shot a small glance over at Tristan and back. "It's nice to meet you too, Arthur."
Rolling his eyes, Tristan looked away. It figured Art was going to do this to him. That's what he got for never bringing women to the house before. His brother tended to go through women like tissues; therefore he thought of himself as some womanizer. Being a pediatric cardiologist always helped, it seemed women swooned at the idea of a strong guy fixing the hearts of babies. Tristan felt his ears get hot and knew he was going to be blushing soon and damned Art in his mind.
"You can call me Art if you want to, or Artie." He sat back down on the couch. "Did you guys eat yet?"
"Tristan made me breakfast. It was great." Star piped up as she and Tristan sat down on the loveseat across from the couch.
"Oh really? So he was with you all night then?" Art raised an eyebrow in Tristan's direction.
Tristan looked up at the ceiling. Great. Now his cheeks were thoroughly hot.
"Well, he fell asleep when we were watching a movie last night," Star explained.
"I see." Art responded. "What were you watching?"
"It was an independent film. Not something I think you would have seen," Tristan barbed back.
Art smirked, obviously enjoying the torture he was putting his brother through.
Scout wandered over and sat at Tristan's feet, and he welcomed the distraction and bent down to scratch her ears. "How's Natasha?" he asked, changing the subject.
&nb
sp; "She's good. Didn't seem put off by your attitude the other morning so she might come back." Art smiled.
"Good to hear."
