“Alright, you caught me.”The smirk on her face didn’t match the sudden concern in her gaze.“This whole day just seemed like such a shit show.I mean, it was beautiful.Everything went very smoothly, and there was only one drunk hitting on me at the reception.Whatever.My point is, I knew you’d be here alone, and I thought maybe you shouldn’t be.”
“You always talk this much?”I smiled at her, feeling the need to keep the conversation light.I wasn’t sure how much more brooding I could handle.
“Fuck off,” she said through a giggle.“I could be dancing with a drunk guy right now, but I’m here with your bossy ass instead.You should thank me for thinking about you.Ostie de batard de marde.”
“You’re sexy when you swear at me.I like it even more when I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Something loosened in my chest when she rolled her eyes again, like some tension that never seemed to leave me had suddenly floated away.
“I’m kidding,” I said with a laugh.“Don’t be such a princess.Come here.”
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in.She came willingly, folding against my chest like she belonged there.I kissed the top of her head, and her arms came up to wrap around my waist as she rested her cheek against my chest.
It felt good to have her there.It felt right.
Then it hit me.
I called her princess.
And it didn’t bother me in the least.The pet name I’d called Jamie my whole life had just slipped out, and it had felt like nothing.Like it was any other word.
Chantel was probably the furthest thing from a princess I could imagine.Still, even saying it ironically should have hurt.Should have added to the brutal fucking ache I’d been battling most of the day.
But it didn’t.
“You thirsty?”I asked, ignoring the warmth spreading through me.
“Sure,” she hummed against me.“What are you drinking?”
“Well, I was about to have another beer.I don’t think I’ve got anything fancy enough to match your outfit.”
My hands found hers and I stepped back to look at her.Cheeks rosy, dark hair pinned up to show off the long line of her neck, and every curve calling my name.I spun her around in a flourish of silk and laughter, making her stumble before I caught her in my arms again.
“Seriously, Chantel, you look stunning.Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the party and dance with the drunk guy?I was just sitting in the yard, looking at the stars.”
“Beer and stargazing sound great.”Her smile was full of sweet sincerity.
The old blanket I laid out over the grass in my backyard was worn and fraying, the beer was cheap, and my ability to make polite conversation was shit.But she didn’t complain.
She kicked off her heels and stretched out beside me.
After the day I’d had, the cool air, the quiet, and her company were the closest things to relief I could hope for.
We lay there in silence, and she didn’t try to fill it.That was the best part.She was easy, even when she wasn’t.And the fact that she was so damn beautiful in that blue silk dress didn’t hurt either.
My eyes kept drifting from the stars to her.
The stars didn’t stand a chance.