Page 27 of Once Upon a Star

“There are two bedrooms, and two baths; it also has a kitchen and living room. From what I understand it’s quite nice. Shall we go look?” he asked.

“Of course,” I followed him past the dining hall down a small walkway to what had originally been the girls’ cabins. There had been three cabins each with the capacity to hold about twelve girls. There was only one left standing. It still had the floor-to-ceiling windows with sliding doors. The lights were on, giving a warm and inviting feel.

“Did Grace know when we were coming?” I asked as we walked inside.

“Everything is automated. She connected me to an app that allows me to open the doors to whatever we want,” Bash said as he put our bags down and looked around. “Not what I was expecting,” he said.

I wandered around the cabin. It had the same frame of the original cabin but it had been expanded. Originally, there had been two sides of the cabin with bunk beds throughout and bathrooms between. One side had been converted into a cozy living room and kitchen, while the other side held the two bedrooms, and one bath. They had kept the wood motif that was common in cabins back in the day. The fireplace between the living room and kitchen was a nice touch and I wondered if Grace and her family came and used the cabin.

“They definitely changed the place,” I said after I had walked around. “There’s a very nice storage closet where one of the bathrooms used to be. And there is only one bathroom.” I eyed Bash.

He put his hands up in mock surrender and said “Grace told me there was plenty of space for two people. The cabins always had two bathrooms, I just assumed they had kept them. My bad. Do I need to use the outhouses outside?” he teased.

“There aren’t any outhouses and I don’t see you doing your business in the woods. It’ll be fine. I just wanted to give you a bad time.”

“I like that you can give me a bad time. Did you have a preference on a bedroom?” He picked up our luggage.

My first thought was to tell him whichever one he was in, but I didn’t. “The one on the right will be fine,” I said instead.

“Sounds good. I’ll put your stuff in there and let you get settled. Do you, um, want to shower, rest, call it a night?” He looked nervous, as if he wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

“I’m good. I mean, I had a nice nap earlier and I’m not really tired. I can keep myself busy if you want to head in. It was a long drive for you.”

“Not that long. I’m not tired either,” he said and walked over to his bag and opened it. I couldn’t see what he was doing but when he turned to look back at me, he had a huge smile on his face and a bottle of wine in his hand. “Wine?” he asked.

Chapter 15

Sebastian

I was startled awake by movement next to my bed. I opened my eyes to see Ara standing next to my bed. She was wearing a sheer black lace babydoll nightie that barely covered her breasts much less her legs or anything else. I leaned back, taken aback that she was there.

“Ara. Are you okay? Did something happen?” I asked and sat up in my bed.

“No, nothing happened yet, but it’s about to,” she said.

I watched transfixed as she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with me. My arms immediately went to her, pulling me to me. Her body was soft and yielding as she pushed up against me. I ran my hands up her face and into her hair.

“Ara. I . . . You . . .” I stammered. “Are you sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I want you. I love you. Please, don’t make me spend another night without you.”

“Never,” I said and went to kiss her, only to have her disappear as I woke up.

I rolled over and muffled a scream into my pillow. The idea of spending time alone with Ara seemed like the perfect idea. I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to be truly alone with her. To sit across from her as she drank a glass of wine and laughed at some comment I made. I didn’t think about what it would be like to go to bed knowing that she was just a wall away from me. I hadn’t thought about how wonderful and yet horrible it all would be.

We opened the bottle of wine, a nice blend I had from my trip to St Emilion. We only had one glass before Ara was dozing off again. It was sweet that she tried to stay awake for me but she was exhausted. She had done her level best but, in the end, it was a losing battle.

I had resisted the urge to help her to bed. I had a feeling if I had, it wouldn’t have ended with me just tucking her in, but trying to find a way to join her. I wanted Ara, more with each breath that I took, but I didn’t want her when she was tired or vulnerable. I had fallen in love with a strong, vibrant, opinionated, and incredible woman. She was still all of that, but she wasn't at her best last night and I wasn’t going to take advantage.

It didn’t make for an easy night's sleep for me. The walls were thin, or my mind thought they were. I could have sworn I heard her breathing and even calling out my name a few times in the night. It was no wonder I had a very sexy dream about her and woke up desperate to have her.

We had never discussed what we were and I hadn’t pushed it. The one time I had brought up my feelings for her, she hadn’t responded but instead pretended like I’d never said it. She wasn’t one who hid what she was thinking or feeling and I was worried she hadn’t said anything because she was afraid of hurting my feelings.

I didn’t want to think that was the case. There were times when she would look at me and I just knew she still loved me. I could understand her desire to keep me at a distance at first, but not anymore. I hoped I had more than proven to her that I was someone she could count on and trust. Someone who would be there for her no matter what.

The next three days gave me a chance to do that. I needed to get away. If anything was going to keep me from going stir crazy while I waited to hear from Isla, it was Ara. She had sounded like she needed a break too and I was glad to give it to her. Though now that we were here, I was worried that I had been put into the friend zone and there was no getting out of it.

With a frustrated groan, I got out of bed and thought about what I was going to do with the morning. If I remembered correctly, Ara wasn’t one to get up any earlier than she had to. Considering how tired she had been the night before; I wouldn’t put it past her to want to sleep the day away. I would be disappointed if we lost the time but didn’t want to deny her whatever she needed.