Page 32 of Once Upon a Star

“I stand corrected,” I teased.

“What else do we have in this place? Did you bring any more wine?” Ara asked.

“As a matter of fact.” I walked past her and to a cabinet and pulled out another bottle of wine.

“You might never have been a Boy Scout but I do like how you’ve come prepared. Excellent choice. It’s one of my faves,” Ara said as she took the bottle out of my hand and looked at it.

It was a Bordeaux blend from 2018. I had found it by chance in a shop in New York City. I hadn’t known at the time that it was one of Ara’s favorite types of wine; it was just another one of the things we were in sync with.

“How do you know I wasn’t a Boy Scout?” I asked.

“Were you?” she countered as she opened the bottle.

“Okay, no. I was never into camping or sleeping under the stars, as you are well aware of. But I could have gotten into the leadership and self-reliance it taught. It just never worked out with my schedule and life.”

“It must be so hard being a famous movie star,” Ara said. There was a tease in her voice but there was also a little hurt and anger just under the surface.

“There were perks for sure but it wasn’t, it isn’t all easy. Nothing worthwhile is,” I said.

Ara looked at me for a second and I wanted her to ask me what had made it hard. I wanted to tell her it was being away from her. It was trying to convince myself that I was doing the right thing for my life and career when all I could think about was her. I wanted to tell her that I had found a way for us to be together if only she would let me in her life.

“So true. Good thing the wine is good and the pizza wonderful. The company, well, it isn’t too bad either,” she teased.

“Not too bad?” I asked and moved toward her.

She put the wine bottle down and put her hands on her hips. “You disagree?” she asked,

“I would like to think I’m better than being not too bad.”

“What would you consider yourself, then?” she countered and moved closer to me.

“Compassionate, insightful, witty, overall exemplary company.” I stood in front of her.

“You forgot modest,” she added.

I smiled. “I would have thought that went without saying. It’s, after all, one of my most endearing qualities,”

Ara laughed. “You would think that.”

“You disagree?” I tried to give her my most sincere look but it didn’t work and I started laughing, too.

“Admit it, there are many good qualities about you, modesty isn’t one of them,” Ara said.

“I would argue that modesty is not what I would consider a good quality.”

“You wouldn’t,” Ara said and playfully hit my arm.

I reached out and took her arm in my hand and pulled her toward me. I thought to tease her some more, to even tickle her. I wanted to tell her that was one of her best qualities, her laugh and how contagious it was. But the minute she was in my arms and I felt her next to me, I wasn’t thinking about tickling her at all.

Ara’s breath caught in her throat as she looked up at me. Her eyes were like saucers as they darted from my eyes to my lips and back again. I moved toward her, my lips felt as if hers were calling to mine, telling them that it had been too long since they touched. My hand tightened on her arm and I felt her move her hand to my hip.

My whole body responded to being that close to her. I could smell her soft scent of cinnamon and honey; I could feel her breath on my face. I could practically hear her heart beat and I wanted to taste her lips and know if they were as sweet as I remembered.

Our lips were inches apart and I closed my eyes, knowing I was going to kiss Ara and my mind flooded with all the other things I was going to do with her. I felt the brush of her lips next to mine and they opened, wanting to dart my tongue inside.

The sound of the beeper letting us know the oven was ready broke us apart. Ara stepped back and wouldn’t look at me. The moment had been lost but as I looked at her as she pulled the pizza into the oven, I knew that there were more moments to come.

Chapter 18