Page 51 of Only Some Stars Fall

Tears run down Everly’s face. As much as I want to stop talking, kiss away the tears, and take us out of this dark cloud, I know I need to continue to the end.

“The pain and fallout felt never-ending. Every day was this hell that we couldn’t come out of. Her family blamed the resort. Storm was investigated even though it was proven he wasn’tdriving at the time of the accident. Long-time customers and friends fled the resort. My parents were crushed by what happened to Julia while they also watched their son spiral into the darkest depression one could imagine. The business was essentially nonexistent. The resort potentially faced a mess of charges.

“The next few weeks, Storm spun even more out of control, showing up to the resort hammered, angry, and looking for a fight. We hardly had any guests, but anyone who crossed his path was a worthy opponent in his mind.”

“The scar across your eyebrow, was that Storm?” she asks gently.

“Like I said, anyone who came across his path was unlucky.”

I can’t quite meet her eyes. That fight and what was said will always remain between Storm and me, and only us.

“One night, another big storm rolled through. Storm lived in cabin seven, which is a little more secluded and doesn’t sit on the water. He preferred the woods. We didn’t hear the crashing, the windows breaking, or the screams, I am sure he let out. When my dad and I checked on him in the morning like we had been doing, he was gone. He left mostly everything behind, like his wallet and money. His canvas fishing pack and rod were missing, and his hunting rifle was gone. Maybe he’d taken some clothes, although the cabin had been so badly ransacked that it was hard to tell what was what.”

I take a deep breath, and this time, Everly reaches out, intertwining her fingers with mine. I squeeze her hand lightly.

“Everyone searched for him. Friends came back to help. With the tragedy of Julia’s death, the community didn’t want to lose anyone else. Storm had a lot of knowledge of the woods and surviving in them, but as the weeks turned to months and the weather got colder, it was pretty clear he wasn’t coming back. He had no money, no gear, no food to survive a Maine winter inthe woods. Most of us accepted this reality, coming to terms with the fact that Storm never planned to come back. He had gone into those woods with a plan.

My dad still can’t accept it. It’s killing him slowly, but no matter what my mom and I do, he won’t listen. Every month, he leaves for three or four days to search the woods, in the summer months, sometimes even more. He just cannot come to terms with the fact that Storm’s pain took him under, just like the boat that started it all.”

“You never went back to school, did you?”

“Nope, not even for my stuff. I knew that if I got off the plane at LaGuardia, I wouldn’t leave, and I knew my parents needed me more. I haven’t left here since. I promised myself I wouldn’t until the resort got back on its feet and I felt like my parents were okay. Every day that passes and I fall into Storm’s footsteps, I see that escape door closing more and more rapidly.”

“Hux…”

I force a smile onto my face and cup Everly’s chin in my hands. “Hey, I’m okay, I promise. I am coming to terms with my fate, but I needed you to know why I pushed you away so hard in the beginning. You’ve made me feel again, something I haven’t done in two years.” I bring her lips to mine before she can say anything else.

The kiss starts slow and soft. She grants me access to her mouth, and I stroke her tongue with mine, deepening the kiss. Unlike the previous kiss between us, this is not frantic or even lustful, it’s an emotional and tender kiss. It’s our way of expressing all the hurt, pain, and a certain feeling we haven’t been brave enough to say to one another yet.

Pulling her onto my lap, I wrap my arms around her back, pulling her as close to me as I can while we continue to communicate with our mouths. Her short dress slides up as her legs straddle mine, and I can feel the heat of her need for me throughher thin panties. The more she grinds herself into my thigh, the more eager I am to bury myself inside of her. I lift her slightly so I can slip my jeans down, and as I glide my hands up the back of her thighs, I find that she’s wearing a thong. Hooking the thin rear string with my finger and gently pulling it to the side, it’s clear we are both more than ready. After grabbing a condom, I guide her hips back down onto my lap, a gasp escaping her lips just before my mouth meets hers again.

Her hands find my chest, and she pulls my shirt off over my head, then continues to push me down. I stare up at her, her lips swollen, her eyes glassy, as she continues her slow and divine rhythmic movements. I grip her hips, picking up the pace. When I can’t hold on any longer, I wrap an arm around her. Above her head, a magnificent shooting star blazes across the sky just as I flip her onto her back to continue getting lost in each other under the night sky.

TWENTY-FOUR

EVERLY

Any preconceived notionsI may have had that driving down long, winding dirt roads with a super-hot guy in a backward hat would be the epitome of a romantic experience are now gone.

It’s been almost an hour of the slowest, joltiest, bumpiest car ride of my life. We used to joke back in the city about how the potholes could swallow your car whole, but none of us had been on some of these backroads. I’m one hundred percent sure that my ass will be permanently bruised after this trip.

“So, you willingly—bump—ride around—bump—these roads for—bump—fun?” I clutch the grab handle above the window to try to keep myself in my seat.

Hux laughs, and for a second, I forget about the serious pain radiating from my butt. Seeing him relaxed is a sight I never thought I’d see. We seem to have brought out a calmness in each other that I don’t think either of us ever expected.

“You get used to it. Plus, if this fishing spot were easy to get to, the tourists would ruin it.”

“Do you ever get nervous out here? There’s just so many… trees.” I look up at the green canopy above my head. The light filters through the branches like a ceiling of stained glass, rays of yellow filling the cracks.

“Out here? Nah, never. I was raised in these woods and taught to fear the cities, not nature.”

“And yet you didn’t listen?”

“I love the woods. There is nothing more peaceful for me than being out here. That’s something I could always agree with Storm on. But I also knew I wanted an education. I wanted to experience people from all walks of life. I wanted to move with them, not just serve them drinks on their vacations to be left behind. The resort always felt like I was peeking through the keyhole at the world, not living in it. I’m not sure if that makes sense.”

“It does. Growing up in the suburbs of Boston, I had people around me constantly. My mom and dad lived in the city until they got married. When my grandmother passed away, she left them her house. They knew they wanted to start a family and knew they couldn’t turn down the house they would never have been able to afford otherwise.

“My mom missed living right in the city though. She loved everything about it. She would take my brother and me to Boston Common when we were young to laze around, play frisbee, and people-watch. She always took the T, even when my dad insisted she take a cab. We would walk around the Harvard campus for hours while she told us stories about going there.

---