Star got the job at the clothing store, began working regularly and made some new friends and, in doing so, she managed to put the bikers out of her head. She hadn't seen them in a couple of weeks which made it easier and she had begun to casually see Dylan, one of her co-workers, which was also a nice distraction for her. Admittedly, she didn't quite have the intense interest or get the butterflies that the man in black had given her, but she'd concluded that he had realised what a ditz she was and had moved on, so she did too. She'd found a small apartment to rent and had begun to build a small collection of possessions and she was quite happy with where her life was going. She sat on her bed and did her hair in preparation of her date for the evening, she had the night off work and Dylan had asked her out for dinner. Slipping in her earrings and putting on her shoes, she heard a knock on her door and she got up to look out the window and saw Dylan's beat up Chevy parked out on the kerb and she grabbed her jacket and went out to meet him.
'You look beautiful.' He told her, and he greeted her with a kiss. She climbed into his car and they drove out to the Dolphin at the end of the pier and she walked arm in arm with him into the restaurant. She enjoyed a lovely dinner and Star began to feel semi secure in her budding relationship with Dylan. When they left the restaurant, he suggested they go for a walk along the beach, it was winter, so the beach was quieter than usual and without the kids and the bonfires, but it wasn't overly cold, and she was happy to wander along the sand with her male companion. They passed the Boardwalk and she noticed some of the stalls and rides were closed already and she wondered what the time was. They wandered a little further down the beach, him talking about his family and her just listening to him and enjoying the connection she was having with him.
'Do you know those guys?' He asked her, and she looked up at him, not realising she had drifted away in her own little world for a minute, she didn't know what he was talking about.
'Huh? Who?' She asked, and he motioned over towards the entrance to the San Lorenzo River and when she looked over to where he was indicating, she just about fell over. It was the bikers she'd tried so hard to push out of her mind and her man in black was smoking a cigarette and staring intently, while looking decidedly unimpressed, at her. Again, she was caught by surprise seeing him and, even though it had been two weeks, her hands still became shaky and her nerves went into overdrive just being near him. 'No.' She answered his question, certain she sounded unsure, but in all honesty, she didn't know them. She didn't even know any of their names and she took a deep breath in a vain attempt to settle the butterflies in her tummy as they turned around and continued back down the beach and away from the men. She tried to hide her hands, hoping Dylan wouldn't notice her reaction to seeing the men but he grabbed her hand before she could stuff it inside her jacket pocket and interlinked his fingers with hers. She hoped the stranger in black hadn't seen the action and, try as she might, she couldn't help herself and she turned to look at them one last time and she was again greeted with a stone-cold glare from two of the men while the other two had turned away. She felt a strange sinking feeling in her chest, almost guilty, but for what, she didn't know. They walked back to Dylan's car, only now her demeanour had changed making their parting exchange outside of her apartment twenty minutes later somewhat strained. Watching him drive away, she felt flat and confused about the evening, so she went inside, had a shower and went to bed but found she couldn't sleep. She thought she had gotten over her mystery kisser and she couldn't understand that such a brief and insignificant encounter on the beach would affect her so much and cause her to feel the way she felt. But what was undeniable for her was the nervous excitement that coursed through her body seeing him again.
She woke up tired and went to work the next day but was distracted and, although Dylan said everything was fine, he was distant, and his actions told her differently. He told her he was busy that evening and departed straight after his shift, leaving her to make her own way home, so she decided to go down to the Boardwalk, in the hopes of maybe seeing the biker boys again and hopefully attempting to get him out of her system once and for all but she was unable to locate either him or his friends and she gave up. She wasn't overly hungry, she hadn't been since she'd seen him again, but she grabbed a milkshake and hung around the beach and watched the sun go down before she felt the cold come in off the waves and slowly she made her way home on the bus. It was dark by the time she reached her stop and, making her salary, she didn't live in the most savoury part of town, and along with the murderous reputation of Santa Carla, she felt a tad scared walking the streets from her stop to her place alone. She held onto the strap of her backpack with one hand and clutched her keys in her other and was thinking more and more of how she was going to possibly get a little bomb for herself to get around in. She walked around the corner onto her street and she began to relax a little and slowed her pace, three more houses and she would be home safe. She reached her apartment and unlatched the small gate, then as she stepped onto her property, a figure appeared from out of the dark to her left and she came to an instant halt. It wasn't until she saw his stark blond spikes that she realised who it was, and her panic turned to a confused interest.
'Ahhh…. Hi.' She said, her eyebrows creasing as she spoke. He silently walked around the building and stopped in front of the porch, leaning against the pilings, and he crossed his ankles and clasped his hands in front of him and looked at her. 'What are you doing here?' She asked, and she looked around for his friends, or anyone else, but she saw they were alone. He continued to watch her silently for another few heart beats and to her, those beats got louder in the absence of his response but when he did finally speak, the depth of his voice made her bones shake.
'Where's your friend?'
'Oh, he's busy tonight.' She answered.
'I've been gone a week and you go get a boyfriend?' He asked her, and she found his question odd but the judgement in his tone was unmistakable.
'He's not my boyfriend.' She heard herself say and she wasn't sure why. True, they weren't exclusive, but she had definitely begun seeing him, only she didn't want to admit that to the man before her. He smirked at her response and took a drag on his cigarette.
'You two looked very close last night.' He mused, and she felt a chill go through her.
'We just work together. And you were gone two weeks.' She answered, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
'So, you knew how long I'd been away?' He tilted his head and she blushed, making him smile a mouthful of gleaming white teeth, he was so attractive.
'Where did you go?' She asked looking down, not wanting him to see how badly she wanted to know. He didn't answer her and when she looked back up at him, he flashed her a look that told her she shouldn't have asked. He flicked his cigarette butt out of his hand, pushed off the porch and stepped towards her. 'What's your name?' She asked him, trying to get him to speak again but he just placed his gloved finger to his lips.
'Shhhh.' He continued to move closer to her and she thought her legs might buckle beneath her. His hand gently touched her cheek and she looked up into his eyes. She'd never seen such blue eyes and she'd never felt such a mesmerizing sensation looking into them. She felt like she was being sucked into a whirlpool and she didn't know how to escape or even if she wanted to if she could. He leaned forward and suddenly his lips were upon hers and her eyes rolled shut. His kiss was full of passion and longing, like he was getting a fix for his habit from within her, he kissed her like he had on the Boardwalk and she felt like he was sucking the life out of her. She went numb and clung to the lapels on his thick black jacket until his lips pulled away from her and she reopened her eyes to see him still staring into her soul. She stared back at him, not knowing what to say or do so she let go of him and he stepped back, his lip curling at her expression.
'I'll be around. I'll see you soon.' His velvet voice caressed her as much as his body just did and she dreamily smiled at him. He stepped back into the shadows and was gone as quickly as he had appeared, and she went inside, again not entirely sure what had just happened.