Maggie

"Hey, what do you think of this mortar and pestle for my kitchen? It matches the tiki theme I've got going on in there."

I heard the words coming out of Janine's mouth, but for some reason they weren't registering. Well, I knew the reason. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Shane—not for one second—since I ran into him yesterday. "Sorry, what?"

"Are you okay, Maggie? You seem kinda down today. Is it about that land? Where your cat is buried?"

"Yeah, but … it's more than that, Janine."

"What, sweetie?"

I felt like I had to talk to Janine about how I was feeling. Maybe not tell her all the gory details about how in love with Shane I'd been these last ten years, but I wanted to at least tell her about what happened. I needed feedback and support. I couldn't just wallow forever. "I didn't tell you everything yesterday. I just … I've never really told anyone and it's not really … I mean, I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"What's going on?"

"Promise me you won't make a big deal out of it."

"I promise! Will you tell me already?"

"Okay, well, you know Shane Holloway …"

"Uh, yeah—the guy you turned beet red in front of yesterday? Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about."

"You're kidding! I did? Oh god, now I'm even more embarrassed that I was yesterday, and I didn't even think that was possible. Do you think he noticed?"

"Well, from the little I know about him, I'm pretty sure he's not blind."

"Great."

"So, come on! Out with it!"

"Okay, you asked me how well I knew him back in high school, before he left for Hollywood, and I told you not that well. That was true, we hung out throughout high school, but mostly in larger groups with other friends, until …"

"Until?"

"Well, just before he moved away he asked me to go down to the cove with him."

"The cove? Your cove?"

"Yeah. And he kissed me."

"Oh my god, Maggie! What was it like?"

"It was the most amazing kiss I've ever had in my life, Janine. I've never been able to stop thinking about it, and now that he's back here and I've seen him in person again, it's like my memory of that night has gone into overdrive. I keep picturing that night on the beach. His gorgeous eyes looking down at me … and his perfect lips moving toward me … until they touched mine. Oh God!" I covered my face like a star-struck teenager.

"Oh my God, Maggie, you're hilarious! You've got a crush on Shane Holloway!"

"Shut up!"

I heard Janine laugh and I knew she was laughing with me, because I knew just how hilarious this whole thing was. I was a grown woman for christ's sake. "But that's not a bad thing, is it? Having a crush on him? I mean, he's just a dude. He may be famous, but underneath all that he's a pretty regular guy."

"Well, considering everything, his model girlfriend and the real estate deal, and not to mention me spazzing out like a total idiot when I saw him—including but not limited to the blushing—I'd say it's pretty bad."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about all that."

"Thanks."

"I'm kidding! Okay, let's think about this. The model girlfriend is not a definite thing. Relationships end all the time, so that problem is not a total dream killer. And you spazzing out is absolutely not an issue, I can guarantee you that."

"How? I knocked over all those trays. I made a complete idiot out of myself right in front of him and the entire restaurant, Janine!"

"Yeah, but like I said, you're way too hard on yourself. Everything you do, even when you're knocking over a stack of trays, is pretty damned cute. You've got a total hot, cute thing going on that a lot of guys are into."

"I don't know about that," I said. I could feel my face growing hot again.

"Believe me, you do. I'm sure, if he has any interest in you at all, he didn't care about what happened at the restaurant. In fact, he might have even been nervous to see you too."

"Yeah, right. He acted like he barely remembered me. So what about the third thing?"

"The land deal? Yeah that's a tough one. I'll look into it at work, see if there are any permits being taken out yet. You never know, he might not be planning anything too major there."

"Just the fact that that whole area is turning into private land is major enough. I can't fathom not being able to go there whenever I need to—which is pretty much all the time."

Janine turned to the stall owner and handed her some cash. "Well, all you can do at this point is wait and see what happens. I'll look into it, don't worry. So, do you wanna get something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure, I think that amazing hand pie place just opened up a stall around here somewhere. I put their card in my purse," I said fishing around inside the big shoulder bag I carried with me everywhere. I spotted it way down at the bottom, and tried to get it out from amongst all the other crap, but dropped the whole bag, contents and all, onto the ground when I felt someone slam into me.

I looked down at my turned over bag, and everything in it, as it lay scattered on the ground. When I looked back up at who I'd run into I wanted to die. It was Shane. He was standing right in front of me, his body practically pressed against mine, and before I could move or say a word, he grabbed both of my arms.

"Maggie, are you okay! I'm so sorry, I was looking at all the stuff on the tables and I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going." I looked up into those big, dark eyes of his and I saw that he was smiling—with his eyes and everything this time. There he was, standing incredibly close to me. Our bodies were almost touching, just like that night on the beach. He stood there with his hands on my arms—looking into my eyes and smiling down at me—and neither of us saying a word for a long moment.

"That's okay," I managed to get out. "I wasn't looking where I was going either."

"Birds of a feather," he said, both of his hands squeezing my arms and then letting go. "Here, let me get this for you," he said as he knelt down and started to pick everything up. I dropped down and shoveled makeup and tissue packets into my bag—wondering why I needed to carry all this crap around with me everywhere—while Shane picked up the loose change that had scattered for three feet in every direction.

"Funny running into you again," Shane said. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes still on the ground.

"I wasn't very friendly at the restaurant. I mean, I hadn't seen you in so long and I don't know … I feel like I should have—."

"I think that's everything," I said as I stood up. Then when I looked at the genuine concern in his eyes I touched his arm. "Don't be silly. You were perfectly friendly."

"Well, if you say so," he said with that dazzling smile. "But, still, I'd like to make it up to you. Are you free for lunch?"

"Well, I …" I looked around for Janine but didn't see her anywhere. "My friend was here just a minute ago, but I don't see her now." I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out to see a text from Janine.

Go for it!

ttyl

"Well, it looks like my friend had to leave unexpectedly, so yeah, it looks like I'm free for lunch." I smiled up at Shane. "You're sure you don't have anywhere to be?"

"Nope. I'm all yours."

We wound up back at the same restaurant where we ran into each other the day before and took our time eating and talking. At first I didn't ask too many things about his life. I didn't want to pry into his personal life or launch into an attack about the land, so I let him ask questions for a while. But the conversation eventually turned to his life after he left Kauai. It was nice hearing him talk about how nervous he was at first to be making movies with other well-known actors, and how scared he was when he walked down the red carpet for the first time. He talked about all the parties and what it was like to travel all over the world, but, after a while, he stopped. "I don't want to keep talking about myself, Maggie. I can't imagine that it's all that interesting for you."

"No, it is. I really am interested, Shane. I've wondered many times about how you were doing since you moved away and … well … became famous. God, that sounds so terrible. Like you turned into a different person or something."

"Well, it's true in a way. That's the way it feels sometimes, like I'm a different person now—at least the way other people see me. I get treated differently now, that's for sure. I can't say that I love it, but it is what it is. I'm glad you said it that way instead of calling me a …"

"What? A movie star?"

"Yeah," he said with a laugh. "I mean, I know they're just words, but that name has always made me feel a little funny. It makes me feel even more separated from people when they call me a movie star. Like I'm from another planet or something."

"No, I know what you mean. I've never thought of people who do things in the public eye as any different than the rest of us," I smiled. "Or compared them to a ball of gas in the sky."

Shane laughed out loud at what I said. "Well, when you put it that way…" He laughed a little longer, then a serious look came over his face. "It's really great to talk to you again, Maggie. I haven't felt this comfortable talking to anyone in a long time."

"Really? How come?"

"Well, it's the classic problem that some people with a lot of money or fame have to deal with. It's probably kind of hard to understand if you've never experienced it before, though. I never know if someone wants to talk to me because they're genuinely interested in me as a person, or if they only want to be seen with me … or want something from me. Sometimes I'm talking to someone and I look into their eyes and I can tell they couldn't care less what I'm saying. They're just fixated on the fact that they're talking to a celebrity."

"I can't believe people are like that with you. That seems so shallow."

"It happens all the time, and it makes me really uncomfortable. I've gotten to where I'd rather be alone than talk to someone who just wants to be around me because of who I am."

"That's terrible. It must make you feel pretty lonely. But what about your girlfriend, Brittany?"

"Well, I could talk to her, but she's always seemed way more acclimated to the life of a celebrity than I've ever been. I got the feeling she didn't really understand where I was coming from when I mentioned the way I felt to her. I guess not everyone feels this way. Anyway, I just want to thank you for having lunch with me and listening to me."

"You're kidding, right?" I couldn't believe he was serious but when I saw the look in his eyes I knew that he was. "You don't need to thank me, Shane. I've always loved talking to you. I … I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Maggie." He looked down at his hands for a second, then back up at me. "You wouldn't want to come back to my place for a while, would you? If you don't already have any other plans."

I looked at my watch, not because I had anywhere to be, but because I suddenly realized we'd been sitting there talking for a long time. "Oh my god, we've been here for four hours!"

"Oh god, I can't believe I sat here talking your ear off for so long."

"No," I said. "I've loved every minute of it. But won't Brittany be waiting for you?" I was surprised he hadn't mentioned her more during our conversation.

"No. She flew back to LA this morning. We broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Shane."

"Yeah, she didn't seem to like it here as much as I do." It almost seemed like he wanted to say something more about her but changed his mind. "Why don't we head back to my place? I'd love for you to see it. It's a house up on the cliffs right on the edge of the property I'm in the process of purchasing—you know it, where the cove is, where I … where we went just before I moved away. I don't know if you remember that night? When we hung out there together under that incredibly starry sky?"

"Yes, I do remember it." I wanted to ask him about purchasing the property, but I couldn't after he brought up that night. Every fiber of my being was screaming that he did remember and that maybe, just maybe, it was a special night for him too. I figured I could ask him why he was purchasing the land after we got back to his place. But for now I wanted to bask in this incredible feeling. "Okay, lets go to your place. I'd love to see it."

* * *

Once we walked in the door of the amazing house Shane was living in, I suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that I didn't know how to read men very well. I mean, I don't consider myself particularly naive, but—based on what Janine has said about me and how unsure I was about how Shane felt about me—I was way off base with what I thought was going to happen. In my mind, once we got to Shane's place, we would have a drink, sit on the couch, and talk. Not that I didn't want more, I absolutely did. But the part of my mind that doesn't believe that I'm a seductive sexpot didn't have a clue what was about to happen.

As soon as we walked in his front door, I could feel the sexual tension between us. It was almost as if we were being pulled together by a force that was stronger than we were. We kept bumping into each other on the way to the house and then, once we were inside, Shane turned to me.

"I want you, Maggie. I've always wanted you." He wasn't touching me, but his body was so close to mine I could practically feel every inch of him. He hovered over me, his eyes burning into mine and his hot breath tickling my lips. "I haven't stopped thinking about you since that night on the beach."

I held my breath as his hand moved up and touched my cheek, his eyes still intent and focused on mine. His thumb brushed across my lips and I felt my head tilt back while my body pressed up against his. I could feel his desire for me, hard and firm against my stomach. It felt like a delicious eternity before his lips finally touched mine, soft at first, but then with an urgency that completely took my breath away.

Suddenly, Shane pushed me up against the wall in the entryway, his body pressed firmly into mine and his hands lifting my face up to his. His tongue slid in between my lips to meet mine, then gently moved in and out each time his lips parted. My body melted in between him and the wall as my hands moved up his rock hard chest.

I felt like a rag doll in his strong hands, the way they gently but firmly gripped my face and moved me exactly where he wanted me to be. I couldn't help the moans and whimpers that escaped from my throat, each one seeming to fuel Shane's passion even more.

One of his hands moved behind my head and he pulled it to the side so that he had full access to my neck. His hot lips devoured me while his other hand slid down to my breast. "You feel so incredible, Maggie." When I felt his breath on my ear I reached up, moving my hands across his neck and face, then burying my fingers in his thick hair. Our eyes were fixed on each other and I felt like I was eighteen again, looking deep into his eyes for the very first time.

"Where's the bedroom?" I asked with a shy smile curling up at the corners of my mouth. With those three words hanging in the air, Shane wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up, carrying me through a living room with giant glass walls and down a hallway. I giggled most of the way down the hall, then squealed when he threw me backward onto the bed.