Light Me Up

THEO

Sara was still pissedat me the next morning. It was easy to tell by the way she huffed at everything as she got ready for work. I had to admit, it was cute as fuck seeing her mad at me now that I’d been inside her.

Before, when we’d argue or piss each other off, it was this dance we did on the periphery of our feelings. We didn’t even realize we had feelings at first. But now that I knew what her lips tasted like, what she felt like as she came, what her face looked like as I took her to ecstasy, I had to admit that fighting with her had a whole new appeal—and it wasn’t purely sexual.

I just found the woman mesmerizing. The more of her I experienced, the more I wanted. Even when she closed her bedroom door in my face, relegating me to the couch to sleep, or how she gave me the smallest mug in the world to use for my coffee. Especially so. She touched me in a way I’d never had before. I’d never cared before.

I’d dropped her off at The Witch’s Brew, but I really didn’t want to leave her. She didn’t even say goodbye, just gave me half a wave behind her back as she hopped out of my truck. And my damn cheeks hurt from the smile that gave me. My woman was a firecracker and I loved her for it.

Wait.

Holy shit, I loved her. I thought of her as mine. This was what being in love was. This feeling I didn’t understand, that I’d never had before in my life. The feeling that made my heart grow three sizes like the Grinch. I was in love with this witchy woman and it didn’t even scare me. If anything, it made me stronger. I felt bolstered by the realization. How about that? Now I just had to figure out how to tell her—and not scare her off. Sara was so strong but when it came to her feelings about me, I had an inkling she was as spooked as an alley cat.

After the death threat yesterday, I tried to convince her to close the shop up for a while, but she insisted on keeping it open. And I figured it’d be better to have her surrounded by people in a public place—and with some officers patrolling—than it would to have her be alone.

We’d managed to keep the threat quiet for the most part, so it was business as usual for her. I sent a car to patrol the alley behind the shop and another to park near the entrance, but that wasn’t entirely unusual. Being that Harbor Street was the main road in town, we often patrolled it or posted along it to keep our eyes on things.

Keeping up appearances and not seeming spooked was part of the strategy. I didn’t want to use Sara as bait, but if this bastard thought she wasn’t concerned, maybe he would show himself.

It was lunchtime now and I’d been talking myself out of going to see her for hours. I figured I’d waited long enough, so I told Miller I’d be back soon and took a walk.

I crossed the street to walk in the shade of the trees lining the sidewalk. The sun was warming things up a bit. Soon the town would be filled with tourists for the summer. This was my favorite time of year in Moon Harbor, though. Locals walked along the crystal blue water, restaurants opened up tables for outdoor dining, and everyone was in high spirits after being cooped up all winter.

I passed by McClintock’s and saw Gus repainting the same sign he’d had up there for forty years. Groups of nurses in scrubs sat outside Landry’s, eating lobster rolls and laughing at stories from their shift at the hospital. I nodded at a woman and her two little kids, hopping along in front of her on the way into the five and dime.

This town was special—it was everything to me. The fact that someone was trying to burn it down, and that someone else was threatening the woman I loved, well, I didn’t take too kindly to that. And I swore to myself I’d do whatever it took to protect this place. To protect Sara.

“Hey Theo, wait up!”

I turned to see Raf and Sam jogging up to me.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

“You want to tell us?” Sam asked, clapping me on the back as we started walking again. “Alex told me you and Sara have been getting cozy. What the hell, you weren’t even gonna tell us?”

“What are you, the church ladies? Craving some gossip over there?”

“See, I told you he’d downplay it,” Sam said to Raf, who just shook his head.

“I’ve never been one to kiss and tell.”

“Bullshit. You brag all the time about your conquests.”

“Sara isn’t a conquest.” My words came out a little sharper than I’d intended and Sam backed up a step.

“Damn. Well I was about to tell you that.”

“Why? You don’t need to tell me that.”

“Look man, you know I love you, you’re like a brother to me. But Sara is like a sister, and I don’t want her to get hurt. I know how you operate.”

I looked at Raf, but he just shrugged in agreement. He was a man of few words, but I could have used a couple of them on my side right now.

“Look, I get where you’re coming from, but it’s not like that. And I’m starting to regret my whole history since apparently everyone thinks I’m bad for her because of it.”

Sam shook his head.

“I didn’t say that. I just wanted to hear it from you. That you’re not just using her as another booty call situation. Because frankly, you’ve never been interested in anything else.”

I started walking again, trying to keep the murderous look off my face. I loved these guys and deep down I loved that they were protective of Sara. But the fact that they weren’t giving me the benefit of the doubt really made my jaw tick.

“Things change. And I didn’t tell you before because we were still figuring things out.”

“And now?”

“Now I know what I want and I’m going in there to get it.” I left the guys on the sidewalk and walked into The Witch’s Brew to settle this thing. Because I wasn’t about to have everyone in town think what Sara and I had was just some fleeting bit of fun and nothing more. But first I needed to tell her that.

Sara looked up from the counter, looking surprised to see me. I started to walk over to her but was interrupted by a shrill voice.

“Theo! How are you, babe?”

I stopped in my tracks. I knew that voice. Amy, from the party. I looked to my right and there she was, sitting at a round table by the window. My head shot back to Sara and unsurprisingly, she’d battened down her hatches. Her shoulders were back, her chin was up, and her face was devoid of any emotion. She probably expected the worst from me. And I couldn’t really blame her, much. Because if she didn’t truly know how I felt about her, then I was doing a poor job of showing it.

Amy appeared in front of me, clearly expecting some sort of flirty hug and kiss. When I didn’t give in, she just twirled her hair around her finger.

“How’ve you been? I was thinking we never finished what we started. I’m free next weekend.”