Page 19 of Offside Possession

“Come on.” I tugged on her hand, and we started to walk down the main area of downtown Houston. It had an old school small town feel to it. We headed towards the small green space park area.

“Talk to me,” I broke the silence as I glanced over at her.

“What?”

“You’re quiet. I know we just met, but that’s not you.” Something in her eyes flared.

“Do you really believe in destiny? In fate?”

“I do.”

“Do you think… do you think it was fate for us to meet and hook up last night?” The question lingered between us for a moment before I answered.

“I think we were destined to meet no matter what. Fate smiled on me today because it must have known how fucking badly I wanted to find you.”

“You did?” She was clearly surprised by my answer, so I stopped and pulled her into me. My hand rested on the small of her back like she was already mine.

“Stella, before we fell asleep after that last… round,” I reminded her, and she adorably blushed, “I knew I was going to break those fucking rules we put in place.”

“Oh.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “But it kinda sucks, doesn’t it?”

“What sucks?” I asked, slightly confused. I could have sworn we were on the same page.

“What could have been?”

“Excuse me?” Did she just say could have been? Past tense?

“Yeah, what could have been….” She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “Forget it. I’m being silly.”

“Don’t do that,” I interrupted and cupped her face. “Don’t ever think your thoughts are silly. They’re important, and I want to know every. Single. One. Talk to me.” I tilted her pretty, delicate chin up so our eyes would meet.

“I just mean… isn’t that against the rules? Dating your friend’s sister?” My lips quirked up as I bent forward slowly, giving her more than enough time to back away. Something my troublemaker didn’t do. No, she stayed steady, ten toes down for whatever I was about to do.

“Baby girl, when it comes to you, fuck the rules.”

“Just like that?” she whispered. “But what about Sam and⁠—“

“Do you want to see where this goes? Do you want to get to know me a little more? Because I can tell you right here, right now, I want to get to know you better, too.”

“Even with…”

“What?”

“All your traveling? Your life.”

“I want you.” I opened and shut my mouth.

“What?” she asked, too observant for her own good.

“You’re not ready for that.”

“Try me.” My troublemaker loved to challenge me, to push the boundaries. And fuck me, I loved that she did.

“Stella,“ I warned, but I could see her stubbornness set in.

“Try me,” she repeated. I leaned in closer.

“Without even knowing your name, I knew you were it for me,” I admitted. She immediately laughed. But her smile died down when she realized it wasn’t just a smooth line but the god's honest truth.