Page 54 of Grip Me Tight
I shrug. “It’s not a big deal. It was kind of fun and your t-shirt idea was a great one.” I look down at my t-shirt. “Do I get to sign this one for you later?”
“Absolutely. With something completely cheesy too. Like ‘feel the Steele’ positioned right above the ‘it’s yummy’ slogan.”
“Baby, you want to advertise that?” I arch an eyebrow suggestively, loving the way it makes her giggle.
The guy behind the counter passes her a cone. “You got vanilla? Really? With all these amazing choices?”
She takes a long, slow lick of her cone and I swear I feel it all along my cock. We need to take this date back to the cottage.
“It’s vanilla bean and it’s delicious, by the way. Sometimes familiar childhood favorites are the best.”
The truth in her statement reverberates in my chest. I’ve been all over the world with every luxury imaginable. I have the opportunity to try something new and exciting every day if I want and god knows I’m grateful for it. Especially as a kid who once had nothing. There’s no part of my childhood I want to revisit. My happiest memories are ones I spent with Sterling’s family. It’s so fucked up that I don’t even actually have a claim to those memories, they’re someone else’s family moments. But I still cherish them.
And Sterling was a part of it. Don always stopped for ice cream on our way to the lake. Noah would ask for a quadruple scoop and I’d always ask for a small cone. Emma would come back from the window with a double cone for each of us. Sterling always got two scoops of vanilla, even if she could barely finish half of one. Noah would take care of the rest of it for her.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks.
I blink, the light shining through the windows outlining her curves in the white sundress. I should say something to make her blush, to remind her we’re fake friends with benefits here, but instead I blurt, “I’m thinking about how lucky I am that drone caught us on the balcony.”
She tilts her head. “Did you get too much sun today?”
I grab her hand, unable to stop touching her for a minute, and we wave good-bye to the guys from the store. Outside we head down the street towards some benches surrounded by flowers boxes.
I’ve added a ball cap from the café to my outfit, and I pull it down low, as we sit together, the fresh smell of summer air and flowers drifting around us. Sterling stretches out her legs, licking around the rim of the cone. “Maybe the store should have paid you sponsorship money to walk around in their clothes.”
I laugh. “Maybe. Although I’m hoping if someone sees me now, they’ll just assume I’m a nobody who got a free shirt from Tanner Steele.”
Sterling nudges my leg with her knee. “You could never be a nobody, Tanner.”
“We got lucky. Your dad helped us so much. There’s plenty of kids out there with talent who never get anywhere. If it wasn’t for your family…” I trail off, shrugging.
She shifts, turning on the bench to face me. “If it wasn’t for my family, you’d still be something amazing, Tanner.”
I munch on my cone. “Come on, Sterling. I know you were pretty sheltered back then, but you know my mother had issues. You know your parents took care of me because even when mom was alive, she wasn’t really the parenting type. Sometimes you’re stuck by what your situation in life is, and mine would have been a dead end if it wasn’t for your family.”
She places her hand on my leg. “You are not your mother, Tanner. I’m glad mom and dad were there for you, but I have no doubt even if you hadn’t been with us, you would still be a star today. There’s something inside you that just shines.”
My chest tightens and I gaze across the street at the storefronts. Wait a minute. I stand up, holding out my hand to Sterling. “Do you see what I see?”
She wrinkles her nose. “More flowers?”
“No.” I point across the street. “A drugstore.”
21
Sterling
Today did not turn out as expected. From our silent flight to Toronto, to dealing with Tanner as a grumpy chauffeur, I kind of had my doubts about this whole plan.
But when he asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend, I melted like the ice cream I’d just devoured.
There’s something irresistible about the hint of vulnerability combined with his rock star swagger. As far as our game goes, I’ll pretend he’s a giant blue alien, if that’s what he wants. The way I feel when I’m with him is the way I felt when I woke up for the first time without pain.
It was weeks after my surgery, and I opened my eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my face. I sat up and while there was stiffness, there wasn’t even a twinge to remind me I had an extra piece. Instead, I was simply whole.
I can’t let myself get used to it. He’s a rock star and I work for the band right now.
The scene at the ice cream shop is a just a small example of what it’s going to be like when we go on tour. Except, by then Tanner won’t be holding my hand. Not to mention he’s definitely got some hang-ups about us because of Noah being my brother and my family in general.
