Finding Sunshine (5 page)

“Next we have Travis,” the auctioneer continues, with the first bachelor who gladly causes a bidding war between several women and ends up on a date with one who spent three hundred dollars. The fundraiser is clearly going well this year.

Several more women are auctioned off next. I’m barely paying attention to what is being said about them. Like I’ve been trying to tell everyone, coming here tonight was about seeing my friends again, and having a good time.

“Next we have Nina,” the auctioneer says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Nina? My Nina?

Sunshine.

Suddenly, the stage has my full, undivided attention, as I hold my breath in anticipation.

Fuck, could it be true?

Suddenly, she steps out, wearing a gauzy, almost see-through floor length white dress that barely hides the beautiful body underneath. She’s as fucking gorgeous as I thought she’d be. Her brown hair is curled into long curlicues, and her smile is blinding. She’s a fucking
Goddess
. I can't breath, and can feel myself panting.

“
Fuck! I know her
,” I whisper excitedly, craning my neck to get a better look at her on the stage.

“What? How could you? Becca only became friends with her last summer,” Richard asks confused, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“We met at
Starbucks
on Monday morning.”

“You were at
Starbucks
?” I hear him ask incredulously, as I push my way towards the front of the crowd surrounding the stage.

“Nina is a twenty-four year old photographer, who enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, and making homemade ice cream. Men only, sorry again ladies.”

“Just so you know, she was the girl I wanted to introduce you to,” Richard whispers, giving me an,
I told you so
look. I nearly jump out of my skin when he speaks, oblivious to anything other than what’s happening on the stage. I hadn’t realized that he had followed me. “She’s that new friend of Becca’s I told you about, a total sweetheart.”

“Who will start us off at—”

“One hundred,” I find myself saying loudly raising my number as high in the air as physically possible. I may have also jumped up a bit in excitement, as well.

Richard is not the only one laughing at me. I can hear the auctioneer’s amused chuckle crackling through the sound system, but I don’t care. There is no way I’m going to pass up the opportunity to get to know Nina better.

My Sunshine.

“One twenty−five,” my so−called friend Arthur says from across the room.

“One fifty,” I counter loudly, scowling back at him.

“What the fuck is Arthur doing?” I demand of Richard.

“I know they've had drinks together a few times,” he says, and then seeing the scowl I know is on my face adds, “It was nothing serious.”

“One seventy−five,” Arthur returns, grinning and waving at me.
Asshole.

I guess I’ll have to move in with my sister. I don’t care how much of next month’s rent I’m spending, there is no way I’m going to miss this opportunity to spend time with Nina, to find out if we are as compatible as my gut tells me we are.

“Two hundred,” I counter. I turn towards where Arthur is standing and notice that Richard is whispering something into his ear. I hadn’t noticed that my romance-addled friend had left my side. Seems like he’s doing me a solid and trying to talk my obnoxious former friend out of continuing the contest. Arthur smiles at me and makes the motion that he's bowing out of the bidding.

“Going once, going twice, sold for two hundred dollars to number twelve,” the auctioneer says, smiling brightly. “Sir, please come and claim your date.”

I quickly walk over towards the stairs, which lead up to the stage, having no idea what to do or say next. I’m still reeling from the fact that she’s here,
within my reach.

“Hello, Sunshine,” I say, as she slowly steps out of the blinding light and down the stairs in front of me. Her responsive smile is dazzling, and quiets any worries I may have had that she wouldn’t be happy to see me.

My Sunshine.

Fuck, I’ve lived in darkness all my life.

.

~ Nina ~

“Hello,” I say with breathless and shocked excitement as I step out of the blinding light to see the man who is my date for the evening.

Mr. Starbucks!

Standing in front of me is the gorgeous, puppy-loving man I haven’t been able to get out of my head since we met. His contagious smile, his sparkling blue eyes that clung to me, his low, sexy growl, and the way he came to my rescue.
Not that I needed rescuing
.

I had thought Mr. Starbucks was attractive when we first met, but seeing him standing in front of me wearing a pair of dark jeans, a grey sports jacket over a tight fitting black t-shirt, his hair pulled neatly back into a tiny ponytail, and the air around him crackling with power—I can’t breathe.
He’s definitely an alpha male!

“Hello,” I say again, having finally caught my breath and found my voice.

“Hello, Nina,” he grins down at me, clearly amused.

Way to make a first—
well, second
—impression.
I wonder if he even remembers me? Let's not get our hopes up. How many people do you think he meets in one day in a city this large? Really why would he remember me?

The nervousness I felt when my name had been called to step onto the stage now seems silly.

“Hi, umm—” I say lamely, sticking out my hand in greeting.

“Aaron,” he says, answering my unasked question. His large hand engulfs mine, sending a spark up my arm. We stand there awkwardly holding hands for several seconds before Aaron releases me and tucks a few stray hairs behind his ears, almost as if he’s nervous.

“Shall we?” he asks, putting his hand on my back. The heat of his touch seers my skin through the thin material of my dress.

Guiding me away from the crowd around the stage, he stops after several steps and asks, “Are you cold?”

“Just a little,” I admit softly. So caught up in what’s unfolding, I hadn’t even noticed I’ve been shivering.
Why did I ever let Becca talk me into wearing this dress?

“Here,” he mutters softly, removing his hand from my back, causing a chill to run through me from the loss.

I watch transfixed as he quickly sheds his sports jacket. My gaze is locked on every flex and movement of his chest and arms. I feel heat pulsating throughout my body, just watching him.
What would he look like taking off his shirt?

No man has ever made my body respond the way Aaron does, and I’m definitely no longer cold.

“Thank you,” I whisper nervously as he helps me slip my arms into the sleeves, enveloping me in his warm scent. I can make out hints of coffee, fresh cold air, and—
peanut butter cookies?

“You’re welcome,” he answers, taking the lapels and gently pulling the jacket closed, covering me completely. It hits the back of my knees with the sleeves falling past my hands, and I’m totally surrounded by him.

And I love every second of it.

“I must look ridiculous.” I find myself blurting out loud.

“Adorable.” He grins down at me.

Great. ‘Adorable.’ Just what I was going for. Not.

“I look good on you, Sunshine.” He whispers, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on my temple. “You smell good, too.”

“I showered before I came,” I reply inanely, eliciting a rumbling chuckle from the man leaning over me.

‘I showered?’ Could I be any more of a loser?

“Hygiene is important,” he adds in what I hope is a teasing tone, although I don’t know him well enough to be sure. But when I look up, Aaron’s blue eyes are sparkling brightly. He returns his warm hand to my back and continues to guide me away from the auction.

So caught up in the reality of seeing him again, I’m not paying attention to where I’m being led. Soon we’re standing in front of a table, where one of the bartenders is collecting money and selling raffle tickets.

“And two 50/50 raffle tickets too, please,” Aaron says, leaning over the table and giving me a delicious view of his perfectly round, fit backside.

“Fill this out, Sunshine,” he says, breaking me out of my thoughts and extending one of the tickets towards me.

“What?”

“It’s a raffle ticket for you.”

“Oh. Thank you,” I say, taking the sheet from him. Our fingertips touch all too briefly, and I feel the familiar tingle again. “You didn’t have to. I bought one earlier.”

“Well, now you have a better chance of winning. Help support your
Starbucks
habit,” he teases gently.

“You remember?” I gasp in pleasant surprise. Smiling, I turn and wrap my free hand around his wrist in excitement.

Mr. Starbucks remembers me!
He remembers our all too brief encounter on that awful cold, snowy day—when everything seemed to be going wrong.

“Of course I do,” he mutters solemnly. Reaching out with his other hand, he gently pulls on one of my curls then lets it spring back into place. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Golly!

After Aaron paid an outrageous amount to spend the evening with me—
which he could’ve had for free
—and I filled out my raffle ticket, we turn to move away from the table. Aaron slides his hand from along my back and onto my hip, pulling me possessively closer into his side.

“Are you thirsty?”

“A little,” I answer, smiling up at him as our steps fall into sync.

“Then let’s get you something to drink.” He directs our path towards the long bar. Once there, he helps me up onto the only empty stool and stands next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. The bar area is pretty crowded, but where we are situated at one end is relatively secluded and private.

“Are you still cold?”

“No. You’ve been keeping me nice and warm.” I twist on my stool so I can smile up at him as I pull his jacket around me tighter.

“Good. But just in case, how about an Irish coffee?”

“Yummy. My favorite.”

Yummy? What am I, twelve?

“Adorable,” he says softly, tugging on one of my curls with his free hand. “So, how long have you known Richard?”

“I met him last summer when I became friends with his wife, Becca.” I say, before exclaiming, “Wait, you’re Aaron!”

“Yes.” He grins down at me.

“No, I mean, Becca said a friend of Richard’s named Aaron was coming tonight and she wanted me to meet him,” I laugh. I had been so caught up in seeing Mr. Starbucks again, I hadn’t realized that he was the very man Becca had wanted to set me up with.
Girl has excellent taste!

“Richard said something similar. Though he didn’t tell me your name,” he says, shifting his body closer to mine.

“I’ve never seen you here before. What night do you usually come out?” I ask, relaxing enough to finally take in all of the masculine beauty of his face. The blue eyes are like homing beacons, having distracted me from the perfectly shaded five o’clock shadow, and a jaw that can only be described as chiseled.

“I haven’t come for a few months. I work nights, at another bar. If I’d known about you though, I would’ve definitely been here instead.” He snakes a hand inside of the jacket I’m wearing. Then he slowly runs that hand across my stomach, just shy of touching the underside of my swelling breasts. “Is this okay?”

I answer him by placing my hand on his arm and leaning closer towards him. His continued touch is causing warm excitement to spread throughout my body.

“What about this?” he asks, moving his hand up to cup my cheek. His arm around my back brings our chests within a breath away from each other, and his hand still holding my face steadies me.
“I’ve been aching to taste your lips since we first met
,
”
he whispers.

Tilting his head slightly, he licks his own lips before they slowly descend onto mine. My hands desperately cling to the front of his t-shirt in anticipation. The hand on my cheek moves into the hair at the nape of my neck, and he fists my hair. I’m nearly panting in excitement as he pulls me closer and leans in to finally kiss me.

Our first kiss.

Racing hearts.

Breath mingling softly.

Noses bumping.

His lips gently touch and move slowly against mine. Testing, tasting, and building my desire. I moan in pleasure as his tongue teases my lips, encouraging me to welcome him in.

His low groan of pleasure reverberates through me as I open my mouth and we truly taste one another for the first time.

Aaron’s gentle investigation gives way to a possessive plunder that has me gasping for breath. My body is no longer my own. I’ve given myself over to him. My body warms and melts into his at the mere thought of such surrender.

As I feel his stiffening reaction digging into my hip, I rub my body closer, and I know I’m echoing his own moans. His assault slows, and he returns to a teasing caress of my tongue with his own.

This kiss is nothing like what I had expected from him.

It’s better. Perfect. Delicious!

Slowly, he pulls back. Releasing my hair, he wraps both arms loosely around my waist, resting our foreheads together. My hands loosen their grasp of his shirt as my breathing slowly returns to normal.

“You taste even better than I imagined.” He says, reiterating my own thoughts, his voice rough with meaning.

“You too,” I laugh softly.

We’re interrupted when the bartender, John, makes his way over to us.

“Hey Aaron, Nina, what can I get you two?” he asks, flashing his boy−band charming smile. John isn’t handsome—he’s beautiful, and I have no doubt he makes quite a living off of his nightly tips.

“Two Irish coffees, please.” Mr. Starbucks orders for us, his arms still tightly wrapped around me.

“I just started brewing a new pot, so it’ll be a few minutes.”

“We have all night,” Mr. Starbucks—
no
—Aaron says wolfishly, as I lean into him. I run my hand along his muscular forearm. I can’t help but wonder what his hard chest looks like beneath the shirt he’s wearing.
Is it smooth and well defined? Or does he have the perfect smattering of hair that leads down to happiest of trails?

“What where you taking pictures of the other morning?” Aaron asks, lifting his hand off of my stomach to play with one of my curls, wrapping it around his finger casually.

“I’m attempting to do a series of photographs of the city awakening,” I answer plainly. “What were you doing there?”

“I’m the manager of a dog trainer program at the shelter down the street,” he says happily, clearly loving his job.

“So you really do like dogs.”

“They’re man’s best friend,” he grins.

“I always wanted a dog when I was a kid, but my dad—step-father—claims he’s allergic. Really, he just thinks animals in the house are unhygienic. He’s a pediatric surgeon at Mass General, who’s a complete and utter germaphobe.”

“Every little girl should have a dog to follow her around and protect her,” he says, kissing my temple.

“Did your family have one?”

“Yeah. We had this great mutt. He was a black and white Husky Lab mix, who used to follow me around everywhere,” he says, his voice filled with happy nostalgia. “It helped that I used to sneak him food from my plate during dinner.”

“What was his name?”

“Leo,” he answers, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Why do I get the feeling like there’s a story there?”

“My parents let my little sister name him. At the time, she was obsessed with that actor, you know the one in that movie where the ship sinks.”

“You mean
Titanic
, with Leonardo DiCaprio?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Her room was like a fuckin’ shrine to him. Pictures everywhere. I’m pretty sure she even had his poster on the ceiling above her bed,” he says disgusted, clearly not understanding the allure that is Leo!

“Please tell me Russell—it is Russell, right?” I ask, unsure if I had remembered his dog’s name correctly.

“Yeah.” He nods his head.

“Please tell me that he isn’t named after Russell Crowe or Russell Brand,” I say teasingly.

“No. In Latin, Russell means ‘red-haired,’ and his coat is more reddish than it is brown,” he says grinning at me.

“Would you let me take his photograph sometime?”

“Of course. You’ll have to show me some of your other pictures, too,” Aaron says, seemingly enthusiastically.

“You really want to see them?”

“Yeah, why wouldn't I?”

Truthfully, Aaron seems too good to be true. Not only is he gorgeous, but also thoughtful, kind, and seems genuinely interested in getting to know me.
If I don’t stop smiling, my face is going break in two.

“Here you go. Two Irish coffees,” John says, interrupting us as he places the mugs down on the bar and smiles kindly at me.

“Thanks, John.”

“Thank you,” I say, before reaching for my mug and taking a large sip. Then quickly thumping it back on the bar exclaiming, “Ouch! Golly, that’s wicked hot.”