Free Orion Cross My Sky by Rosa Sophia

They’ve got some nice desserts and…you okay?”
    He peered at her, noticing the way her cheeks had pinked, and her hair slipped around her face. Since the table remained empty, he was able to reach across and brush the hair away from her eyes.
    “You’re so beautiful,” he said, unable to stop the words from slipping between his lips. “You shouldn’t let your hair hide your face. Your eyes…” He withdrew and leaned against the stiff vinyl of the seat.
    She was quiet for a long moment before she clasped her hands before her on the table. “Um, it’s not the café.”
    “What?” So mesmerized by her beauty, he’d practically forgotten what he’d asked her.
    “The café. I’ve never actually been in there. It’s just that it’s real close to where I used to live.”
    “And where’s that?”
    “I…I’m a Pendleton. My father is Harris Pendleton.”
    “Oh.”
    The Pendletons. Harris Pendleton was always in the paper, donating money to various local charities, and supporting the Clearwater Historical Society. Hard to escape the name, even if you didn’t care to remember it. And Orion always remembered a customer’s car. He’d serviced the red pick-up numerous times, often wondering why Mr. Pendleton wanted such a vehicle. He quickly saw through him, realizing he was old money, and he had the desire to appear unremarkable. The bed of that truck barely saw any use, but that didn’t matter. Old money never showed it off. That was just the way of the world.
    Orion mulled this over as the waitress brought their drinks. He watched Tammy tear the paper off her straw and carefully place it in the glass of ice water before her.
    When she told him who her family was, she didn’t say it with pride. He realized she was afraid. Terrified, even. There was something hidden in her eyes. He’d gotten a brief glimpse of it, but she hid it well.
    Her family had secrets.
    Boy, do I know what that’s like.
    Dinner conversation was light and enjoyable, and it warmed him to see how she laughed at his jokes and blushed when he gazed at her. But the entire time, he kept wondering what she was concealing, and what made her so skittish whenever he touched her.
    Something had happened to her, he was sure of it. He just didn’t know what. But he would find out. And when he did, he had a feeling it would shock the shit out of him.

18

Chapter Eighteen
    O n the way out of the restaurant, Tammy waited while Orion chatted with the owner of the place, Tony O’Connor. He was middle-aged, bald, and had a thin mustache. He and Orion joked around for a few minutes, Tammy was introduced, and then they left.
    “You come here a lot, huh?” she said as they stepped outside. It was beginning to darken.
    “Yeah.” He slipped his hand around hers, and she shivered, but not from the cold. “My house isn’t exactly pleasant.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “My parents are wacky.”
    For a moment, he seemed as if he wanted to say something else, but he was refraining.
    In an effort to make him feel more comfortable, she said, “Mine, too.”
    She’d noticed he had a long, soft black scarf wrapped around his neck, but she hadn’t really thought about it until now. He let go of her hand to pull it up, wrapping it around his head so it covered the right side of his face. She stepped around to his left side, tilting her head questioningly.
    “You okay?” she asked.
    “Sorry, I just have to do this.”
    “Why? It’s not that cold out.”
    For a fleeting moment, there was a glare in his eye, a look of annoyance. But it disappeared as he took her hand again. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
    “It’s getting dark.”
    “That’s okay, you’re safe. You’ve got me.” He squeezed her hand, and her heart fluttered. “Besides, tonight’s a new moon. The stars will be really clear, and there’re supposed to be shooters.”
    “Oh, really? You like astronomy?”
    He smirked under the yellow light of the antiqued streetlamps. “I