Sweet Tea (Ominis x American OC romance)

Chapter 16: Wishing star

~~Maylee~~

She honestly had never been happier in her life. Spending time with Ominis was enjoyable no matter what they did together, from teaching him how to cook, to giggling while he attempted to yank a weed out of the garden, to softer moments of quietly reading to him. Of course the sex was great too...

She'd never met a man like him before, though. He was gentle and sincere, but with a hidden strength she couldn't help but admire. His smiles were amazing, and his laugh even more so. She'd really fallen head over heels for this man, but she was so nervous about saying anything to him about it. What if he didn't feel the same? She came with a lot of baggage, after all. He'd seen how she was after his brother had choked her, he knew what she'd had in her past. Still, he didn't seem to mind...

But there was no greater pleasure for her than to introduce something new to him. He'd been so sheltered from good things growing up, it was like his family had actively worked at making him miserable. He'd never had strawberry shortcake. He'd never had apple cobbler. He said Sebastian had gotten him little cakes for his birthdays, so at least there was that, but that was only when he was in school... she couldn't imagine a family treating one of their own like he had been treated. Even using such a terrible curse on him...

It was on a night a few days later that they were sitting on the floor of the study, lying together against the pile of pillows they'd collected from the rest of the house. She was reading a book to him, leaning back against him as he sat with his eyes closed to take in her words. He often did that when he seemed to be imagining things, closing his eyes as if it helped him think better.

She was reading fairy tales to him, muggle tales that he'd never heard of because no one had read to him when he was young. Such a pity, because he certainly liked it now. She'd just have to make up for it. This story was Cinderella, who wished upon a star to be able to go to the ball.

"That's something I'd always wished I could see." Ominis said softly, resting his cheek against her hair. "Stars... Sebastian described them to me, but I don't think it's quite the same. He said things about constellations, but... I didn't really know what he meant."

Maylee hummed softly. "I could show you the shapes of some of the constellations if ya want?" She said softly.

His brow furrowed in confusion as he lifted his head. "How?"

"Give me your hand." She smiled softly. When he offered it she brought it forward palm up, holding it in one of her hands while she traced along his palm with her finger.

"To find the North Star- also called the wishin' star- you gotta find the Big Dipper first. It's a big constellation in the shape of a ladle." She traced along his hand in the shape of the constellation so he could feel it on his palm. "It's also called Ursa Major."

His eyes widened and he smiled happily. "Which one is the North Star, then?" He asked excitedly.

She loved seeing how excited he was, her heart fluttering happily at the sight of that smile. "Ya follow the line of the ladle up- and it's brighter than any other star. They're little white lights against a dark black sky." She leaned back against him as she held his hand. "When I was little pa told me they were fireflies stuck up there. They're not of course, but... makes me like fireflies more."

Ominis rested his cheek against her hair again. "You loved your father dearly, didn't you?"

"I did. He was a hard worker... wanted nothing but the best for all of us kids. He was always helpin' people, even when no one else would. Didn't matter who ya were, where ya came from or what ya looked like. He always said, 'sometimes people just need a lift up when they're down.'"