Dancing On The Edge Of A Knife

39. Talk

"What changed your mind?" Devon asked, stroking Ester's hair as they laid in bed, her on his chest.

He wanted to know, even though he didn't really care. He just wanted her to be with him and was happy with it. But he also didn't want her to regret it in case her reason was to be spontaneous or something like that. Ester took a while to reply and he feared she didn't even have an answer.

"I like you too. Despite what I said, you're right. We should try it out, even though I still feel bad because we're doing it behind Sierra's back." Ester told him, letting her finger draw small circles on his chest.

"Ester, can we settle on just not thinking about her? She's my sister and your friend, I know. But this shouldn't be about her. It's about us." Devon planted a kiss on her head. Ester closed her eyes before forcing her mind to stop thinking about Sierra.

"You're right." She whispered and leaned up to peck his lips. Devon kept her head close with his hand and they soon started another round of making out.

Both not caring about a thing as they caressed each other. Ester was happy, just plain happy. Devon was probably even happier. He felt the excitement after finally having convinced her and the sparks when they kissed. And when they stopped and continued to just lay in bed again, with her head resting on his chest, they enjoyed each other's company.

"And what about you? When did you start liking me?" Ester asked him after a while. She was genuinely curious.
"I can't give you an exact date. Mason probably knows that better than me. But I can tell you when I noticed that I liked you." Devon offered.

"I'm all ear." She sat up and looked down at him. God, she looked beautiful. Devon almost forgot what he wanted to say at the sight of her. But then she lifted an eyebrow and he cleared his throat.

"After the almost kiss at the beach house. I had no clue what to feel about it. And the following day I saw you in ballroom, dancing with this guy. I was jealous. That's when I realized it. But I was definitely intrigued by you ever since you first kicked my shin." He told her honestly and Ester blushed when she remembered that day at the beach.

"That was months ago." She observed and he nodded.
"Took me a while to man up. Mason and mom said the same thing when they found out that I like you." He chuckled, causing Ester's eyes to widen.

"They know?" He caught the edge in her voice and sighed before sitting up as well.
"I figured there's no point denying it. And maybe if we tell them, we won't have an issue with her." Devon murmured, not wanting to say his sister's name.

"Tell them? Devon, we're already dancing on the edge of a knife here. If we tell them and she finds out somehow, it will be even worse than if we tell her." Ester said. She wasn't exactly wrong. It would be a great risk to tell Mason and his mom.

"So, we can't tell anybody?" He asked and Ester nodded, before shaking her head.
"We can tell Olivia?" Ester tried, but Devon just rolled his eyes.
"Do that. At least I won't have to climb through your window in the future." He sighed before letting his back fall onto the mattress again as his head hit the pillow.

"Oh, don't be like that. We don't have to tell a lot of people in order to know that it's real." Ester said, caressing the side of his face with her hand. Devon leaned into her touch.
"I know." He whispered and closed his eyes. But then they shot open again and his eyes bored into hers.

"But we're still doing this the right way. I'll organize dates and all that. Starting with tomorrow, Sunday. I'm inviting you for lunch." He said and Ester blushed before nodding. She bit her lip from smiling when he just stared at her.

"I've never done this before." She admitted when she couldn't stand his intense look any longer. Devon gulped before telling her to lay down with him. Once she was settled next to him again, he turned his body towards her.

"I'm also new to this whole dating scene. I don't know if you knew, but I never dated. It was either just a hook up or nothing." He admitted, making Ester feel special.
"But with you it's different. You're so different." He kissed her nose gently.

"I want you to feel comfortable around me. And know you can be yourself at all times. And I won't force you to do anything you don't want. Ever." He finished, looking straight into her eyes.

Well damn. If someone walked up to Ester months ago and told her Devon Stone would ever mutter those words to her, she would've laughed at that person's ridiculousness and maybe kicked their shin for great measure.

"Now I feel bad for kicking you all these times." Ester whispered, totally meaning it. Devon laughed and buried his face into Ester's neck.
"Wow." He said after sobering up.

"Here I am, trying to be all romantic and stuff. And you say this." He shook his head in amusement.
"I don't think I'm romantic. Unless kissing you means being romantic, then I am." She smiled, leaning in to peck Devon's lips.

"That's probably better. Because I refuse to be a full-time romantic boyfriend." The word got out before he realized what he was saying.
"Once we become a couple, of course." He quickly added, feeling like an idiot.

He needed to turn it down a little. He was being impatient with kissing her last night and maybe it did turn out to be a good move. But for the rest of this dating thing, he should probably stick to the rules he read on the internet. First date, lunch in a restaurant. Second date, a hike or something other athletic. And third date meant dinner at his place. He needed to stick to that plan.

"Anyways, so how was your day?" He asked, almost making Ester laugh loudly. He was being so cute right now. It amused her to see him that unsure of his own next moves. At least she wasn't the only rookie here.

"It was okay. Quiet and boring. How was yours?" She asked, relieving Devon when she just casually continued their conversation, not seeming to mind his little slip up.
"Boring as well. Weekends always are." Devon said.

"What do you do on weekdays. I mean, you don't work right?" She asked him.
"I don't work? Where did that come from?" He almost sounded insulted and Ester widened her eyes.

"Well, you said you lost your license, so I figured you- Nevermind, what do you work as?" She felt stupid.

"After losing my license, I built an institute for medicine and young aspiring doctors. It's basically a program that lets medicine students research and study on anything and everything. It's a great opportunity for them to learn something outside of university. To discover new stuff that's not necessarily on their schedule. I'm there to help and assist most of the time. Since I'm not a doctor anymore, that's all I'm allowed to do." Devon answered, surprising Ester to the core.

"Seriously?" She asked him and he sighed before nodding.
"Didn't expect that, huh?" He asked and Ester shrugged.
"Wow. You really like medicine, don't you?" Ester asked and Devon laughed.

"It's the only thing I know. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to become a doctor. And I did. I studied in Switzerland and also started my career there." He told her.
"And you came to Silverthorne, why?" Ester asked and instantly felt his body tense up.

"I was born here, my family was here." He said, but Ester knew that wasn't the only reason.
"Oh." She responded, not wanting to ask him yet. He would tell her if he wanted to.

Silence surrounded them and after a few more minutes, Ester could hear his faint snores. So she decided to call it a night and settle down.

With her unanswered question though, she found it hard to fall asleep. Maybe the reason he was here was also the reason he lost his license?