Page 31

Chapter Thirty-One

MACKENZIE

My date ended several hours ago, but I stayed at the bar for another two hours after she left.

I hadn’t heard from Fallon all night, and texting her after my date felt weird—even though we’d done a lot more than that in the bookstore. God, the way she moaned my name unraveled me. Everything about her did, though.

I wondered how her talk with Drea went—if they talked at all. I felt bad for leaving her, but she insisted she was okay. I hated that she was upset. I hated that I had made her upset. But casual dating had been her idea, and I wanted to be completely honest with her, like we agreed—even if it killed me.

I hadn’t planned to say yes to the date, but she was nice enough, and I wanted to at least try to get Fallon out of my head. Tonight, I learned that was a mistake. Getting her out of my head was an impossibility.

The date was… alright. She was beautiful and sweet, but she wasn’t a curly redhead with freckles. She wasn’t the woman whose smile brought me to my knees. She wasn’t Fallon.

I finally decided to go home when I knew Fallon would most likely be asleep. The last thing I wanted was to run into her and have the inevitable “How was your date? Not that I care. I mean, we’re doing our own thing, so it doesn’t bother me at all. Except maybe it does, but I’ll never admit it” conversation. Yeah, no thanks.

I didn’t care what she said—I knew it bothered her. I just wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like I cared who she went out with.

Fallon still hadn’t texted me all day, and I didn’t want to have that conversation over the phone, so I avoided contact until later that night.

When I got home from work, I saw her getting her mail.

She turned to me and smiled as I approached my mailbox. Not what I was expecting. But then again, I hadn’t really expected much.

“Oh, hey. How was work?” Fallon asked.

“Hey. It was good. Glad to be home, as always. How was your talk with Drea?”

“Oh, uh, well… she yelled at me and used my full government name, which is never a good sign. For a second, I really thought she was going to hit me. But we talked it through. I think she’s okay now—though she might be bleaching the room as we speak.” She shrugged. “I probably owe her a new chair.”

“I’m glad she didn’t hit you. I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

She laughed. “No, you didn’t. I was equally at fault. Not that I regret it. Well, I mean… getting caught, yeah. But I can’t bring myself to regret what happened between us.”

“Good. I don’t either, by the way. Thanks for inviting me again, and I’m sorry I got you into trouble.”

She laughed nervously. “It’s okay.”

An awkward pause settled between us as she shifted her mail from one hand to the other. “How, uh… how was your date?”

She glanced at me briefly before quickly looking away, her gaze landing on some random spot on the floor.

I dreaded this. I hated even talking about the date, but I didn’t want to hide anything from her.

After going back and forth in my mind about what to say, I finally settled on the truth. “It was fine.”

“Just fine?” she pressed, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I didn’t hear you come home, and I went to bed pretty late. Not that I was waiting up for you or anything,” she added quickly, her words spilling out in a rush. “I was just catching up on some reading, but?—”

“Do you really want to hear all the juicy details of my date, Fallon?” I glanced over at her, unable to understand the expression on her face.

There were no juicy details—nothing happened. I couldn’t do it. But why did I feel the need to make it sound like there were?

“No, I guess not. So, are you going to see her again?”

I wasn’t planning on it. But instead of being honest, for some unknown reason, I shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe.”

“Oh. Well, okay.” She started heading toward the elevators, and I let out a sigh. I was such an idiot. Why hadn’t I just been honest? Why couldn’t I have told her my date was fine, but it would’ve been better if I was with her instead?

“Fallon!” I called after her, but she didn’t look at me until we were inside the elevator.

“I’m glad you had a good time.” She plastered on one of her fake smiles—the kind that never reached her eyes. She was lying.

I frowned. “Fallon?—”

“I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, it’s just been a long day. It really doesn’t bother me, Kenzie.” She shrugged, forcing another smile before pulling me in for a kiss.

I smiled warily and kissed her back. “Okay…” I didn’t believe her for a second, but the feeling of her body pressed against mine was too good to interrupt.

When we got off the elevator, she stopped me just as I was opening my door. “So, I was thinking…” She trailed a finger down my chest.

Then, without warning, she grabbed my shirt at the center and kissed me—hard. “How about you come inside and see if I can show you a time that’s better than ‘fine?’”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” I moaned as I caressed her hips, guiding us inside. Something was off, though. The way she was taking charge—that wasn’t like her. But was I about to complain? Hell no. I had no doubt in my mind that she could show me something I couldn’t find anywhere else.

We were lying in bed, naked, and I felt completely spent and satisfied. After a minute, I finally found the energy to speak.

“I’m going out with the girls for drinks on Saturday, and I wanted to see if you wanted to go? I know it’s last minute, and I was going to ask you earlier, but I kind of got… distracted.” I smirked.

She sat up and scooted away, looking nervous. “Oh, um, thank you, but I can’t.” Her eyes stayed anywhere but on me, and that alone made something tighten in my chest.

“Fallon, if you’re upset, please talk to me about it.”

She shook her head. “I’m not upset. I just… I have plans already.”

“Oh. Okay, no worries.” I smiled. “Another time, then. Anything exciting?”

She sighed. “I have a date.”

I froze. A date? Fallon had a date? Why was it so hot, and why was I having trouble breathing?

“Cool,” I said, like I was totally okay with it.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I should’ve been. It shouldn’t have been eating me up inside. No, not at all.

I forced a smile, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face before I kissed her forehead. “Yeah, of course. I’m good. Come on, let me tuck you in before I go. It’s getting late.”

I moved to get off the bed, but she stopped me by the wrist. “You don’t have to go. You can stay, if you… if you want.”

I wish I could’ve. I would’ve loved nothing more than to have stayed in that bed with her, to just forget everything else for a while. But I knew I couldn’t. It didn’t feel right, especially knowing she had a date.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Fallon. Our rules, remember?”

“Right,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “Of course.” She let go of my wrist and gave me a defeated smile, one that had my heart sinking.

I forced myself to leave, resisting the urge to climb back into bed with her, no matter how badly I wanted to. We had rules for a reason, and as much as it hurt, I knew I’d be smart to remember that.