Page 15 of To Fall or Not to Fall

Chapter Ten

T heo

The air is crisp, and I feel a touch of excitement, standing here on this farm in the middle of nowhere.

I can smell pinecones and recently cut grass, and I’ve never felt so warm and cozy in my life.

I’m so far removed from my penthouse in Manhattan, yet I don’t miss it.

I don’t miss the hustle and bustle or the wheeling and dealing.

And I’m not sure why.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve needed a vacation and just didn’t realize it.

I had no intention of actually coming tonight.

I didn’t want to ride on a wagon filled with itchy straw and smelly strangers.

And yet, here I am. Then there is Ava, standing in my jacket, looking beautiful and humming a song about bobbing for apples and eating pumpkin pie.

She’s just invited everyone to the bookstore afterwards for hot cocoa, and I really hope she’s not planning on giving it away for free. Not that I’m going to say anything, though. I have to learn to keep my mouth shut. Ultimately, I’m not here to help her become more business savvy.

I’m here to take her business.

“So, what’s this hayride going to be like?” I ask her as we wait in line for our turn. We’re at the back of the pack, as she wants all the paying guests to go first, which makes sense.

“It’ll be bumpy,” she says with a small smile. She runs her fingers through her curly hair—something I notice she does when she’s feeling nervous about something.

I wonder if she wants me to kiss her. I want to hold her hand, but it would be utterly inappropriate.

“What’s the song you’re singing?” I ask, because I’m not sure what else to say.

“Oh, it’s just one I made up as a kid. Being the fall queen and all.”

“Why do you love this season so much?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because it’s about giving and not expecting to receive. I mean, I love Christmas, and I love that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but I think it’s become so commercialized. It’s become about what presents people get as opposed to what we can do to help others.

“Easter, too. Christ was risen, and yet people just want to get Easter eggs and eat chocolate. And summer I love, but we’re so busy here that I just feel overwhelmed.

“Fall, though… fall, the sky is blue and orange and red. The sun still exists, but it’s not too hot. The wind is cool and caressing. The leaves are changing, and it just reminds me that we’re here on earth another year—that we get to celebrate and give thanks.”

She giggles slightly. “Do I sound too airy-fairy for you?”

“No. What you said was actually quite beautiful.” I nod slowly. She has a way with words. I understand why she sells books. I wonder if she writes, as well.

“What about you? What’s your favorite festival?” she asks, looking me up and down and licking her lips.

I take a step forward and grab her hands. The last couple has gotten onto the hayride, and it’s just us now. I don’t know where Aria or Arabella are, and I don’t care.

“My favorite festival?” I ask her.

“No. What’s your favorite season?”

“You asked me what my favorite festival is.”

“I did?” She blinks rapidly. “I didn’t mean to say that. I meant to ask, what’s your favorite season?”

“Was your mind occupied by something else?”

“No. Why ever would you think that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re looking at my lips, and I’m looking at yours.”

I grab her hands and bring her toward me.

“What are you doing, Theo?”

“Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” I say, and finally press my lips against hers.

She moans softly. I run my hands through her hair, and she pushes against me.

I feel her lips on mine, and I grab the side of her face, holding her tenderly.

My tongue slips into her mouth, and she tastes like peaches—unexpected, because I thought she’d taste like pumpkin spice. But peaches are even better.

She moans again as I run my fingers up the small of her back, and she presses her breasts against my chest.

She pulls back slightly, her eyelashes blinking as she gazes at me. “You just kissed me.”

“I did.” I laugh lightly. “I’m glad you know what that is.”

“But… what? You can’t just kiss me.”

“Why not? Would you rather we were in the street, rolling around in crispy leaves before my lips touched yours?”

She blinks rapidly. “No, but?—”

“I’ll kiss you again if you want. Right now.”

She parts her lips. “We can wait until we go back to the store and have some hot cocoa.”

“Maybe there’ll be some twinkling lights and toasted marshmallows, and crackling wood over a fire. And I’ll grab you by the hand and spin you around, and then I’ll kiss you.”

“I don’t have a fireplace in my store. It’s not that big.”

“Pity.” I nod slowly.

“It sounds like that would be something you’d enjoy.”

“When I was younger and used to spend the winter seasons with my grandparents, every night, they’d make me a hot cup of cocoa and top it with marshmallows, which we’d toast. Then we’d sing songs and sit by the fire.

Grandpa would throw logs on, and Grandma would sing, and then we’d look at old photographs of her when she was younger.

She’d tell me how proud she was of me, and how I was going to grow up to be the best man in the world.

“At that time, I wanted to be a cop. So I say I’d be the best cop in the world, and she’d say I’d be a crime fighter better than Batman and Superman. And as a little boy, that meant the world to me.”

I pause. It’s been years since those memories surfaced.

“That sounds really lovely,” she says. “I take it you’re not a cop now.”

“No. I don’t think I would’ve made a good cop. I like money too much.”

“Money’s the root of all evil,” Ava says.

I can’t help but laugh. Of course, she would say that; she, who is so bad with it.

“I’m glad I came tonight,” I say, staring at her. She offers me a small smile. I grab her hand, and she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she squeezes mine, and I squeeze back. Our eyes meet, and I can see happiness on her face. But what’s even stranger is that I can feel it in my heart.

She reaches out and grabs my other hand. “Kind of OCD,” she says. “If you hold one hand, we have to hold both.”

“Oh, okay.”

A devilish thought hits me, and I burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she asks.

“Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

“I do. Tell me.”

“I was just thinking… if you’re OCD, how does that work with other things?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I’m sucking on one nipple, do you need me to suck on both, or just play with one with my fingers?”

She blushes as her eyes widen. “Theo!”

“I’m sorry. You most probably think I’m a pervert.”

She shakes her head. “I mean, maybe just a bit.”

“Oh, I mean, we’ve barely kissed once, and now you’re…” She bites down on her lip.

“Well, do I make you uncomfortable talking about sensual things?”

“No, but… we barely know each other. We haven’t even been on a date. And you are talking about, well… sucking on my nipples.”

“Aren’t you curious to see if I’m a good sucker?”

I throw my head back, laughing as she glares at me.

“We can fix that.”

“Fix what?” she says.

“Us never having gone on a date.”

The words are out of my mouth before I know what I’m saying, but in this moment, I don’t care.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

“I don’t know. If I asked you, would you say yes?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs.

“Well, think about it.”

I lean forward and kiss her again. She moans softly, and I just love the sound. She pulls away, slipping off my coat and handing it back to me.

“I’m too hot for this right now.”

I take it from her and let it drop to the ground.

She stares at me, confused. “What are you doing?”

I grab her hand and pull her to the side of the barn, pressing her up against the rough boards as I lean in for another kiss.

She runs her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck, and I slide my hand up under her sweater.

My fingers trail along the side of her stomach, brushing higher toward her bra.

She stills, but I press harder against her, letting her feel just how hard and ready I am.

She moans softly as my fingers rub against the thin fabric of her bra. I can feel her nipples, hard and aching. Glancing around to make sure no one’s nearby, I reach down and tug her sweater off. Her eyes widen, but I only grin wickedly.

“I’m not a small-town boy,” I murmur.

She laughs.

I pull her top off next, leaving her standing against the barn wall in nothing but her bra. I kiss her collarbone, then the side of her neck, then down the valley between her breasts. She’s breathing hard now.

“What are you going to do?” she asks breathlessly.

I don’t answer. Instead, I slide her bra straps down, baring her breasts. I lean down and kiss her right nipple, sucking gently until she moans and tangles her fingers in my hair. Then I kiss across to her left nipple, giving it the same attention.

A sudden noise breaks through the haze. She gasps and shoves me back quickly.

“Oh my gosh. What if someone sees us?”

She pulls her bra straps up, fumbling to grab her top and sweater. She yanks them on, her face flushed, her breathing unsteady.

I open my mouth. “I’m sorry?—”

“Don’t be.” She shakes her head, a giggle slipping out. “That was pretty exciting.”

Her words make me freeze. Sweet, innocent Ava, saying that?

“Just because I’m a small-town girl doesn’t mean I don’t like to get down and dirty.”

I stare at her in surprise. Those were not the words I’d expected.

“I may be a small-town girl,” she says softly, reaching up to touch my face, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t have urges and needs.

But I’m working tonight. So if you want to take this further—or ask me on a real date—it’ll have to be on a day when I don’t already have plans. I have a bookstore to save, after all.”

She rises on tiptoe and presses her lips hard against mine in one last, searing kiss.

“It was nice to see you, Theo. I hope to see you again.”

With that, she walks away, hips swaying deliberately, leaving me groaning against the barn.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.

I’m dazed. Confused. Harder than hell. All I can think about is Ava and the way she tasted.

I’m in over my head. I have to get focused. I need to be thinking about how to get the bookstore, not how to get her into my bed.

Don ’ t let your cock mess up this deal, Theo, I remind myself.

But the devil inside me is laughing, because right now, both the devil and my cock couldn’t care less about the business deal… or what happens next.