“Would it help if I held onto my crotch instead?”
“Are you a two year-old?”
“Do you want me to be a two year-old?” Marc asked with a cringe.
“You’re ridiculous.” Patty sat back in her seat while Marc chuckled next to her and pulled the car out onto the main road.
“You love me.” He gripped her thigh and squeezed it tight.
She did love him, more than anything. She couldn’t imagine her life without Marc. When she first moved to Atlanta, it was to get away from an abusive relationship. She swore she would never allow another man into her life, and then she met Marc. She tried to push him away, but he was adamant about her giving him a chance. He was too persuasive to resist, and she was glad she hadn’t because she’d never been happier.
“I do love you,” she answered sincerely. “I’m so happy I met you, Marc.”
Marc glanced at her real quick with a grin stretched across his face. “Me too, Patty Cakes.”
She squeezed his hand that was on her thigh, feeling his warmth. “You’ve changed my life, Marc. More than you will ever know.”
“You changed mine too, beautiful.”
“Let’s elope,” Patty said hastily, wanting to just be his wife.
“You can’t be serious.” Marc’s face was of disbelief.
“I am; let’s do it. Screw all the planning; let’s elope.” Patty couldn’t think of a better scenario than running off with Marc and having an intimate ceremony just for them.
Marc processed her request for a few moments, really mulling over the idea, but then he surprised her and shook his head no. “We can’t elope, Patty.”
“Why not?”
He turned down a street, heading toward their hotel. “Because, I’ve had a vision in my head ever since I met you. A vision of you walking down the aisle in front of hundreds of people, gorgeous as ever, giving yourself over to me, becoming one with me. I can’t give that up. I want to have that moment as a groom.”
Patty’s heart stopped at his confession. She didn’t think she could love him any more than she did right then.
“That’s really romantic.”
“Hey, who said I couldn’t woo you? Plus, then Brady wouldn’t get his chance to win Jane back.”
“Oh, my God!” Patty huffed, making Marc laugh from his gut.
Chapter 11
**Nash**
“Who knew there weren’t any fish in that lake?”
“Probably every resident who lives in the area,” Nash answered sarcastically.
They just got back to Nash’s house, empty-handed and slightly burnt from not having any sunscreen to apply. Despite not catching any fish, Nash had a pleasant time with Fallon. They actually had a lot more in common than he thought, and that right there scared him because he wasn’t ready to get to know this girl. He didn’t want to get attached, but she was making it really hard for him not to.
“Guess I should have researched that…oh, well,” she shrugged.
“Oh, well.”
They both looked around the neighborhood, an awkward air settling between them.
“So, uh, thanks for the fishing. Guess I’ll be going back inside.” Nash nodded to his house.
Fallon put her hands on her hips. “You’re not going to invite me in? I thought we had a John Candy date.”
“Oh, you really wanted to do that?”
“Uh, yeah! It’s marathon time! Come on.” Fallon grabbed Nash’s hand and led him into his own house. “Want to order a pizza? We can order five, just so we have enough for everyone.”
“Everyone? Who the hell is coming over?” Fallon went straight into his kitchen, rooting around in his drawers for takeout menus. “They’re on the fridge.”
She looked up and spotted them right away. “Duh, you’re a single guy. These are like a lifeline to you.”
“Remind me who is coming over again?” For some reason, Nash didn’t want any other visitors.
“No one, it’s just us.”
“Then why do we need so many pizzas?”
Fallon leaned against the counter as she perused the takeout menu. “I don’t think you understand the amount of food I can pack in this body. I can easily eat two pies on my own, especially if they’re covered in mushrooms. Hell, I think I might eat three.”
“You like mushrooms?”
“Love them!” she said with enthusiasm. “Give me the fungus, that’s what I say.”
“Not the best slogan,” Nash laughed, grabbing a soda for the both of them.
After they ordered five large pizzas with extra mushrooms, they put Uncle Buck in the DVD player and sat on the couch together. Nash kept his distance, and so did Fallon. He sat on one of the ends of the couch and she sat in the middle, her feet crossed in front of her. Judging by the way she was sitting with ease, Nash knew she was flexible, a great attribute to have.
“The music in this movie is on par. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“What?” Nash asked, lost in his thoughts of Fallon being all kinds of bendy.
“The music, don’t you just want the soundtrack?”
“Oh, yeah, the music is good.” Nash took a sip of his soda, wishing it was beer, but unfortunately he drank is stock of brew last night, leaving him with nothing but soda. Looks like he would be having a very sober night, something he wasn’t used to.
“The teenage daughter is such a bitch in this movie. I mean, look at her. If that isn’t resting bitch face, then I don’t know what is.”
Her passion about the movie made Nash smile. He never smiled, but he couldn’t help it when he was around her; she brought it out in him.
“Bet she has a frigid puss. Cold as ice down there.”
“It’s either frigid or it’s clammed up, completely shut. Oh, wait, no, her pussy is like a Venus fly trap. I bet it looks like one too, just waiting to eat a dick whole.”
Soda flew out of Nash’s nose, bubbling from his nostrils.
“Wow, dude, it goes down your throat, not out your nose.” Fallon handed him a napkin that was on the coffee table.
Nash wiped himself up, not embarrassed from his soda snot. “I just never heard you talk like that before,” he admitted.
“What, you don’t think I can talk dirty? I bet you I could beat you in a contest easily.”
“Doubtful.”
“Want to bet? Go ahead, challenge me.”
She inched closer to him, her eyes beaming with a friendly threat. She was dead serious. He was about to answer when the doorbell rang.
“Saved by the bell.” Nash got off the couch and paid for their feast of mushroom pizza. He didn’t bother with plates, he just brought the boxes into the living room and plopped them on the coffee table. Nash flipped the top pizza cover open and Fallon’s eyes lit up in delight. The pizza looked like it was infested with mushrooms, like they used mushrooms as the sauce…it was covered.
“If my stomach could orgasm, I’m pretty sure it just had the trifecta of multiples. This smells amazing.”
Fallon dug in right away, wasting no time at all. She took a huge bight and marveled at the taste as her eyes rolled back and she slouched in her seat.
“This is amazing.” Nash went to reach for a piece when Fallon stuck her foot out and stopped him from grabbing a slice. “Uh, what do you think you’re doing?” she asked, mouth full of pizza.
“Grabbing a piece of pizza. What does it look like?”
“That’s my box. Get your own.”
“You’re not going to let me have a slice from this box?”
“Do I look liked a girl who shares her mushroom pizza?” She was completely serious.
“I guess not,” he laughed.
Not touching her pile of pizza, Nash grabbed the bottom box and helped himself to his own pie. He sank back into his seat, and to his surprise, Fallon drew a little closer to him. They weren’t touching, but if he decided to move a few inches, his leg might graze hers.
He wondered what it would feel like to tou
ch her, what it was like to have sex with her. Was she still a virgin? Or was she a freak in bed? He could totally see the freaky thing, given her weird nature. He would be down with that.
Wait, no he wouldn’t. What the hell was he thinking?
Fallon laughed next to him as she shoved slice after slice into her mouth, enjoying the slapstick comedy of John Candy. He couldn’t remember the last time he had any kind of feelings toward a woman, feelings that were beyond sexual. And, why he had feelings for Fallon, he had no clue. She was not his type, but there was something special about her that he had never seen in a woman before.
They finished off the pizza, leaving one box untouched, but Nash was still impressed with the amount of pizza Fallon was able to take down; she wasn’t kidding about packing it in her tiny body.
Spent from her smorgasbord, she rubbed her stomach and then found a random throw pillow Nash had and laid it across his lap, then she lowered her head down on it. She tucked up against him and snuggled next to his side.
He didn’t know what to do, where to put his arms, what to touch. He sat there, holding his breath, his hands at a standstill, indecisive about where to put them.
Fallon turned her head for a brief second, smiled up at him, and then grabbed his hand and pulled it around her like a blanket so he was holding her close. His other hand found comfort on the arm rest. Her hand still held onto his, and when he thought she was going to release it, she instead stroked the back of his hand with her thumb in a soothing motion, relaxing his tense body from the new positon he found himself in.
He chanced a look at her and smiled inwardly as he realized he liked Fallon lying across his lap. He liked this whole snuggling thing. He liked the human connection with another soul. In the matter of a few weeks, she had been able to open him up and embed herself into his life.
“Are you having a nice time?” Fallon asked.
“I am,” he stated truthfully. “Thanks for hanging out with me.”
“No need to thank me. I wanted to. You’re fun.”
Nash doubted that. He had been nothing but an ass to Fallon ever since he met her.
“I don’t know how you can say that when I’ve been noting but rude to you since we met.”
“Eh, I can see past the rough exterior. I knew all along you were just a teddy bear inside.”
“I wouldn’t say teddy bear,” Nash cringed.
“Oh, you are. But that’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” Fallon released his hand and adjusted her body to a more comfortable position, her hands propping her head up slightly. Unsure where to put his hand, Fallon noticed and said, “You can touch me; it’s okay.”
He felt like a complete idiot, having to have a girl tell him what to do, but honestly, he didn’t do this stuff. He wasn’t very keen on how to react in these kind of moments.
“Okay,” he laughed nervously. Carefully he rested his hand on her shoulder and lightly touched her hair with his fingers. It was softer than he thought. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such an intimate human connection. When he was normally with women, he didn’t talk to them and didn’t even take his pants off. He just banged them and sent them on their way.
Looking down at Fallon, he knew she would never be that kind of girl, and that terrified him.
“My favorite part of the movie,” Fallon perked up just as John Candy flicked a quarter at the principal, classic scene from Uncle Buck. “I wish I had guts like John Candy. He doesn’t give a shit about what he says. Could you ever imagine saying that to someone who had a giant mole? He’s so bad ass.”
Nash chuckled lightly. “You know that’s his character, right? That’s not actually John Candy.”
“Oh, it’s him. I know it.”
“What’s your obsession with John Candy?”
Fallon turned so she was facing Nash, her hand still tucked under her face. She looked angelic, lying on the pillow, her hair fanned out and her green eyes beaming up at him.
“When I was little and in foster care, I would watch his movies over and over again. It made me laugh when I was sad. I always kind of looked at him like a father figure. Weird, I know, but I didn’t have a dad and every male figure in my life took advantage of me. John Candy was the one good thing in my life. No matter what he did in the movies, he always made me laugh, and he had a giant heart. I guess I just carry him with me because he helped me get through some of the hardest times.”
A foreign ache vibrated in Nash’s chest…was that compassion? He couldn’t stand to hear about Fallon’s rough childhood. She was so vibrant, eccentric and sweet, how could anyone abuse her? Take advantage of her young soul? The mere thought had Nash gripping the armrest of the couch in anger.
“Hey, it looks like you’re about to rip the fabric off the couch. You okay?”
“No,” Nash answered honestly. “I want to damage those men who touched you. How could they do that?”
Fallon shrugged it off. “They’re in jail now, probably getting what they deserve. I’m not worried about it anymore. I can’t worry about it. No use harping on something you can’t change.”
Her words carried a heavy weight with Nash. He’d heard the words before, from people telling him to drop his past and move on, but they never meant anything to him. They were empty phrases from people he knew trying to get him to move on. But, coming from Fallon, it meant something. She’d seen the worst in people and she was able to move on and appreciate life. For the first time since Nash returned from his tour, he wondered if he could actually forget his past, accept his life, and look forward to a future.
Fallon got up and brushed off her clothes. “I guess I should get going.”
“What? Why?” Nash surprised himself as the words fell out of his mouth.
“I’m sure you have stuff to do. I had fun, though.”
Panicked, Nash got up as well, struggling a little with his leg. Fallon noticed.
“You okay?”
“Yup,” Nash smiled, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?” She put her hair in a ponytail as she spoke.
“Maybe,” Nash shrugged.
Fallon nodded in understanding and then walked to the front door, Nash following close behind. “You know I feel comfortable around you, Nash. Comfortable enough that I tell myself I don’t have to disguise myself in oversized clothes, that I can be myself around you.” Nash nodded, wanting to reach out and grab her hand. “I just wish you could feel the same around me. See you around.”
Fallon opened the door, making Nash’s heart race, because for some reason, this seemed like goodbye.
“It’s not easy for me,” Nash spoke quickly.
Fallon looked over her shoulder at Nash. “It’s never easy when you have a secret to share with someone you care about. Goodnight, Nash.”
With the click of the door shutting, Fallon was gone, leaving Nash confused and full of regret. He wanted to share, he could feel his confession at the tip of his tongue, but why would he say anything to her? Did he really see her sticking around? Was he ready to have her around all the time? In his life?
The living room was empty, pizza boxes scattered across the floor and coffee table. He thought about the day he’d had with Fallon. Yeah, he was ready to have her in his life, because right now, his house seemed exponentially darker without her in it.
**Brady**
Dinner was a bust. He took Jane to a fine dining restaurant he’d heard about from one of his teammates, but when they showed up, Brady was hounded by fans all night, not giving him any alone time with Jane.
Now they were back at his apartment, and instead of going inside, he decided to take her for a little walk on the beach. It was dark, the moon was out, and the waves crashing into the shore played a natural melody for their stroll.
“Sorry about dinner. I didn’t know there were going to be that many fans there.”
“That’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“I know, but I
wanted to have a nice dinner with you. It turned into a side show instead.”
“Brady, I don’t care,” Jane replied a little harshly.
Brady stopped walking and looked down at her, trying not to lose his patience. “I want you to care, Jane.”
Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight and her lips glistened from her lip balm. She was absolutely beautiful. So beautiful it pained Brady that he wasn’t able to hold her like he used to.
“You can’t make someone feel how you feel, Brady. We aren’t the same people anymore. I know you’re trying to make something of our crumbled relationship, but there are times where you just need to step back and let go.”
“Is it really that easy for you, Jane? To just let go of the past couple of years we had together and act like it never happened? Did it not mean anything to you?”
Jane looked out at the ocean. Her hands rubbed her arms, trying to warm up her body. It wasn’t very cold, but there was a light breeze. The last thing Brady wanted to do was fight with Jane…that was not his intention, so instead of voicing his frustration, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her head.
“I don’t want to fight. I just want to enjoy your company.”
A sigh escaped Jane as she rested her head against Brady’s chest. It was a small victory, but he would take it. Right about now, he would take any little win.
“I was invited to an event being held at the museum in Atlanta that is benefitting Special Olympics. They gave me a plus one. I was hoping you would come with me. Some of the athletes I’ve worked with are going to be there. They would love to see you.”
Brady knew Jane would say no if he just said it was an event he was going to. That’s why he asked the event organizer to invite some of his athletes as well, because then Jane would feel obligated to attend. He would do just about anything to get her to spend time with him; he didn’t care what kind of strings he had to pull.
“Of course,” she answered. “I would love to see the athletes.”
Bingo! He knew that was a sure-fire way to get her to go. He’d already started planning out that night, what she would wear, how he would make sure she was pampered beforehand, just like when they first started dating.