FALLING FOR THE JERK
Falling in Love, 2
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2018
Chapter One
“Marry me.”
“No.”
Molly Tatum put her hands on her large hips and stared at the man she’d cried over for most of her adult life, Dale Lewis. He’d been her on-again, off-again boyfriend through high school, and one reckless night, he’d become the father of her child.
Dale glared at her. “You know, I thought we’d gotten over this. You were going to marry me and stop being a bitch, and allow me to be the father of my children.”
Throughout high school, she’d loved this guy. There had always been something about Dale. The girls on the cheerleading squad just wanted the reputation for screwing him. To Molly, it had been a lot more than that. She’d fallen in love with the guy that he seemed to portray to her, the misunderstood jock who was so much more than a pretty face.
In the last few years, though, she’d seen another side to him, and she sighed, turning back to face him.
“You really think ordering me to marry you would help?” she asked. A few months ago, he’d actually ordered her to marry him, as if that would help their current problem. No matter how many times she promised herself she wouldn’t end up in his bed, she always did.
Since leaving high school, she’d given birth to two of his children, both of whom were now in school. Sasha was in kindergarten, and Luke was in nursery school. Their time away meant she could put in a few extra hours at the bakery for June, who had become her best friend since getting back into town.
“What did I ever do wrong? I know we fooled around and you ended up pregnant. I offered to do the right thing, and you turned me down. I can’t do anything right with you.”
She stared at the man she’d been in love with nearly all of her life, not just since high school. Her crush on Dale had started in kindergarten when he’d helped her up after she fell down, grazing her knee. He’d taken her to the teacher and been really sweet. Over the years, she’d seen his acts of kindness, and she found him to be extraordinary. The only problem was he hid it all. He never let anyone know exactly how great he was. He always hid it, always kept it to himself, and she found that really sad.
Enter high school, and of course he was one of the sexiest men there. Trey, Max, and Dale were best friends, and could have any girl they wanted. For the longest time, she’d kept Dale at arm’s length, until she couldn’t do it anymore. She often wondered if he even knew that he’d claimed her virginity, and she’d not had another guy before, after, or since while he screwed everything with a vagina.
When she got pregnant, she’d expected him to do the right thing. If she’d not heard him talking in the cafeteria about a news article about young pregnancies and his response, she may have accepted his offer.
“There’s no way in this life that any girl is going to pin a pregnancy on me, and I sure as shit am not going to be bogged down by a screaming brat. Not in this lifetime.”
She was pregnant, and instead of taking him down, she decided to set him free. At the time she didn’t realize how hard it would be. Her friends had abandoned her as if she was some kind of slut because she wouldn’t name the father, so they automatically assumed she didn’t know. The pressure her parents placed on her, everything. It was like the town of Winters Fall turned their backs on her and her baby. When Luke arrived that was like the final straw, but bad words were said by the both of them. She knew without a doubt that Dale wasn’t ready. She’d seen how happy he was away from her and the kids. How could she trap him in a marriage he felt obliged to offer?
Life had been tough, but that had been before June got back into town, and their friendship blossomed.
“Look, Dale, I really don’t want to fight with you right now. I know you want to do the right thing and marry me, or whatever, but I don’t want to force you into a life that you don’t want.” They hadn’t come out to the town yet. Dale was seen playing with her kids, and spending time with her, but they’d not told anyone other than their friends that he was the father of her children.
“I want this, Mol. I can’t … what do I have to do to prove to you that I want this?” He suddenly started sniffing the air. “Is something burning?”
“Oh, crap.” She rushed to the back of the bakery and cursed as she pulled open the large oven and saw the black mess before her. This wasn’t good. The entire day’s batch of brownies was ruined, and now she’d have to call June so she could come and assess. Molly hated it when she made mistakes and needed June to come back. June was nearly five months pregnant now, and Molly hated more than anything interrupting her time off. It was rare for June to be away from the bakery, but she had no choice.
Rubbing at her temple, she grabbed the phone and dialed her best friend’s number.
“Hello,” June said, followed by a giggle.
Just great. She was at home with her very loving husband having a great deal of fun, and Molly was about to ruin it.
“June, it’s me. I’m so sorry about this. I got distracted, and all the brownies are burned.”
“Oh, is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, but brownies are now my nemesis.” They were one of June’s sell-out products. She made so many different varieties, and now they were burned to a crisp.
“I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Do you want me to take these out of the tins?”
“Yes, take them out, leave them on the counter for me, and wash out the tins,” June said.
“Are you going to fire me?” Molly asked.
June burst out laughing. “Not a chance, honey. You’ve been doing really well. Stop being a pain in the butt.”
Molly chuckled and hung up.
“She wouldn’t fire you. She likes you too much,” Dale said, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Why, even after all these years, and all the heartbreak, did her body crave his touch?
Whenever he was near, she was weak, and she hated that.
She’d seen him with other women. Not having sex with him, of course. She wasn’t that obsessed with the father of her children.
Walking through town, she’d seen his arms wrapped around women, the way he leaned in and kissed their cheeks, or touched them in a certain way. She knew what was going on, and each time she saw it, she’d go home, sob until she couldn’t bring herself to spill another tear, then get up and start again.
“Can we please talk another time?” She spun in his arms, and realizing how close they were, she took a step back. “I don’t … I’ve got to concentrate, and you still have that way of making me forget everything.”
He nodded. “We have to talk.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll pick up the kids and meet you at your place.”
“Okay. The school knows you can pick them up. I put your name and details on their personal information.”
“Not under dad?”
“No.” She shook her head, and hated that sadness she saw in his gaze.
“Okay then.”
He left the shop, and she wondered if he realized how much he took of her with him. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she focused on the now and cleaned up the mess. By the time June got to the shop, she was drying the last of the baking tins.
“Wow, talk about forgetting,” June said, entering the kitchen and tying an apron around her large waist.
Molly remembered being that big, and struggling, the big bulge seeming to be a beacon for every person’s hand. In high school, her stomach was like it had some disease. No one went near her.
Being on the end of the cheering squad’s bullying had been eye-opening for her. It had only been for a couple of months, but it lasted long enough for her to be happy that she never got involved with their vicious games. She didn’t believe in bullying, and never liked it.
“Dale was here,” she said.
Every single day was getting harder, and she hated that.
“Oh, is everything all right?”
“You mean arguing with Dale because I’ve decided not to marry him, or to tell the town?”
“You’re not going through with it?” June asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s great with the kids, and everything seemed so … fine.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s me, I think. I just … he doesn’t want to have this life. I heard him in high school. He didn’t want kids or to be forced into a life he didn’t want. I don’t want him to marry me, be the father of my kids, if it’s not what he wants. What if he turns into that grumpy old guy that blames me for ruining his life?” she asked.
“You tell me, and if I can’t kick his ass, I’ll ask Trey to.”
She laughed along with her friend. They both knew it was impossible.
“You ever thought that maybe he loves you and he wants to be with you and the kids?”
Molly shrugged. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“You know what I think?” June asked.
“What?”
“That you and Dale need some time alone where you can get to know one another.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“Why not? Trey and I can take care of the kids. It’ll be no trouble.”
She moved up to June’s side. “Don’t stress about anything. We’ll be okay.” She rubbed June’s stomach, wondering if it was indeed possible.
****
“Are you going to pay me for a new carpet?” Trey asked.
Dale looked at the carpet where he was pacing, and staring out the window across the street.
While June fixed the brownie problem, he watched as his woman finished fixing up the shop, hanging up the new signs, and stuff like that.
“She keeps saying no, and it’s driving me crazy,” he said.
“Molly still giving you the runaround? I thought you dealt with that.” Trey finished organizing his inks, and finally came toward him.
“I thought I did, but then I got the call to say it’s off, and she handed me back my damn ring.” He even had it in his pocket, and was determined that before he died at least, she’d wear it, and that they’d walk down the aisle.
He’d thought it would be easy to get Molly in his life, and that he wouldn’t have to worry about chasing her around, and yet she was being the hardest, most stubborn woman he’d ever met.
Running fingers through his hair, he stepped up to the window and watched as she bent over to finish writing whatever it was that she needed to on the board. He loved looking at her ass.
Molly had always been a beauty. In the last couple of years, after Luke, she’d also gained some weight, and her curves were more prominent now than ever before.
When she agreed to go with him on a date in high school, he’d honestly thought he hit the jackpot with her. A lot of the guys wanted to know all about her, but she was the only one he’d kept a secret.
In the locker room they’d all crowded around him, asking if she was the shit in the sack, and he’d not said a word. Their night together had been the most precious thing of all. They’d not talked about school at all. Instead, they discussed their futures, what they wanted to be, and talked about a television show they’d been watching at the time, and he couldn’t even remember what it was. He’d loved hearing her laugh.
She hadn’t put out that night, and he hadn’t cared.
They’d gone on several more dates, and when they finally had sex, it had been one of the most beautiful experiences of his life. He’d also known he was the only guy she’d been with. He’d not made a big deal out of the experience because she’d not either. She’d been his first and only virgin, and the moment he’d filled her, he’d truly believed that he’d fallen in love.
Of course, everything had gone to shit after that, and now he’d fathered two children, and his woman refused to belong to him.
They were right together. He knew that, and so did she. Whenever they were alone, they tended to end up naked, and being inside her was the best feeling in the world for him.
“She’s sure making you fight for it,” Trey said.
“What’s up, bitches?” Max said, entering the tattoo parlor. “Oh, wait, do you want me to leave so you can keep more secrets from me?”
“Are you ever going to get over that?” Trey asked.
“Not yet, I’m not.” Max took a seat in the waiting area. “Well, why are you two miserable?”
“Molly won’t marry Dale, or give him the time of day, and it’s pissing him off.”
Max laughed. “I’m not surprised.”
Dale glared at his other friend. There were times he was curious as to why he even tried to remain friends with the bastard. Max had a way of really pissing him off. They’d been roommates up until recently when Dale no longer wanted to see his friend’s naked ass as he screwed so many women.
He’d not been a great guy, but Molly belonged to him. He loved her more than anything, and he’d done the running away. It wasn’t going to happen anymore.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Dale asked.
“Don’t you remember in high school?” Max looked at both of them. “Surely you’ve put two and two together and actually come up with four?”
“Why don’t you be the genius then and spell it out to us?” Trey said.
Max sighed. “I’d say the reason Molly doesn’t want to marry you is because of what you’ve said.”
“What the hell did I say?” Dale was confused.
“Something along the lines that you never wanted to be tied down with kids and a wife. Something had hit the news about a young couple expecting twins and getting married, and some shit. Everyone was watching it and talking about it. You flipped. Said there’s no way someone was trapping you. If I recall, Molly left the dining hall, and not long after that, it began circulating that she was pregnant.” Max shrugged. “Had no idea then you were the asshole who knocked her up. Out of the entire cheerleading squad, she was the only one I actually liked.”
Dale glared, taking a step toward him.
“Not like that, asshole. Molly was nice. She was sweet and kind, and she wasn’t like the other cheerleaders. Just as well, really, the way they all turned their backs on her, calling her a whore and a skank.”
“What?” Dale asked. Even Trey stepped up beside him, asking the same question.
Max laughed. “You mean you two don’t know? Wow. One of the reasons I stopped fucking the cheer squad was the fact I had to listen to what they said to her. I was screwing one of the blondes on the team, don’t know her name. We were in the girls’ bathroom, fooling around. I heard the cheer squad come in, and not long after, Molly came in, too. The shit they said to her. I waited until I was sure Molly was done on the toilet before I left the bitch I intended to fuck. I made sure to escort Molly to class as well.”
Dale didn’t like this. “I had no idea.”
“Dude, you were still screwing around as if it was your favorite hobby. I had no idea that kid was yours, or I’d have beaten the shit out of you myself. There’s nothing between Molly and me. Never has been. But why would I mention it to you, Dale? I didn’t even know that kid was yours or anything, or that you’d parted on bad terms.” Max leaned back, arms outstretched on the sofa.
This latest revelation made a lot of things clear to Dale. He’d not wanted to be tied down to a life he didn’t want. Kids, marriage; the whole idea had scared him. Learning that Molly was pregnant, that she didn’t want him, he’d felt that rejection, and like an asshole he’d lashed out, sleeping with every single girl that would have him.
He’d been a disgusting fuck.
“I love her,” he said, looking at his two best friends. “How do I prove to her that I’m not going to back down or give up?”
“So don’t,” Max said. “Molly’s a stubborn woman, but she’s got a big heart. Prove to her you won’t back down, and she’ll be yours before you know it.”
“Since when do you give relationship advice?” Trey asked.
“Since my two asshole friends can’t figure out how to keep their women and need help. I screw around, but at least I’ve not left anyone hurt and broken, unlike you two.” Max sighed. “I feel like I’m on a roll. Ask me anything.” He looked at Dale. “Did you know she struggled with Sasha’s pregnancy and Luke’s?”
“What?”
“Yep. Always sick and ill. It’s why she was always pale. I bought her steaks and kale, hoping to increase her iron intake.” Max shrugged.
“Why are you telling me this?” Dale asked, staring at his friend, feeling each little tidbit of advice like a stab to the heart.
Max stood up and stepped over to him. “You may have kept me out of your little secret, but that never once stopped me being your friend. You love Molly, I can see that. I also know she’s been crushed one time too many by you. I had no idea who broke her heart. Now that I know it was you, I know what you’re up against. You broke her heart. First you’ve got to repair that, and then you’ve got to make her fall in love with you. Are you up to that challenge?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”