When I Fall

I push the door open without bothering to knock. Voices boom from the kitchen, Tessa’s standing out over the others, which isn’t unusual. Everyone’s here already by the sound of it. Good. We can get this much needed distraction started.

I step into the kitchen and set my beers on the table. Ben’s the first person I see.

Standing at the end of the counter, he lowers the beer in his hand as his lips pinch together in a thin line. Tessa and Mia are talking behind him, not having noticed me yet. Ben nudges Luke with his elbow, and the two of them share a look before heading in my direction.

“What?” I ask as they step in front of me. I grab one of my beers and pop the top.

Ben speaks first. “This wasn’t our idea, man. Don’t do anything that’ll get your ass into trouble.”

I swallow, and turn to Luke, tipping my beer at Ben. “What is he talking about?”

Luke nods at my beer, his face just as tense as Ben’s. “You might want to shotgun that. Or put it down and get the hell out of here. We’ll cover for you.”

I whip my head between the two of them. What the fuck? “Is this part of game night? Have Reed try and guess what the hell you two idiots are getting at? Just say it, already. I suck at charades.”

The room goes quiet. I look over Ben’s shoulder, expecting to see Mia and Tessa looking at me, and they are. Both of them are wearing their biggest smiles, leaning on the counter, waving at me like they know something I don’t, which apparently is the running theme of the night.

I open my mouth to ask them what the hell is going on, but it all becomes clear when my eyes are drawn to Beth, standing next to CJ.

Standing with CJ. Together. Looking all comfortable and shit.

Beth fucking Davis. Here, in Mia’s kitchen, wearing the same dress she wore during our lunch together. The same fucking boots on her feet.

Making my chest tight. My dick hard. My mind a fucking scrambled mess.

What the fuck is she doing here?

A hand slaps me on the back of my head. Ben mumbles something about me being an asshole. I pull my attention off Beth and see the agitated glares being directed at me by everyone else in the room. Tessa is looking particularly murderous.

Fuck. I said that out loud?

I look at Beth, her big, brown eyes expanding and pinning me to the wall. Her lips pinched together in distress.

Fuck, I need to explain.

“I didn’t mean . . .” My teeth clench when CJ’s hand finds her lower back.

I look at him, ready to throw his ass out the nearest window.

He looks at me, lifting his chin into a friendly nod.

“What’s up, man? You know Beth?”

I narrow my eyes.

Do I know Beth?

Yeah, motherfucker. I know her more than you ever will.

“Well, everyone’s here. Why don’t we get game night started?” Mia grabs Beth’s hand, pulling her away from CJ and leading her toward my direction.

I could kiss that woman. Always having my back.

“Do you know how to play hearts, Beth?” Mia asks.

Beth looks at me briefly, then shakes her head as Mia pulls a chair out for her. She sits down at the opposite end of the table I’m standing at. “No, I don’t think so,” she says timidly.

Mia smiles. “That’s okay. CJ can show you.”

I have zero friends in this house.

CJ claims one of the chairs next to Beth. Mia takes the other. I debate on getting the hell out of here, but the second I see Beth staring at me across the table, looking just as fragile as she did standing in my bedroom, letting me know just by those eyes of hers that she had no idea I’d be here, I pick up my six-pack and carry it to the fridge.

Fuck it. What’s the difference between struggling to keep my hand off my dick at home and battling the same urge at Mia’s dinner table?

I take the last remaining seat at the table, putting me directly across from Beth. As Ben stands and deals out the cards, Tessa leans closer to me, chin resting on her hand, looking guilty as shit as the grin spreads across her face.

“Hey, buddy,” she whispers. “You doing okay over there?”

I slowly turn my head, my eyes narrowing. “You know something, don’t you?”

Tessa leans back, pops her gum through a smile, and picks up her cards.

Ben sits in his chair. “All right, we good? Beth, you know how to play now?”

Beth looks down at her cards, her thumb scraping across her bottom lip. “I think so. If I want to run, do I tell everyone I’m going to do it?”

Collective “no’s” fill the room, everyone except me offering their response.

Beth looks across the table, waiting, wanting the answer she hasn’t gotten yet. As if mine is the only one that matters to her.

Fuck. Is it? Is it the only one that matters?

Lowering my beer, I keep her gaze and slowly shake my head. She blinks several times, then looks back down at her cards.

I chug half my beer.

CJ laughs, slips his arm behind her, and rests it on the back of her chair. “No, baby. Don’t tell anyone what you’re planning on doing. Especially if you’re trying to run.”

Blood runs hot in my veins.

Baby?

“Baby?” I set my beer down and lean forward on my elbows. The room goes quiet. “What, you met her five minutes before I got here and you’re already giving her a fucking nickname? Or is the word Beth too difficult for you to remember?”

Confusion tightens CJ’s face. “What the hell’s up with you?” he asks gruffly, leaning back in his chair, keeping his fucking arm exactly where it is.