The Fall (12 page)

“You guzzle tacos, Rose,” I pointed out as we situated ourselves at a high top table with a view of the hospital.

“True,” she said, her smile never far from the surface.

“Spill it, I only have ten minutes,” I said, dreading what was coming. I adored my sister. Today she had decided to style her hair in her usual knotted, curly red mess on top of her head. I had tried for years to get her to embrace her feminine side, and for years she had told me to ‘go to hell’. In all honesty, she didn’t need to change a thing. Rose carried a confidence about her that I admired. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone, which I was sure made her even more appealing to the opposite sex. She was a true natural beauty.

“So, I met someone. His name is Grant. He is beautiful, smart, caring, funny, and he smokes weed.”

She looked up at me with an impish grin as I laughed harder than I had in months. “Ha ha ha, holy shit, Rose. He’s a pot head?”

“No, he smokes weed,” she defended. “There is a difference.”

“He’s a pot head,” I said, egging her on.

“No, he’s not, damn it. I’m telling you, sister, I have never had it this good,” she boasted, both eyebrows raised and her perfect plump lips puckered out. I chuckled at her.

“You look good. Really, Rose, you are practically glowing. So, okay, tell me more.”

“He was raised here and in Tennessee due to his parent’s divorce. He is a mechanic for a private airline. He is twenty-nine and is the hottest, I mean hottest man I’ve ever seen. He’s so good to me and tells me he loves me with every breath he takes. I think, no I am sure I am in love with him. It happened really fast and we don’t get to see each other often, but we talk every single day for hours. And when we do see each other...oh, God, it’s like my heart is full and I am
so
happy. He hasn’t let my school work suffer and he swears we are destined to end up together and I love him and he is so, so good to me and—Dallas...why are you looking at me like that?”

“It happened,” I said carefully, giving her a slow nod with the tilt of my chin.

“What happened?”

“What Dad said. Lightning struck you, Rose.” I watched the words sink in as she tilted her head, eyes squinting. “Oh, you know I don’t believe in that stuff.”

“Yes, you do. Don’t pretend with me. I know better,” I said, suddenly terrified for her. It had been a little less than a month since dinner at my parents’ house. Who the hell could she possibly have fallen in love with in such little time?

“Okay, so what if I do believe in it, how do you know it’s Grant?”

“Rose, I know as well as you do that it’s Grant. I am going to down this frothy chocolate shit and try to be happy for you,” I said, the bitterness in my voice growing stronger with every word.

“I’m sorry, Dallas. I know you’re miserable right now with Josh.”

“Completely, but not because of Josh. Dean is working on the ninth floor in my hospital.”

She couldn’t hide her excitement. “Oh really! Dean! Huh, the guy who broke your heart?” she cooed.

“He said I broke his,” I replied dryly, completely sure of who was right.

“You did, and he broke yours. It’s a sick thing to watch. So what happened?” she asked, sipping her tea.

“He took me out to dinner and then tried to kiss me. I freaked out on him, telling him to leave me alone.”

“He’s married, isn’t he?” she asked, trying to hide her smile. Rose had been Dean’s strongest advocate and her first crush when she was a kid.

I looked at her pointedly. “He is engaged. I can’t get involved with Dean. I won’t. He can’t be trusted.” I ended it there as she looked at me in question. “And you know as much of a whore as I know he’s always been, I never thought he’d be the type to cheat on his fiancée.”

“Me neither,” she said, still listening, but I could still see her faint smile.

“What?” I asked impatiently.

“Nothing, it’s just that...I always saw you with Dean, everyone did. I’m glad he’s back.”

“And engaged, Rose. It’s just never been...right with us. Anyway, Josh showed up with his mother and all hell broke loose, we were at Chantilly of all places. He was treating his mother to dinner and he saw me in my ‘do me’ dress flirting with Dean.”

“You are kidding me!” she said, laying her hand on my arm with excitement.

“Nope,” I sighed accentuating the ‘p’ with the pop of my lips.

“He took you to Chantilly? Did he know about that place!” she asked with awe in her face. My sister had gone from a love-shunning moralist to a romanticist in a month. I shook my head slowly with distaste, nowhere near ready to lose her to the bright side.

“No, and, Rose, that was the right reaction to the wrong part of the story I just told you. It doesn’t matter where he took me!”

“I know but he took you to Chantilly. It’s a sign!” She clapped her hands together happily as if she had been in on the secret that the universe would dump Dean at my door...or hospital.

“It’s not a sign! Look, I have to get back to work, keep your damn happy voodoo shit away from me for now. I am happy being miserable,” I said, throwing the rest of my drink in the trash.

“Why don’t you give Dean a chance instead of assuming the worst about him? Talk to him and see what’s going on. If I remember correctly, you are the one who screwed it all up.”

“I think something is wrong there, Rose, but I can’t afford to care right now. I’m working harder than ever to research what needs to be done to set up shop, not to mention my current patient load. Can we just drop it?”

“Fine, but this is Dean. God, does he still look like a completely fuckable movie star?”

“Better,” I said on another sigh.

She smirked at me and grabbed my arm. “Do you really think it’s Grant?”

“Isn’t it?” I said, trying my best to conceal my concern. I didn’t want her to see how bitter I was. She had dealt with enough when I came back from college. She knew from experience how risky it was to put your heart out there. Her personal life had been no picnic. “Be happy, little sister, you deserve it. But, you know...be careful, too.”

“I will. Not much I can do at this point. I am
with
Grant,” she said quickly as I saw a small amount of fear cross her face.

“It scares me, too, but enjoy him. I am behind you. And I want to meet him,” I said sternly. If some stoner creeper was claiming love for my sister in less than a month, I had the right to question their sanity.

“Soon,” she said with a smile as she adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.

“Get to school, Whitaker. We have a practice to open.”

She gave me her widest smile before she walked away. “Love you.”

I walked onto Dean’s floor the next day after rounds and caught him in between appointments.

“Dallas, hey,” he greeted me with a smile. “I was just going to buzz you and see if you still wanted to have lunch.”

I took a step forward, not wanting the three women sitting in chairs in the waiting room to hear us. Although, I was sure with the attention Dean garnered in any room he occupied, they were straining to hear.

“Do you have time for coffee now?” I asked icily. He frowned at my temperament then nodded quickly, heading down the hall as I followed. He entered a tiny break room that furnished a small table with coffee and closed the door behind us.

“Do you still take it black?” he asked, pouring a cup and holding it out to me.

“No thanks. Look, Dean, I need to know why you are here. Why you came back and why you’re acting so damn ...”

“What?” he asked carefully.

“Weird?” I said, uncertain.

“Is that a question, Dallas?” he said, taking a sip of the cup he extended to me and putting his other hand in his pocket. I followed his hand and caught myself eyeing the bulge in his pants. I expelled a harsh breath and averted my eyes, but it was too late. He set the cup down and took a step forward.

“Weird, hmmm,” he said, taking another step forward. “Last time I saw you—”

“We aren’t talking about then,” I snapped.

“Aren’t we?” he stated as he took another step forward.

“You can’t be serious,” I said, taking a step back toward the door.

“Why not? You are the one who said the words,” he said, reaching me as he cupped my chin, trailing his thumb across my cheek and over my lips. I parted them in surprise as he licked his.

“I was twenty and naïve. You can’t hold that against me,” I defended, weakly.

He took another menacing step forward so I was backed against the door. Jesus, even having coffee with him wasn’t safe.

“Your fiancée,” I protested as he inched closer to me, his eyes zeroed in on my lips.

“Is my fiancée no longer, and lives in New York. It was over months ago,” he said, his thumb still stroking my face.

Why hadn’t he told me?

“And so now because you’re here and it’s convenient for you, you think you can just...oh, I don’t know, fuck me up against a door? I’m involved with another man. Get your hands off of me.”

He jumped at my order, an apology coming from him as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry, that was a dick move.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t surprise me.” I flinched at my own words and in turn apologized to him. “Look, I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to happen. Whatever the hell you are thinking isn’t going to come to fruition.”

We stood studying each other, static heavy in the air, his intent clear. Even though I knew, I asked, “I mean, what
are
you thinking, Dean? What do you want?” I whispered as his eyes drifted from my lips then to my eyes. He kept his hands in his pockets as he inched forward.

“What you promised me,” he finished before leaning in and capturing my lower lip briefly before pressing his fully against mine. It was instantaneous as my heart lurched in my throat and my senses bottomed out. I clung to his shoulders, bracing myself for his kiss. The minute his soft lips began to explore, I felt every single shockwave imaginable roll through me. I moaned as his tongue slid along my mouth and opened briefly to taste him before I pushed at his chest in protest.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” I said, my voice hoarse, my need for him evident.

“I am the only man that should ever kiss you, Dallas.” I was speechless. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I put my hand behind me on the door, searching for the handle, trying to think of something to say to help my situation. I had let him kiss me. I hadn’t fought hard enough. I had just done to Josh what I said I’d never do.

My vagina spoke first, the greedy bitch, urging me to give into him. I quickly shut her up by lashing out.

“I need you to respect my relationship. I’ve been with him for a year. This isn’t some fling. He doesn’t deserve this and you...you need to forget about what I said. I was a kid and that was a long time ago.”

“You meant it,” he replied with bite, his determination unwavering. “And if I thought for one second you were truly serious about him, I might respect your relationship. Then again, you belonged to me first.”

“You don’t know me anymore, and I don’t belong to you,” I whispered heatedly as he pulled his hands from his pockets and stroked both my cheeks with his thumbs slowly, his eyes my undoing.

His breath hit my skin with his words, his hot gaze matching his threat. “Then you better leave and fast, because I want you so much right now, Dally. I want to push so far into you that you remember exactly who you are, and who you belong to.” I gasped at his declaration, my underwear now useless as I clenched my thighs together tighter. If I stayed in the room one more minute, I would lose all control. I had done nothing but dream of this man for years, and done everything imaginable to push him out of my subconscious. All of that effort was now wasted with the kiss he had just recaptured me with.

“You have to stop, Dean,” I begged as my limbs became useless.

“I’ve missed you, Dallas,” he whispered before he placed one last soft kiss on my lips and stepped back, still pinning me with his gaze.

Anger from years ago surfaced, and suddenly I couldn’t help the emotion building in my chest. Fear crept through me again as memories of what was left me in the wake of loving him wormed into my thoughts.