Won’t Fall Again

by Liliana Rhodes

  “In. The. Kitchen. Now,” she growled.

  “I think I should go,” Jackie said, pushing her chair back.

  “Don’t you dare move.” Sam pointed at Jackie, who jerked her chair back into place.

  I followed Sam to the farthest part of the kitchen where she spun around, her eyes wide.

  “You suck,” she said as she punched me in the arm.

  “Really?” I said, rubbing my bicep. “Really, Sam? I can’t believe you hit me.”

  “It felt good,” she said with a shrug. “I should hit you again for Jackie.”

  “You haven’t hit me since we were eight.”

  “You haven’t done anything as stupid as this since then,” she said. “How could you bring a date?”

  “I’m sorry, I know it was stupid of me to do that, but you knew I didn’t want to come.”

  “Why not? I saw you two at my wedding. Even before then, when you saw her at the Fitzsimmons’s party I catered, you couldn’t take your eyes off her. You asked me for her number then.”

  “And you said she was taken. You told me about that asshole Dennis she was dating,” I said.

  “She’s not with him anymore,” she said. “They broke up last year.”

  “Well, she’s with someone else now.”

  Sam squinted at me. It was her ‘you’re completely insane’ look.

  “What are you talking about? She’s not with anyone,” she said.

  I shook my head. “Then she’s keeping something from you.”

  Samantha’s brow wrinkled. “What makes you think that?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “But trust me on this.”

  I headed back towards the dining room where Jackie pushed food around on her plate while Brandi talked about the movies she had been an extra in.

  “Let’s get going,” I said.

  Brandi stopped talking mid-sentence. Her shoulders slumped as her face fell and her bottom lip slipped into a pout.

  Annoying, I thought.

  I didn’t care about Brandi. I barely knew her. She was nothing like the women I liked to date, but I was hoping she would make Jackie feel a little of the jealousy I felt whenever I thought of her with someone else.

  Jackie shot up to her feet.

  “You don’t have to go,” she said. “I’ll go.”

  She sped past me towards the coat closet. My instincts said to follow her, and I did.

  “Just stay,” I said. “I shouldn’t have come anyway.”

  She reached into the closet and pulled out a black oversized sweater. I took the sweater from her and held it up to help her put it on, but she swiped it out of my hands.

  “No, you shouldn’t have come,” she said. Her eyes darted over to Brandi and then back to me. “I’m glad nothing happened between us.”

  Her words slapped me and reminded me not only that she was taken, but also what I heard about her.

  “I’m glad too,” I said. “But then why are you here?”

  “Just go away and leave me alone,” she said.

  “Fine, if that’s what you want.”

  “You’re such an asshole,” she said.

  “And you’re a...” A hundred different words flashed through my head, but I couldn’t bring myself to say any of them. No matter how much she angered me, I’d never call her something bad. “You’re a witch.”

  She blinked at me while her brow knitted.

  “I hate you,” she said through clenched teeth.

  While her words slapped me before, this time they stabbed at my heart.

  She roughly shoved her arms into her sweater and turned towards the door. Sam appeared and they hugged after Jackie whispered something to her I couldn’t hear.

  As Jackie left, Sam gave me an evil look.

  “What is wrong with you?” she said.

  I shook my head and let out a long breath.

  How could she hate me?

  “I’m sorry, Sam,” I said. “I really am.”

  Brandi slid beside me with a sparkly white smile.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” she said as she held up Drake’s business card.

  Sam rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not done talking to you, Brent,” she said.

  “I know, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said.

  Brandi talked non-stop as I drove along the dark, curving canyon road. Drake told her he knew someone filming a cable show that was looking for help and she was excited about the opportunity.

  I didn’t really pay attention to what she was saying. Drake made it a habit of helping everyone he met. That was the benefit he had of knowing so many people. Brandi could care less about me other than I was Drake Winslow’s brother. It was okay, I could care less about her too.

  But Jackie was a different story.

  I hated thinking that I might have said or done something that hurt her tonight. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. Ever since Jackie and I had our fling at the wedding, all I thought about was her.

  Sam was right to look at me like I was crazy. I was, and it was all Jackie’s fault. She did something to me that made the most ridiculous ideas make sense to me. I sighed as I glanced at the ridiculous idea sitting next to me babbling.

  “Where can I drop you off?” I asked, interrupting her.

  “Drop me off? We’re not going back to your place?” Brandi asked.

  “No, this was just dinner, nothing else,” I said.

  Brandi gave me an address that was on the other side of town before she continued on about her career and how hard she’s worked on it.

  I turned on the car stereo, which picked up where it left off on my playlist. Sting was singing about his heart breaking with every step. I raised the volume to drown out the din of Brandi’s voice.

  Another ridiculous idea popped into my head. It was just crazy enough that it might work. I refused to let Jackie keep hating me, but could I make her like me and maybe love me someday? I’d do everything I could to find out.

  Chapter Two

  Jackie

  The television blared from the living room. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before leaving my bedroom, knowing that if I started yelling at Dennis now, I would never make it to lunch at Mirabella’s on time.

  Dennis O’Hara was my ex-boyfriend and sometime friend. We had been on and off for four years, with the last year or so off, and I had no plans on getting back together with him again.

  He was an average-looking guy with short, spiky, mousey brown hair and glasses. Lately he had been sporting a soul patch, a tuft of hair in the middle of his chin, which I thought looked ridiculous but he thought looked cool.

  It was football season, and Dennis never missed a game on TV. He tuned everything out while the game was on. He had already been staying with me a week, and I was ready for him to leave. In the past few months it seemed like he was staying with me more and more regularly, with one excuse after another. I hated it.

  “Can’t you just--” Breathe Jackie, breathe. “Could you please lower the volume? Mrs. Reilly has complained several times about the noise to the landlord.”

  Dennis turned to look up at me from his spot on the couch. He grabbed the remote and lowered the volume a little, then tossed the remote onto the cocktail table, making my hand-blown glass fish wobble. He roughly put his feet up on the table next to the fish.

  If he knocks that over, I will kill him.

  I fought the urge to move the fish, trying to give Dennis the benefit of the doubt for once, but I couldn’t do it. I picked up the fish and gently placed it on my bookcase. I'd had that fish for ten years and Grandma had it for decades before that. It was my most prized possession. I couldn’t risk his damn feet being anywhere near it. As I turned around, Dennis glared at me.

  “You really think I’m a fuck-up, don’t you?” he asked as he turned back to the TV.

  “I think I love that fish and don’t want it to break,” I said, glad I didn’t tell him off.

  “I
t’s a stupid, ugly glass fish,” he said.

  “It belonged to my grandmother. She gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday.”

  “Shitty gift,” he muttered.

  Bite your tongue, Jackie. Don’t say another word or you’ll be late.

  I grabbed my cellphone and my bag and opened the door.

  “Where are you going?” Dennis asked.

  “Out,” I said.

  “But it’s almost lunch.”

  “So? You’re a big boy. I’m sure you can find something to eat.”

  “You never left me alone when we were dating,” he said.

  “We are not dating,” I said angrily, turning towards him. “We haven’t dated for a year now, and I will never date you again.”

  Dennis shrugged, his eyes still on the football game.

  “Bring me back something?” he asked.

  I sighed as I clenched my jaw. Saying yes would get me out of here quicker than arguing with him even more.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  “A turkey sandwich. You know, like from that place you like going to that makes it with all the Thanksgiving fixings.”

  “Fine.”

  As I closed the door behind me, I heard him yell.

  “And a Coke. You never have anything good here.”

  “If you want something good, then buy it yourself,” I muttered angrily.

  I got into my car and turned the key in the ignition. The car coughed, choked, and went silent. I tried it again, holding the key in the on position, letting the engine whine as I waited for it to turn on, but nothing happened.

  Shit! Now what?

  Staring blankly at the dashboard, I went through all the problems the old car could have. Battery? No, it was making noise. Transmission? No, I had that replaced over the summer.

  Letting out a long sigh, I got out of the car and looked at it, hoping it would magically start. There was no way I was getting to Mirabella’s now.

  A baby blue sports car zipped past, then screeched as it stopped at the corner. The engine roared as the driver hit the gas.

  Asshole, I thought. Probably another ridiculous billionaire. Like this town doesn’t have enough of them.

  As I got back into my car, a car horn sounded. I ignored it and turned the key in the ignition again. The car still didn’t start. The horn honked longer, so I rolled down my window and gave the guy the finger. It was the blue sports car. It honked again.

  I opened the car door and stepped out, yelling at the expensive car.

  “You can’t have this spot. I’m not leaving. I can’t leave, you fucking asshole!”

  The car door opened, and Brent Winslow got out of the car wearing a pair of slacks with a white button-down shirt and a huge shit-eating grin.

  Of all the people, why did it have to be him?

  I jumped back into my car as he approached.

  “You piece of shit,” I yelled. “Now would be a good time to start. Now!”

  “I wasn’t trying to get your spot,” Brent said as he leaned against my car door. “I already got your spot about four months ago, remember?”

  He cocked his brow at me and I swore his eyes twinkled. Sometimes it was too easy to hate this man. Today just wasn’t my day.

  “Ugh, really?” I shook my head. “I’m reminded of it every time I see you.”

  “See, you can’t stop thinking about it either,” he said with a wink.

  “Please, just stop. I don’t need this right now. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”

  “What’s wrong with your car?” he asked.

  “How do I know? It won’t start. It’s going to cost me a lot of money. That’s how it always is with this car.”

  “Did you put gas in it?”

  “Did I put gas in it.” I rolled my eyes “Do I look stupid?”

  My mind raced, trying to think about when I last put gas in the car. There’s no way it was empty. I glanced at the old car’s dashboard and saw the red dial pointed to ‘E’. Dennis! I let out a long sigh and hung my head down as I rubbed my forehead. Dennis had borrowed my car the other day. I should know better than to expect him to take care of it.

  Stupid! Stupid!

  “Okay then, how about you just let your car rest and I’ll give you a ride?”

  I turned and pointed at his car.

  “In that?” I asked, scrunching my face.

  “It’s a really nice car,” he said, opening my car door.

  “I should’ve known you’d drive something that flashy, but baby blue? Really?”

  “That’s a special paint job. You won’t find another Maserati GranTurismo in this color.”

  “There’s a reason for that,” I said. “Why would you get a car in this color?”

  “I didn’t, although I do have one, just not in this color. This was given to me as a gift, but I’m donating it to charity. I just figured I’d take it for a drive first.”

  “Which charity? The society of billionaire douchebags?”

  “No, we don’t accept gifts. We just have our monthly meetings where we talk about how we rescue damsels in distress. Looks like I’ll have a good story to tell next time.”

  “I wasn’t in distress,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.

  “Whatever you say,” he said. “Hey, you want to drive it?”

  “Really?” I asked, giving him the side eye. What was he up to?

  “Sure, why not?” He handed me the keys, opened the driver’s side door, and bowed. “My lady.”

  “I am not your lady, but thank you.”

  I lowered myself into the soft leather seats that hugged my body. I breathed deeply, taking in the new car smell. It was better than I imagined.

  “Wow, I take it back, this is nice,” I said.

  “I told you it’s a nice car. I think it’ll bring in a pretty penny for the Humane Society.”

  “The Humane Society? You mean, like animal shelters and stuff like that?”

  This guy can’t be for real.

  “Is there another one?” he said.

  I steered the car back onto the street, enjoying the drive, when I realized I left my keys in my car’s ignition. I shook my head and rolled my eyes while I silently yelled at myself.

  “What’s the matter?” Brent asked.

  “I have to go back,” I said, disappointed. “I swear I’m never getting to this lunch.”

  “Why?”

  “I left my keys in the car.” I looked in the rearview mirror as I tried to edge over into the next lane. “If I turn up here, I can probably loop back around.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. You’re going to Mirabella’s, right?”

  “Yes...how did you know?”

  “That’s not important,” he said. “Just drive to the restaurant and I’ll go back and get your keys for you.”

  “Listen, that’s really nice, but you don’t have to do that. Plus I thought you were busy.”

  “There’s no deadline for charity,” he said. “I’ll get your keys and leave them with Amy. I’m sure you don’t want to see me again.”

  I wanted to tell him that wasn’t true but remembered how much I was supposed to hate him. I reminded myself how he said he would call and then didn’t. Then I remembered that dinner where he brought a date, Brandi.

  “I thought that was mutual,” I said.

  “It is. I don’t want to see you either, but you know, I have to report a good deed to my Billionaire Douchebag Club.”

  “Oh, you’re sooo funny,” I said dryly.

  I pulled into the parking lot behind Mirabella’s, not wanting anyone to see me with him. That was all I needed. It was bad enough Samantha was always on my case for not thinking he was Prince Charming.

  “Thanks for the ride,” I said.

  “And getting your keys.”

  “Well, you haven’t done that yet.”

  “Oh, but I will, and then you’ll really owe me,” he grinned mischievously.

  I couldn
’t help but smile back, but then I noticed the look in his eye. I recognized that look from the coat closet at Samantha’s wedding. I couldn’t forget that look. I didn’t want to forget it.

  Brent’s hand reached behind my neck and pulled me closer to him. His lips closed over mine and I melted against him before realizing what I was doing. I pushed away from him and smacked his chest.

  Damn, I forgot how muscular he is.

  My mind spun with all the things I wanted to say to him--

  Leave me alone!

  Go away!

  Get a life!

  I’ll be back in an hour.

  There’s a private bathroom in the restaurant.

  Ever have sex in a car? Want to try now?

  Instead I opened the car door and headed quickly towards the restaurant without looking back.

  Continue reading LOVE TO HATE YOU.

  Also by Liliana Rhodes

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