by Toni Aleo
Fallon hated that she was putting all this on Audrey, but she didn’t know what to do, who to talk to about it all. All she knew was that she was hurting and she needed someone to tell her what to do.
“Fallon, I don’t know baby. Love is tricky, intense. I don’t know what to say,” Audrey said into her hair. Fallon nodded slowly, knowing that her baby sister wouldn’t have the words to console her.
Who would?
No one knew about Lucas, no one knew what he did, no one knew the mess he could turn her into. Only she knew and only she knew how to deal with him, and that was to completely cut him out of her life.
She had to, or she was gonna go bat-shit fucking crazy.
*************************************************
If looks could kill, Lucas would have been dead at least five times that night. He didn’t know that Fallon could give such deadly looks but she could, and they kind of scared him.
Just a little bit though.
Seeing Fallon would have been everything he wanted if she would have been a little nicer. She was feisty and a little rude, but he liked it. He liked that she didn’t take his shit, he liked that she was a little angry. She had been so submissive when they were together, and now it seemed that she was standing up for herself.
And that was one hell of a turn on.
Call him sadistic but he liked a girl that knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. All he had to do was make her realize that he was the one she wanted. That he had changed, and that he could be the man she needed and trusted. He didn’t know how he was going to do it but he would.
There was only one thing bothering Lucas though, and that was the way Fallon and Elli looked at each other when he said that they had dated seven years ago. Something wasn’t right; Fallon had stared Elli down after the words were spoken, and then she did everything but fully run away from them. What was that about? The owner knew something, and he was determined to find out what it was.
The next morning, Lucas skated around the rink for the morning warm up along with his team. When he stopped by the boards for a drink, Sergei Arshan skated up beside him, also grabbing his drink. Lucas nodded towards him before smacking Sergei’s shin with his stick.
Sergei did the same before saying, “We’re going out tonight, you should come.”
Lucas laughed before squirting some Gatorade in his mouth. “It is Sunday.”
“So?”
“I’m good, catch me on a Friday or Saturday and I’m yours,” Lucas said with a smirk on his face.
There was no way he could go out tonight even if he wanted, not that he did. He had an early morning flight to catch. He was going up to Michigan to see his mom for a couple of days. Since he was on a break before heading out on a six-game road trip, he figured using that time to see his mom would be best. He would be gone for three days and when he came back home, he planned on going to Fallon’s office. By then he figured she would be all buttered up since every day for the next week her office would be filled with presents. Little tokens of his love for her.
He was calling it ‘Operation Get Fallon Back’, and he was going to succeed.
Or he was going to die trying.
**********************************************
Fallon sat cross leg in the middle of her bed with a black box in front of her. Audrey had taken Aiden to the park for a couple hours so that Fallon could do what she needed to do, and that was to get rid of anything that reminded her of Lucas. She had already gone through all her clothes and put all his old shirts and shorts in a black trash bag, the only thing left to do was go through their box.
Fallon had started putting the box together the day after they started dating and it was filled to the brim with things from their relationship. Plane tickets, movie tickets, picture strips, bracelets, dead flower petals — everything was in that box. As Fallon dug through it, she remembered every little thing about each item and tears slowly ran down her cheeks.
Everything was so simple then.
She picked up a buddle of letters that were wrapped in a red bow and couldn’t help the grin that came over her face when she opened each one, reading Lucas’ backwards handwriting. Fallon was the only one that could decipher his writing with no problem, and she soon became the only one he wrote for. She used to love getting his letters, or his little notes. They would make her day.
As she read over one of the last letters he wrote her, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was still struggling with his dyslexia. Fallon used to work with him on his reading and writing and he had started to progress throughout their relationship, but no matter what, it was just so hard for Lucas. He had hid the condition from his family growing up and when they found out about it he was already in high school. The teachers said it was too late for him to be taught the right way, but Fallon couldn’t have disagreed more. She worked extremely hard with him whenever he would let her. Lucas was a proud man and hated showing weakness. Since he classified his dyslexia as a weakness, he wouldn’t read for Fallon much. He said she would think he was stupid, which was nowhere near the truth. Fallon thought he was the smartest, sweetest man in the world, and loved him like he was.
With a shake of her head, she threw the letters back in the box. When she moved a picture of them on the beach in Cabo, she saw the little black Arpel’s box. Her breath caught as she slowly picked the box up, opening it to see the little silver ring that held the most gorgeous pink diamonds ever. Man, how she loved that ring. It took two years for Fallon to take it off after she and Lucas had broken up. Two damn years. The day she took it off was the day she knew she was never going to tell him about Aiden, or that she would ever see him again.
Fallon toyed with the small ring, moving it from finger to finger before she slid it on her right ring finger. It still fit perfectly. As Fallon glanced down at the ring, she knew she couldn’t throw it out. She might not wear it, but how could she throw away something that was so important to her at one time in her life? Maybe she would give it to Aiden when he met the girl of his dreams; he could give it to her. Or maybe, she would just keep it. Keep it for the moments when she needed a reminder of the greatest love of her life.
Fallon slowly put the ring back in its box before placing it back in the big box and closing it tightly. She climbed off the bed and stuffed the box back under her bed before going to the bag of clothes that sat in the corner. She opened the bag and started taking out all of Lucas’ old shirts. Each one was faded, and if she held it to her nose long enough, she would get a small whiff of Lucas’ scent. A rustic smell, something woodsy and manly.
She walked over to her closet, hanging each shirt back up on the hanger that she had pulled them from. She refolded all of his old shorts and boxers, placing them back in the drawer where they belonged. Fallon had done the exact opposite of what she had set out to do that afternoon, but maybe she wasn’t supposed to forget him. Maybe she was supposed to forever have him in her heart — he was the greatest love of her life. Didn’t that mean something?
How could she throw away things from her past that molded her future? She wouldn’t be who she was today if it wasn’t for Lucas. She would still be a scared little girl that submitted to anyone, her father being the main one, but because of what she went through, she stood up to him when he told he to get rid of Aiden. Fallon didn’t think she could ever forgive Lucas for what he did, but she didn’t regret their time together. She wished it hadn’t ended but if it hadn’t, no telling what she would be like now. Lucas toughened her up, and she would always be grateful to him for that.
Fallon thought she couldn’t breathe without Lucas but in reality she could, so was it really that bad to keep things to remember him by? Yeah, he affected her the same way he did back then, but it was the first time in years that she had seen him. So she got a little crazy around him, she might as well get used to it. She knew Lucas and she also knew that he wasn’t going to stop after last night. He was going to pursue her, so she might need to lear
n how to deal with him again.
Fallon was also going to have to learn how to resist him, or she was gonna end up right back in his bed.
And that would be dangerous.
********************************************
Fallon sat her desk the next morning, doing morning reports when her phone rang. She ignored it and went back to typing since she knew Rob would pick it up. When the phone kept ringing she glanced over at it again and wondered why Rob wasn’t picking it up.
What the hell?
Fallon reached for it, putting it to her ear before holding it with her shoulder as she went back to typing. “Fallon Parker with Rocky Top Wines speaking, how can I help you?” she said.
“I can think of a lot of things you can do to help me, Ms. Fallon Parker.”
Lucas’ honey-smooth voice filled Fallon’s ear, causing her hands to stop before she closed her eyes. Good Lord, his voice still turned her on, which was bad.
Bad Fallon! Bad!
Why the hell didn’t Rob answer the damn phone? When Fallon opened her eyes, she took a deep breath in. The whole night before she had dreamt of nothing but Lucas, and hearing his voice at nine o’ clock in the morning wasn’t helping her to get him out of her brain at all.
“Well, Mr. Brooks, I will not be helping you with any of those things you can think of.”
His chuckles made her girlie parts scream before he said, “Come on Fallon, don’t be mean to me so early in the morning.”
“Don’t flirt with me.”
“I have to baby girl,” he chuckled. “Anyways, I was calling to let you know I was going out of town for a couple of days,” he said. Fallon narrowed her eyes at the computer screen, imaging it was Lucas as she sat there confused.
“Why would I care if you are going out of town?”
He chuckled again and Fallon begged her girlie parts to relax. Damn man and his sexy chuckle!
“I just wanted you to know, in case you needed to get a hold of me. I’ll be in Michigan, seeing my mom, so if you need me just call.”
Fallon was dumbfounded. Was she being punked? What the hell was his deal? “Okay for one, I don’t care what you do, for two, wish your mother well for me, and for three, I will not be needing you,” Fallon said with a little more sass than needed but she had to get her point across.
“We’ll see about that beautiful, I’ll talk to you soon.”
The line went dead and Fallon sat staring at her computer screen, completely and utterly confused.
What the hell just happened?
Fallon placed the phone back on the receiver before shaking her head and getting back to work. It seemed that only a minute passed before her office door opened and Rob leaned against it.
“Where the hell were you? Lucas called!” Fallon complained before a man appeared with a bouquet of red roses in his hand. Fallon stood, her mouth hanging open as man after man came in with a bouquet in hand.
“You have a delivery,” Rob stated as her office slowly filled with dozens of red roses.
“You think?” she asked as the guys left, leaving every surface in her office covered with bouquets of the beautiful bright red roses. Fallon noticed a card in the middle of the bouquet that sat in the middle of her desk and picked up quickly, tearing it open.
Fallon,
I want what we had back,
Love, Lucas
“Wow. No reason beating around the bush, huh Lucas?” Fallon said as she reread the note. Someone had written it for him, probably Levi or maybe even Rob, because Levi would never put hearts around Lucas’ name. Fallon shook her head, dropping the note on her desk.
What the hell was she gonna do with him?
The next day, it wasn’t roses that filled Fallon’s office but white tulips. Lucas sent so many that some had to go out into the waiting room. He also sent a little tree that held all her favorite shades of Chanel's Rouge Double Intensity lip gloss. She didn’t understand his game, how did he remember her favorite lip gloss, or even her favorite flower? It had been seven years! Really?!
The gifts had set Fallon on edge, but the note about sent her over it.
The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love, but the white tulip means forgiveness.
Forgive me Fallon, please.
Love, Lucas
Forgive him?
After everything he did! He wanted her to forgive him, seriously? Was he freaking crazy? And what did he mean by perfect love? Why did he have to put that on there! Was he trying to drive her straight into a mental institution? Fallon reread the note a hundred times before she finally decided that either she was crazy or he was.
How does someone go seven years without seeing a person and after one night of seeing them decide they want the person back! What the hell did Fallon do to cause him to want her back to the point of expensive flowers and lip gloss? Her behavior shouldn’t have been rewarded with amazing gifts, it should have made him want nothing to do with her!
What the hell was going on!?
Fallon sat with her hand in her hair totally dumbfounded as she flicked a tube of lip gloss with her finger. The door open and Audrey stepped in, looking too cute for words in her bright purple sweater dress and thigh high purple boots. Audrey glanced around the room before raising an eyebrow at Fallon.
Fallon didn’t move, she was too confused.
“What’s up with the flowers?”
“Lucas,” Fallon said as if that answered the question perfectly. “What the hell am I gonna do about him?”
“He sent all this? Oooh, lip gloss,” Audrey gushed as she came to the desk, looking at all the shades that hung from different branches. Fallon swore Audrey had ADD or something. The girl couldn’t focus for shit.
“Audrey! Focus!” Audrey looked up and smiled.
“I like lip gloss, especially this kind.”
Fallon let out an aggravated sigh before letting her head fall into her hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Tell him to leave you alone.”
“I did, he ignored me.”
“You told him, ‘Lucas do not talk to me anymore, I don’t want your gifts’.”
Fallon thought for a moment. “Well no, but I thought he would get the hint with how rude I’ve been.”
“Oh my gosh, you want the gifts!” Audrey accused as she pointed her finger at Fallon, “If you didn’t, you would tell him to leave you alone!”
“Whatever! I don’t want none of it!” Fallon yelled back. She looked around the room, looking for the piece of paper that held Lucas’ number. When she found it she dialed the number quickly as Audrey watched her.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling him!” Fallon exclaimed just as he picked up.
“I knew the lip gloss tree would get you,” he said in his egotistical way.
Ah! He drove her crazy!
“I do not want your gifts, stop with them, and stop talking to me!”
Fallon slammed the phone down and crossed her arms.
“See,” Fallon said, only inches away from sticking her tongue out at her sister.
“Oh my beautiful sister dear, all I see is a very confused woman that not only likes the gifts but still likes the guy that sent them to her.”
Before Fallon could say anything, Audrey was out the door with nothing but a wave. Fallon looked down at her desk, scared out of her mind as the tears welled up in her eyes.
Because Audrey was probably right.
*****************************************
Lucas smiled like a Cheshire cat as the line went dead after Fallon hung up on him. He was getting to her, and it had only been two days.
Damn he was good.
“What’s that smile about?”
Lucas looked up as his mom laid a big plate of food in front of him. She smiled down at him and he smiled back before saying, “I’m just looking forward to something.”
Molly smile stayed in place as she sat across from him. Her bright blue eyes locked on his
as she said, “About?”
Lucas smiled as he looked across the table that held the woman that he loved more than life. Molly hadn’t changed at all over the years. She was a little heavier, and wrinkles lined her eyes but to Lucas she was still the most beautiful woman on earth. Her brown hair fell bone straight along her shoulders with only a piece pulled up in a barrette. Her smile was still as bright as the sun, as Lucas’ dad, James, would always say. Lucas couldn’t have felt more loved then he did when he was under her gaze.
But how was he going to tell her about Fallon?
“Um, well, I saw someone from my past.”
“Who?” Molly said as she picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “Do I know them?”
“Yeah, you do.”
Molly raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Fallon,” Lucas said quietly. Molly’s face changed from happy to worried within a second.
“Fallon?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, so why are you smiling about Fallon? She left you,” Molly pointed out.
Lucas grimaced before looking back up at his mother. “Yeah, but wouldn’t you have left Dad if he cheated on you?”
Molly smiled, nodding her head. “Why yes I would, but you do no wrong in my eyes.”
“But you know I’ve done plenty wrong,” Lucas laughed as Molly joined in. “But really, I hurt her, I didn’t deserve her.”
“Maybe not, but why are you smiling about her now?”
“I met up with her again, and I want to try again with her.”
Molly scoffed. “And what did Ms. Parker say to that? Wait, she isn’t married?”
“Nope, and she isn’t too happy with me. That was who called.”
Molly laughed, shaking her head. “That girl was always a little feisty when she knew what she wanted.”
“Yeah, she’s feistier now though,” Lucas said with a smile. “You know I’m not over her.”
“I never thought you were. Fallon was your person, just like your father was mine. When you lose your person, you walk through life like a zombie, and sometimes you feel like, like…” Molly paused, a small smile on her face. “Basically if I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would do. So I understand that you want Fallon back, and I wish you all the luck in the world on your endeavor to get her, because if I had the chance to have my James back, I wouldn’t stop until I succeeded.”