Empty Net

by Toni Aleo

  Fallon didn’t sit back down, and she didn’t offer Tate a seat either as he held her gaze, “What do we need to talk about?” she asked with her glossy red lips pursed.

  “I know you have a problem with me and instead of taking it out on Audrey, why don’t you come to me?”

  Fallon narrowed her eyes, biting down on her lip as if she were choosing her words. Finally she asked, “Audrey sent you?”

  “No, she doesn’t even know I’m here. This is between you and me, and we need to get this taken care of because you, Lucas, and Aiden are like a family to me. Ever since I said what I said, Lucas has been treating me different and I guess you have been on Audrey about dumping me.”

  Fallon nodded slowly as she lowered herself in her chair, “You’re the first guy to come ready to fight me. Usually all Audrey’s guys stand in the background and don’t care what I have to say.”

  Tate nodded, “I’m not like those guys. I love Audrey.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes,” he said taking a step towards her desk, “yeah, I messed up trying to talk to my friends about my issue. But, Fallon, I have no one but my friends and Audrey to talk to. I never meant to hurt her, and you know I am a good guy. It was a big mistake on my part because those feelings I was feeling didn’t even have just cause. I was confused, and I really didn’t think it out.”

  “So you don’t want children,” she said with her eyes narrowed.

  “Yes, I want children, but I want Audrey more. She is my everything, Fallon, you know that. I’ve told you that, and I’m not going to let you try to tear us apart.”

  “If I don’t feel that you are going to make her happy, I’ll do what I need to do to make sure she is happy,” she said. “I am her sister. I am her blood. She has given her life for me, and I will do the same for her. I don’t know what game you’re playing but it would be best if you just walk away now.”

  Tate put his hand up, confusion on his face, “What game, Fallon? There is no game. I made a mistake, I promise you, I am not going to hurt her. Audrey believes me, why can’t you trust her?”

  Fallon let out an empty laugh as her gaze held his, “Really? You want me to believe her when I have watched her go from asshole to asshole?” She yelled as she stood up, “I believed her when she said Derek Rambles was the sure bet, the one she was gonna marry. Look what happened. He got her pregnant, left her to my father, and you know the rest.”

  Tate looked away as she went on, counting on her fingers, “Then we have Ken, Jerrod, Mike, Leon, Jordan, and in between all those winners were more winners, but then we come to the biggest one of all, Levi Moss. She lied to me. Told me not to worry about it. She wouldn’t tell me who he was, but that he did horrible things to her. Did she tell you he used to hurt her? That he would call her a fat cow, when my baby sister is not fat! Did she? I detested that man, wanted to kill him for the things he did to my sister. I hated him so much that I knocked the fuck out of him when I found out that it was Levi doing all those things to her.” Tate shook his head, looking up as anger boiled inside him. He already hated Levi. But let him run into Levi again and his fist would be visiting Levi’s nose. Looking over at Fallon, he saw the tears pooling in her eyes as she held her ground, “No, she didn’t, so before you ask me to trust her judgment, look at her track record, Tate, and then maybe you’ll see that I have just cause for doubting you now.”

  “No, you don’t,” Tate shot back, “I have never hurt her, I have done everything to make her happy. I am good to her. I care about her. I would bend over backwards for her. I treat her the way Lucas treats you!”

  Fallon paused, her lips quivering as she said, “Yes, now you do, and I have no doubt that you love her, but what’s going to happen when in ten years, she can’t give you that baby you want. The one with the big blue eyes, and brownish blonde hair? Are you going to be honest then, and leave? Or will you cheat maybe?”

  “I would never do that and you know it! I love her, Fallon! I love all of her, the damaged part, the beautiful part, and everything in between. Yes, there is a chance she can’t give me a baby of my own, but what if one day she can?”

  “And what if she can’t?”

  “Then we’ll have a lot of dogs until we can adopt. I don’t care about anything but her and helping her live her dreams,” Tate said pounding his chest, his own tears springing to his eyes. He didn’t know if it was his anger or if it was the fear of not connecting with Fallon. He loved her, he thought of her as the older sister he never had. But she was pissing him off, and he felt like he was failing. He thought she was going to be easier to convince, but man, was he wrong. “My heart is hers, Fallon, what else can I do to prove that to you?”

  Fallon shook her head, looking away, “Tate, I want to believe you, I do, but I am just so scared for her. She loves you,” she said meeting his gaze again, “so much, more than any of those other guys, and it will crush her if you ever leave her.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. She is everything I need, and I don’t need anything else, just her. She is enough.”

  “So you’re ready to get married, adopt a kid, and live Happily Ever After? Because that’s what she wants.”

  A smiled tugged at his lips at the thought. He didn’t care how young he was, and how much everyone frowned upon his desire to be married young, because he knew what he wanted. He loved Audrey, so much. Everything about her made him smile. She could bring him to his knees with one kiss, and he knew for a fact that he would love her for the rest of his life. When he told her that he felt that she was sent to him, he wasn’t just blowing hot air. It was the truth. He felt like his family in heaven handpicked her for him. Then they sent him to America, to Florida, and then to the Assassins where she was. What were the chances that their lives would already be so entangled with him being her neighbor and also being Lucas’ best friend before he woke up beside her? It was an act of God. He wanted them together. Tate believed that deep down in his heart. He also believed that he was the missing piece to Audrey’s Happily Ever After.

  Her Prince Charming with some flaws here and there.

  “Call me Prince Charming, Fallon. I’m hers.”

  Fallon shook her head, “You’re so young, Tate, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Because I’m passionate about someone, I am too young to know my feelings? How is that fair? Because I know what I want, and found her young, that makes it not real? Because I feel that it is real. Didn’t you find Lucas at an age younger than me? Yeah, you two went through hell, but look at you guys now: blissfully happy. Don’t Audrey and I deserve that chance no matter our ages?”

  Fallon held his gaze for a long time; the tension could have been cut with a knife. When he saw a smile tugging at her lips, he smiled fully at her. He had her, he knew he did. “I’m not going to hurt her. I promise you that.”

  She ran her hands through her hair, placing her hand over her stomach as she said, “I’m trusting you, Tate. Don’t fuck me over.”

  Tate smiled as he came around the desk, wrapping his arms around her. She hugged him tightly, and he finally felt that things would go back to normal for them. He had missed her, Lucas and Aiden, and it would be great to be able to go back over there. It also felt great to have her trust. He wouldn’t let her down, he wouldn’t let Audrey down. He cared too much for both of them. Tate had no doubt that he was going to marry Audrey and have a family with her, so he had to have a good relationship with her family or things would always be tense. He wouldn’t wish that on Audrey, it wasn’t fair. He loved her too much and he would always go to bat for her.

  Pulling back, Tate looked deep into Fallon’s eyes as he said, “Wouldn’t think of it.”

  ***

  Audrey loved her outfit of skinny blue jeans, white tee, grey blazer and coral scarf with matching Kate Spade pumps. She just hoped that it was warm enough and that Tate liked it. She sat at the counter, looking over different spots for Audrey Jane’s when Tate finally arrived back. />
  “Awesome, you are ready and look really good, come on, we’ve got to go,” he said, still standing at her front door, letting the cold air in.

  “You said you wouldn’t be gone long,” she said, grabbing her coat, and rushing towards him. He gave her a quick kiss, taking her hand into his.

  “Sorry about that. Got caught up, come on, I don’t want to be late,” he said pulling her out the door. She rushed to lock the door and then followed him across the lawn. It was her first time riding with him, and she was a little nervous. He had explained his anxiety to her on one of their late night calls when he had been gone for a game, but holding his hand, he seemed okay. So maybe her nervousness was unneeded, but all her hopes changed when they reached the front of his truck. She felt his hand grip hers tightly as he walked with her to the passenger side and opened it for her. She could see his hand shaking as she slowly got into the truck. Shutting the door, he went around the truck. She watched as he stood by the driver’s door for a moment, shaking his arms out by his side. She gave him another minute and when he wasn’t in the truck, she jumped out, coming around to him.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as she walked up behind him.

  He looked at her, but she shook her head, “No, look at the handle of the truck, I read that this is all about breathing, and training yourself to be calm. You got this,” she said, placing her hands on his waist, and resting her head against his back feeling his heart beat out of control. “Now, breathe baby,” she whispered, moving her hand up and down his side. His heart wasn’t slowing down, but he reached for the door handle, and opened the door. She wanted to cheer for him, but he was nowhere near done. She continued to massage his side, slowly coaxing him to take each step. Moving her hands around his navel, like the news article said, she slowly rubbed, encouraging him to get into the truck. When he did, he looked down at her with a grin as he reached over to put the key in the ignition. She watched as his hand shook, so she took his other hand, stroking it slowly until he finally got it in. The truck started with the roar of an F-150 engine and he squeezed her hand.

  Glancing up at her, she said, “Did it help?”

  Tate nodded with a shy smile on his face, “Kind of, but it mostly just turned me on.”

  Audrey laughed, “Well at least it took your mind off of your anxiety,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders as she shut the door. She ran around the truck, and climb up into her seat to find her scrumptious boyfriend grinning at her. “You are lucky that it is cold outside and our neighbor is over there raking his leaves or I would have taken advantage of you.”

  Audrey giggled as her face warmed, “Drive, Ooooodder.”

  Tate took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles as he groaned out, “Fine, Parker.”

  Audrey grinned as they backed out of the driveway. She was excited for their surprise date. He had been talking about it for weeks, and she was finally glad it was time for it. She usually hated surprises but Tate made them kind of fun. As they drove out of Nashville, Audrey tried to keep the conversation going, so that Tate wouldn’t get anxious and it seemed to work.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever find a spot for Audrey Jane’s,” she pouted.

  “Sure you will, love, it just takes time. This isn’t a quick process, baby.”

  “I know,” she said with a sad smile, “I’m just so impatient.”

  “I know you are, that’s why I love you so,” he said softly as he kissed the back of her hand, “This is off the subject, but I have been thinking of something lately.”

  “Okay?” she asked, looking over at his profile. He hadn’t shaved in days, and his face was delectably covered in his coarse blonde hair. She loved the feel of it along her skin, and she would lie for hours running her fingers through it. Reaching out, she cupped his chin, running her thumb along his jaw.

  She was rewarded with a smile before he asked, “Did Levi hurt you?”

  Her thumb stopped as her brows drew in, “How do you mean?”

  Tate glanced over at her, then quickly back to the road, “Did he physically hurt you?”

  “What brought this up?” she asked, buying herself some time.

  “It was brought up a couple weeks ago.”

  “By?”

  “Lucas.”

  “Oh,” she said, dropping her hand from his face. He didn’t let her get far, before he tangled his fingers with hers.

  “Tell me.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, “Yeah, he did.”

  “How?” he asked, his hand squeezing hers as his body went tense.

  “He was really rough with me in bed, he never hit me, but he would make me take it the way he wanted. He also liked to choke me, when he climaxed. It did nothing for me, but he got a kick out of it. He was really mean when he talked to me sometimes too, but it’s fine. I’m over it,” she added quickly when she saw him shake his head.

  “I am going to kill him,” Tate sneered.

  “No, you’re not. What good would that do? He is gone. It’s me and you now. Nothing else.”

  “I wish you would have told me that before, baby, I would have decked him at the Christmas party.”

  Audrey giggled, “And then Elli would have killed you. It’s no big deal, it’s over. It’s not like I think of it, or am even worried about him anymore. I was in a bad desperate spot, and I thought I was in love, I was ready to take anything as long as he stayed with me,” she squeezed his hand as she said, “But now I know what love is, Tate. You made me realize my past mistakes with guys.” With a laugh she added, “Thank God, I woke up next to you three months ago.”

  Tate kissed the back of her hand again, and smiled over at her, “Thank God, for sure.”

  Audrey smiled as Tate seemed to relax. He took a turn and then another until they were in the city of Lebanon. Driving down a road, Audrey was familiar with; they ended up at Thompson Storage.

  “What are we doing here?” she asked as he parked. Looking out the back window, Audrey saw that people gathered around the gate as Tate shut the engine off.

  Looking back at Tate, she found him grinning at her as he said, “I figured we have watched enough Storage Wars that we can give these people a run for their money. I have a pocket full of cash, and we are going to buy us a locker.”

  Audrey let out a squeal, “Shut up!”

  “If I shut up, how am supposed to say, yuuuuuuuuuuuuuupppppppppp!”

  Audrey was in a fit of giggles as she wrapped her arms around Tate’s neck, “You’re the best,” she whispered against his lips.

  “Am I?”

  Audrey couldn’t contain her laughter as she said, “Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupppppp!”

  ~*~

  Audrey was surprised they were still dressed when they made it inside her condo.

  Tate couldn’t keep his hands off her, and she couldn’t keep hers off him on their way back from Lebanon. They came home empty handed, but that was by choice. They had fun screaming the famous ‘yup’ but there really wasn’t anything they wanted. It was a disappointment in one way, but at the same time, she would have never done that if it wasn’t for him. He continued to amaze her every day, and after their amazing day together, she was in a rush to get him naked.

  Ripping his shirt over his head, Audrey ran her hands down his chest, taking a hold of his jeans and bringing him around the couch. There was no time for foreplay, she wanted him inside her, now. His fingers did quick work of her blazer and jeans before she ripped them off, throwing them to the side with his shirt. Letting his jeans fall, Audrey pushed down his black boxers, freeing his spectacular hard on, taking in the beauty that was him. As she undid her bra, she took him into her mouth, racking her teeth along the length of him before tantalizing the tip with her tongue. As she tasted the sign of his arousal on her tongue, she inwardly groaned as she pushed her bra away, pulling away to push her panties down.

  Tate gave her a lazy smile as he ran his hands down her naked body, causing goose bumps to appear along her skin. S
he moved her hands up his chest, to his shoulders, where she pushed him down onto the couch much to his surprise. As she straddled him, she held his thick dick in her hand, guiding it until he was hidden inside her. They both let out matching groans of appreciation before she started to move up and down him. His hand gripped her hips, picking her up and guiding her down slowly, building her climax. She was almost there, but then Tate’s hands left her hips, taking her full heavy breast in his hands, bringing them together as he swirled his tongue around her tightly beaded nipples. Audrey fought for air, her body squeezing his and when his hand came between them, moving his fingers into her hot, wet sheath; she exploded into a thousand pieces. Digging her nails into his shoulders, he captured her lips with his as her body convulsed around his hard cock. Tate bit her bottom lip playfully, taking her hips in his hands and moving her up and down his straining dick at a quicker pace.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She wanted to please him for all he had done for her that day, not be like a noodle and let him have his way with her. Pushing through the cloud of her arousal, Audrey took his hands from her hips, receiving a confused glance from him before she placed his large hands on her breast.

  “Mm,” he moaned as his lust filled eyes held hers. She could only nod as she started to rock against him. She picked up speed, riding him hard, her body slamming against his, his hard dick deep inside her as his head fell back. She watched as he bit down on his lip and it only encouraged her to go faster and harder. He was deep inside her, and she felt another orgasm building. But then he suddenly took her by her arms, holding her still as he stood up. She let out a scream as he let her fall while holding her by her arms, upside down, her legs tight around his waist as he pounded into her. She had never had such crazy, wild, abandon sex in her life, but man, did she love it!

  He thrust inside her, his hands tight around her wrist, until she shattered again, but this time, he came with her. Their bodies shook, and twitched as they rode their climax to the end. Audrey was dizzy, and she was sure all her blood was rushed her head, but she felt fucking fantastic. Tate pulled her up, cradling her in his arms as he kissed her hard against the lips. She opened her mouth, her tongue dancing with his as she felt his dick twitch and come back to life inside her. Parting, she looked deep into his eyes, moving her fingers along his jaw, “I think you broke me,” she gasped, taking in sharp breaths as her body sang for his. Only he could make her feel like this. No other man had ever, turned her inside out and made the hurt feel good.