The Falling Kind

by Kennedy, Randileigh

  “He’s cute,” I shouted to Sam over the music. She stared at him all googly-eyed, sipping on her cranberry vodka.

  “Please come with me to talk to him after the show,” she pled.

  “I can’t imagine risking my life here to leave empty-handed,” I agreed. I never would’ve approached a guy for myself, but it was easy for me to do for a friend. There was no pressure.

  I glanced around the room. It was a diverse crowd, that was for sure. There were a lot of young girls who looked underage. They were wearing too much makeup, probably in order to help them pass with their fake IDs. There were also groups of guys, most of them full of piercings and tattoos, and some couples awkwardly trying to dance to the hard rock music. I definitely didn’t see anyone else like us around.

  The band played four or five more songs in a row. Sam was right, the music wasn’t great, but it was tolerable. The guitarist guy she was ogling looked really into it, but a couple of the other guys in the band looked like they were really overdoing it. The band finally announced a brief intermission and jumped off the stage where they headed to the bar for some shots.

  “Do you want to talk to him now?” I asked Sam, trying to read the expression on her face.

  “I can’t, I’m too nervous,” she said excitedly. “Can we just wait until after the show?”

  “That’s fine,” I nodded, finishing up my drink. Sam’s glass was also already empty.

  “Some giant security guy is staring at you, Syd. He looks questionable. I swear he is wearing what appears to be a shirt from the Baby Gap,” Brandt said, gesturing towards the bar area. “He’s huge. He’s been staring at you for at least five minutes.”

  I narrowed my eyes towards the bar area, trying to see who he was talking about. Was that… Cole?

  The guy across the room nodded as soon as I made eye contact with him, confirming I was right. “Oh my gosh, I know him. That’s the guy from the clinic the other night,” I explained to Sam. “Give me a minute.”

  I walked towards Cole and he walked towards me, meeting each other right in between the bar area and the main room.

  “How did you know I would be here?” he asked with a smirk and a raised brow. “I left you my number, you could’ve just called.”

  “I was just about to ask if you’re following me,” I countered. “What are you doing here?” He couldn’t have possibly known I would be in this bar tonight.

  “Tyler, the bassist, is a buddy of mine. We come to all his shows,” he replied, staring at me curiously. “You really didn’t know I was here? Are you telling me this is a completely random encounter? Like a cute story you could tell your friends about how we met?” he asked, referencing our conversation from the other night. He smirked at me, waiting for my reply.

  “I guess it is,” I stated, mildly amused. It was awfully coincidental to run into him again.

  “So then we can start over, like we don’t know each other then,” he said casually, shrugging his shoulders. “I can ask you out now like you’ve never turned me down, right?” His eyes lit up as he said it. “I’m Cole Mason, nice to meet you in this random, yet insanely romantic spot. I love unexpected meetings like this,” he teased.

  I laughed. “I’m Sydney Summers, pleasure to meet you. What did you do to your arm there?” I asked, playing his game. “That looks like quite an injury.”

  “Yeah, it’s nothing really. I think I was just rescuing a helpless kitten from a burning tree. Something like that. I’m always doing things like that, saving animals and stuff. I’m really into that kind of thing.”

  I laughed again, amused by his sense of humor.

  “Does this mean you’ll go get tacos with me now? It’s like the universe is practically forcing us together, right?” he said playfully. “It doesn’t have to be a date, I didn’t mean to add any pressure to it like that. It can be more like a ‘thanks for fixing my arm so I don’t get sepsis’ kind of dinner. We can sit around talking about the awesome soul-crushing melodies of Soul Punch.”

  I let out a slight giggle. The more I heard the band name, the more it was growing on me in a funny, ironic way. The stupidity of it somehow brought me joy every time someone said it, simply because it was that bad. I thought back to my conversation with Sam yesterday, when she begged me to just give some guy a chance. Any guy. I promised her I would, more in an effort to get her off my back, but this seemed like a better idea than finding another guy in the crowd to try it out on.

  “I would love to go eat tacos with you Cole Mason,” I replied. He smiled at me and it was infectious.

  “Is tomorrow night too long for you to wait? Because we could probably get there before they close at nine if you want to rush me into it,” he said sarcastically.

  “Tomorrow would be perfect,” I responded.

  “Just out of curiosity, what are you actually doing here? This isn’t the safest place for a girl like you,” he said sincerely.

  “I picked up on that,” I replied, looking around. “But my friend Sam is crushing on the guitarist so I told her I would wingman for her tonight. We did bring Brandt with us though, for added protection.”

  Cole looked around me to where Brandt and Sam were standing, pretending not to be watching us. “You’re telling me the guy with juice all over his khakis is your security for the night?”

  I snickered as he said it.

  “Please tell me you wouldn’t leave here with anyone,” he said protectively. “I mean, I know you’re confident with your karate, but these guys here, they aren’t good guys.”

  “You know all of them?” I asked skeptically.

  “Pretty much,” he replied, looking around the room. “Which guy does she like, Luke? The guitar guy?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. He doesn’t look too scary.”

  “Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “You are too naïve to be in here. Please don’t be offended by that, but I’m serious. These guys here aren’t your friends, and they don’t want to be. I don’t know Luke all that well, but I know who he hangs around well enough to know that your friend shouldn’t be alone with them.”

  “That’s why I’m here with her, she won’t be alone. We can handle it.”

  “I’m not phrasing this right,” he said, trying to gather his thoughts. “I don’t want to sound possessive, or jealous, or crazy or anything, but I’m serious. You guys shouldn’t be here. And you absolutely cannot leave with any of these guys. Will Brandt at least stay with you guys the whole night?”

  “He will,” I said, appreciating the concern in his voice. “We’re not going anywhere tonight. She just wants to meet him. Maybe they can plan something for another time?”

  “Can I intervene? What day does she want to make plans with him?” he asked.

  “Well, we work tomorrow and Friday, and she has class on Thursday. Maybe Saturday?” I guessed.

  “If I promise to make it happen will you promise me you’ll leave after the show?”

  “Yes,” I said hesitantly. Now he just seemed to be a bit overprotective. I wondered if he thought I was interested in someone else, or if he was really as concerned as he pretended to be.

  “Luke,” Cole called over to the bar. The guitarist came over and they did some weird ‘bro shake’ - part fist-bumping, part hand shaking.

  He led Luke over to where Sam and Brandt were standing. “I want you to meet my friends, this is Sam,” he said, directing Luke’s attention to my beaming friend.

  “I love your music, you are very talented,” she gushed. He smiled and reached out for her hand, kissing it as she outstretched it. I wasn’t sure if the gesture was sincere or slimy.

  “Well thank you,” Luke said kindly, still keeping his eyes on Sam. They definitely liked looking at each other. I don’t think they broke eye contact.

  “So Sydney and I were thinking about taking the boat out on Saturday, do you want to join us?” Cole suggested. Sam looked from Cole to me, wondering how on earth all of this just happened. I loved the way he simulta
neously made plans for me and him at the same time – very clever. But because it was helping out Sam, I didn’t mind one bit.

  “I’d love to,” Luke replied. “How do you guys know each other?” he asked, looking from Cole to the three of us.

  “Syd and I watch baseball together sometimes,” Cole replied, subtly winking at me. “Sam and Brandt are good friend of hers. You can join us too if you’d like Brandt,” he added sincerely.

  “Thanks man, but I have to work on Saturday,” he uttered, picking up on the whole double date vibe. Brandt looked to me for confirmation that he answered that correctly. I smiled at him.

  “Hey, I gotta get back on stage,” Luke said, pointing to his band mates walking towards their instruments. “Looking forward to Saturday though. Cole, you’ll text me the details?”

  “Yeah, man, we’ll talk after the show. Get back at it,” Cole said, motioning him to head back to his band.

  “Nice to meet you,” Luke said, walking away backwards towards the stage, still maintaining eye contact with Sam.

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Sam exploded. “Syd, I think I love this guy,” she gushed, pointing towards Cole. “Are we really going on a boat Saturday?” She was so excited.

  “Yep, Sydney practically begged me,” he said sarcastically, “so I had to make it happen. What time do you guys want to head out? Around two that afternoon?”

  “That works, we both have the day off,” Sam replied, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Do you guys want another drink?” Cole asked us politely. “What is that, a cranberry vodka? A sea breeze? It’s something pink, I can see that.”

  “None of those,” I replied with a soft laugh. “I’m fine, really. I don’t need anything else.”

  “I will take you up on a cranberry vodka though,” Sam chimed in. “My nerves are all revved up, I think I need it.” Cole and Brandt left us briefly to head to the bar for the refills.

  “That’s the guy from the clinic?” Sam gushed a little too loudly as they walked away. “How are you in limbo as to whether or not you should be seeing that guy? You should be seeing every bit of that guy, oh my gosh. That whole package…”

  “I don’t even know him,” I interrupted. “Get over his handsome face for Pete’s sake, he could be a violent criminal or something.”

  “That’s all something I could look past for a guy like that,” she teased.

  I playfully rolled my eyes at her. “If I was into a guy with muscles, I would just go hang out at a gym somewhere. That’s not what I’m about.”

  “How are you my best friend?” she teased back.

  Seconds later the band started back up and it was too loud for any more conversation. Brandt and Cole returned, handing Sam her drink. Cole stood right next to me and looked down on me, smiling, and I felt a lot more comfortable in the room than I had minutes earlier. Any uncomfortable feelings I had about the place were completely washed away with him standing by my side.

  The band played another five songs, none of them really sticking out to me. They all sounded kind of the same. When it was over, Cole grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. “I need to talk to someone real quick. Will you hang around for a minute? I don’t want you to leave yet.” I nodded. Sam’s smile grew immensely as Luke hopped off the stage and made his way towards her.

  “I only have a minute. The next band is up in a few and they’re real jerks if we don’t get our stuff cleared out quickly,” he explained. “But what are you guys up to tonight? Do you guys want to hang? We can head out of here with some of my friends.”

  “We have to work pretty early tomorrow,” I interjected. If I’d left the response up to Sam, she would have agreed with anything he asked of her. I could see it in her eyes. “We have to head out. But great show, that was fun. We’ll see you on Saturday?”

  “Yeah, looking forward to it,” he stated. As soon as Luke walked away, two more guys approached us. So much for Brandt warning them away. These guys didn’t even acknowledge he was standing with us.

  “Haven’t seen you around here before,” one of them snarled. “Are you ladies sticking around, or do you want to head to a party with us?”

  “On a Tuesday night? Who has a party on a Tuesday?” Brandt chimed in. They completely ignored him.

  “We’ve got some goods out in the Camero,” the other guy said with a lip full of chew. “Interested?”

  “That’s the pickup line around here? You’re inviting us out to your Camero?” I said in sarcastic disbelief. “We’re good, but thanks.”

  “Don’t be disrespecting my car, sweetheart,” the guy growled. “Otherwise I’d be happy to bend you over the hood for a good spanking.”

  “Yeah, I’m not four years old, so we’re good,” I replied, grabbing Sam’s hand. “We should head out.”

  Brandt turned to head out of the bar. We were only two steps behind him, but in that amount of time, another burly guy in a Def Leppard shirt with the sleeves ripped off stepped in front of us.

  “You ladies look like a good time,” he said with a sleazy look on his face. “Don’t be thinking you’re just gonna leave here without having some conversation with us first.” Two more guys came up and stood next to him.

  “She knows karate, back off,” a booming voice said behind us. I smirked, obviously realizing it was Cole. The guys simply looked up at Cole in disgust, not saying anything further. Brandt turned around to see the commotion, stopping in his tracks. He didn’t seem sure as to whether or not he was supposed to intervene.

  Brandt reached back and grabbed Sam’s hand. Cole wrapped an arm around my shoulder. The men in front of us moved, and we walked out of the bar.

  “See what I mean?” he said towards me. “These guys are animals.”

  “What about you? You’re here,” I retorted.

  “Only to save innocent girls like you from very bad things,” he said under his breath. “Can I please take you home?” Brandt and Sam were already making their way towards the Hummer.

  “I rode with them, they’ll take me back,” I said with a shrug. “We’re fine. We’re heading home.”

  “Tell Brandt to make sure no one is following you,” he said sternly.

  “Why would someone follow us? I think you might be blowing this out of proportion,” I began, not understanding why he was so adamant about how bad these people were. Sure, the guys were mostly dirty and appeared to have some ill intentions, but they weren’t exactly physical with us. I didn’t feel all that uncomfortable.

  “Please,” he urged. “Just trust me on this.”

  I stared up into his eyes, trying to read them. They didn’t look possessive or jealous or demanding. They looked full of genuine concern.

  “Would it make you feel better to follow us back?” I offered.

  “Yes,” he replied, sounding relieved. He walked me to Brandt’s Hummer and opened the door for me. “Nice meeting you guys,” he said towards Brandt and Sam up front. “See you Saturday Sam.”

  “I still can’t believe we’re going out,” she said dreamily. She was on cloud nine.

  “I’ll follow you,” he said softly.

  I put on my seatbelt and he closed the door. Brandt pulled out of the parking lot and I smiled as I heard the soft hum of a motorcycle behind us.

  “I still can’t believe that was Cole,” Sam said with a disbelieving tone. “What about that guy isn’t your type? That face… those arms… and he has a boat?” she added excitedly. “Please, Syd, please go out with him. That’s the last thing I’ll ever beg of you.”

  “We’re going out tomorrow night,” I said with a sigh.

  “Eeek!” Sam screamed. “This is major. We should go celebrate.”

  “Let’s see if I even make it through dinner with him. I’m pretty out of practice. I haven’t been on a first date in years.” Ian and I were together for two, and that was over a year ago. I was seriously unprepared for this. “Besides, we can’t go anywhere else, or I can’t go with you anyway. He’s fol
lowing me back to my place.”

  Brandt’s eyes darted up to his rearview mirror and Sam looked in her side mirror simultaneously.

  “He’s going back to your place tonight?” she shrieked. She was way too excited about all of this. “So that’s why you didn’t want us to make plans with Luke tonight, I get it.”

  “No, that’s not it at all. He’s just making sure we get back safely, that’s it,” I corrected her. “He seemed worried about it. Like someone would follow us or something. I don’t know, it was kind of strange, but kind of sweet all at the same time.”

  “I am staying up all night until you call me with the details,” Sam threatened as we pulled up my street. “I’m serious, I don’t care what time it is, you have to call me.”

  “He’s literally just making sure I’m home okay. That’s it. Don’t stay up.”

  “Call me if anything happens,” she reiterated as Brandt pulled up in front of my door.

  I thanked Brandt for driving us and waved goodbye. Cole’s motorcycle pulled forward in front of my place as soon as Brandt began pulling out.

  I walked towards him and he shut off the engine. He climbed off the bike and walked towards me.

  “Can I walk you up?” he said, pointing towards the small path and four steps I had to walk. It seemed silly in a way given how short of a distance it was, but it was also sweet.

  “Of course,” I agreed. “Thanks for the escort tonight. Do you want to come in?”

  “Yes,” he said quietly, staring at me with an intense gaze. It burned through me and I so badly wanted his lips against mine again. “I want to. But I can’t. Not tonight.” He reached out and brushed the hair back from my face. As his fingers grazed my skin, I felt it pulse through my entire body.

  “You won’t come in?” I clarified, a little surprised by his reply.

  “Then you’ll think me following you home was probably just some ploy to spend more time with you,” he said softly. “I feel like I need to walk away so you truly understand that my intentions were just to get you home safely. That’s all I meant to do.”