Fall Into Love

by Melody Anne

  “So, this girl was driving down the highway in this hot little convertible, when she saw a man hitchhiking. As she got closer, she saw that he only had one leg, and he was sort of hopping along the side of the road, like a rabbit.” Sasha stood on one foot and hopped. “So this girl felt really bad for him, so she pulled over and offered him a ride. He hopped in, and she noticed that his shoe was falling apart. After only a couple miles, he pulled out a knife and stabbed her to death. What no one knew was that he was a one-legged transvestite and had been looking for the perfect red stiletto forever! Then he threw his old shoe out the window.”

  She held up the dirty sneaker she found with blue fingers.

  “This sneaker!”

  “That was the worst one yet,” I said, shaking with laughter. I stabbed a piece of cardboard and thrust it into the bag. When I stood up, I saw Seth a few feet in front of us, watching me with a strange expression on his face. When he saw me looking, he frowned and turned away.

  On day two, he’d started unzipping the overalls so they folded and hung over his hips, leaving his chest covered by T-shirts that left his arms bare. Arms strong enough to lift my legs around his waist and hold me against his truck. Damn, of course he would be the only one who could make these hideous jumpsuits look sexy.

  I swallowed against the memories and tried to push them away, but instead I found myself wondering what exactly Seth could have done to have wound up in jail. Most petty crimes earned a slap on the wrist and something like we were doing now. Unless he was a repeat offender? Or it was something like drugs. I glanced over at Seth, trying to find any sign that he was a recovering addict. Maybe it was something else. Dealing?

  That would make it worse, because dealers were the scum of the earth. An addict at least had an excuse. The recovery facility that I did a four-week internship at sophomore year made a huge impact on me, but no matter how hard I argued, my father would not listen to me. Those people needed a voice, and I wanted to be the one to give it to them.

  My father would not let me change my major to family law. Corporate law. That’s where the good money was. That’s what he wanted from me. That’s what he expected from me.

  So I caved in like I always did and stuck with what he wanted.

  Still, if Seth had been in prison for drug distribution, it wouldn’t matter how my body reacted to him. I could never be with someone who had such blatant disregard for another human being’s life.

  I shook my head and wiped the sweat off my forehead with my arm. Day one had taught me that the midday sun was relentless, so I’d started wearing a ball cap to keep my face shaded. I didn’t tan, I burned. And I didn’t need any more freckles.

  I kept a bottle of water in one of the huge pockets in my hideous jumpsuit but tried to only drink when I had to so that I wouldn’t need to pee every five minutes. It was a chore because I had to change out my gloves every time I wanted to take a sip.

  Right before we reached the mile marker that let us know we could stop, I saw something pink sticking out from a patch of grass. It wasn’t paper or cardboard, so I set my stick down and gingerly pulled it out with my glove-covered hands.

  “Holy shit!” I threw it to the ground and hopped away from it, shaking my hand like I could get the feel of that thing from my fingers. “Ew, ew, ew!”

  Sasha ran over when I screamed and started laughing so hard she bent over at the waist. “Avery wins!” she shouted over and over, but no one understood what she was saying.

  Everyone came running.

  “Is she having some kind of attack?” Rick asked me.

  All I could do was shake my head. I needed bleach, lots and lots of bleach. Seth looked at me, and I saw concern in his eyes. I was still trying to wrap my head around what I had just picked up.

  Sasha finally stood back up, wiping tears from her face.

  “Avery wins,” she said again. Then she pointed to the ground.

  A huge pink dildo lay in the dirt at her feet.

  “Holy shit,” one of the guys whistled. “That’s like porn star size.”

  Heat climbed up my neck when I saw Seth’s concern change to amusement. His lips quirked up in a grin. I wanted him to act like an asshole again because his smile made me forget. It was easier to remind myself why I hated him when he was a jerk.

  “You have to bag it, Princess,” Sasha said, breaking down into another fit of giggles.

  I backed away and held up my hands. “No way. I am not touching that thing again.”

  “How about the real thing, baby?” an older guy, Theo, I think, said. He grabbed his crotch and wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Knock it off, Theo,” Rick warned. “I won’t have any harassment suits on my watch.”

  “Got it!” Sasha shouted, interrupting the tension within the group.

  She had the sharp point of her stick driven right through the middle of the fake dick, and she held it up like a pink toasted marshmallow.

  Every guy there cringed and shielded his crotch.

  “And on that note, everyone back to the bus,” Rick shouted. “Sticks in the barrel, gloves in the trash, on the bus. It’s Friday, and I for one would like to get home and kick back with a cold beer.”

  A chorus of agreement echoed around me.

  By the time we all climbed back onto the bus, the mood was pretty relaxed. We had made it through the first week. Rick had pulled Seth aside, and they sat close to the front. Something Rick said made Seth nod slowly. When they were done talking, Seth slid across the seat and leaned his head against the window.

  I ignored the tiny fissure of disappointment winding through my chest that it would be two whole days until I saw him again. It was just heat, or maybe exhaustion, that made me feel that way. That’s all. A long hot shower and a bottle of wine would make everything better.

  I rested my forehead against the cool glass window until the bus pulled into the Public Works parking lot. Everyone disappeared inside the locker rooms to get rid of the gross jumpsuits. It didn’t take long for everyone to split. Today had taken us until three thirty to finish up and it was now after four.

  I was the last one out of the changing room, and after I threw my jumpsuit into a huge laundry basket, I headed to the lobby. Rick was behind the desk, and he waved me over before I could leave.

  “Good work this week, Princess. Here’s your form. You need to send it to the clerk of courts. Keep a copy, they aren’t the best at keeping track of things.” I stuffed the paper into my pocket and headed outside. The thick humid air smashed into me as soon as the door opened.

  “Ryan, man, my fucking truck won’t start and if I don’t get to Arnold’s office, I’m screwed. Called you three times already. Call me as soon as you get this. I’ve only got about an hour before I’m royally fucked.” Seth stood next to his truck and he stuffed his phone into his pocket and kicked a tire. He dragged his fingers through his hair, leaving it sticking up in errant spikes.

  “What happens in an hour?” I asked. “Turn into a pumpkin?”

  Seth swung around and narrowed his eyes at me. Animosity radiated off him. “If I don’t report to my parole officer by five thirty, there’ll be a warrant for my arrest about five minutes after that.”

  My mouth fell open. “Seriously?”

  “It’s how real life works, Princess.”

  Princess. There was no doubt by his tone that he meant it as the worst kind of insult. I glared at him. I knew how real life worked. I’d studied basic law my sophomore year. I was just surprised because I had never seen it play out right in front of me like this.

  I didn’t realize that there was no leniency to account for emergencies.

  But I should know these things, shouldn’t I?

  Seth’s shoulders were tense, and I could practically feel the anger radiating from him. I heard his frustrated exhale and he dragged his fingers through his hair again. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was four thirty-five.

  If Ryan didn’t get there soon, Seth would never m
ake it.

  “Where is this Arnold person’s office?” I asked, coming to stand next to him.

  Seth swung around, still glaring, but it didn’t really feel directed at me. “Off Main, near Second and Luce.”

  Questionable part of the city, but not downright unsafe. At that moment Rick exited the building and stopped when he saw us clustered together. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Everything’s fine. I was just offering Seth a ride.” I slipped on my sunglasses and started toward the parking lot. I realized Seth wasn’t behind me. I turned back toward him. “Are you coming or what?”

  “I don’t need your fucking charity.” He stood where I left him, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were narrowed on me again.

  I blew out an agitated breath. I was trying to do something nice to make up for the other night. I could be halfway to a hot shower by now, but instead I was outside in the god-awful heat arguing with an infuriating guy. I stomped back to him until we were almost toe to toe, then poked his chest with my finger. “No, you just need my fucking car.”

  Rick’s bark of laughter filled the air.

  Seth squeezed his eyes shut. “Shit.”

  “If this is some kind of macho pride thing, let it go. You need a ride, I have a car.” I jangled my keys near his face and raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not going to kidnap you and chop you into little pieces. No matter how much I’d like to,” I added under my breath.

  “My mother always warned me about strangers offering me a ride.” His attempt at humor finally made me smile.

  “Stranger danger,” I said flippantly. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any candy. It goes straight to my ass.”

  His eyes widened in surprise. He stared at me for a few seconds, then shook his head. A half smile quirked up the corner of his lips. “Fuck me. Okay. Though you might be the strangest person I’ve ever gotten into a car with.”

  I nodded and turned before he could see me smile. No one had ever called me strange before. Logical. Boring. Straitlaced. Complacent. Reliable. Organized. Steady. Ambitious.

  But strange?

  And why did it give me the insane urge to giggle?

  Obviously I had gotten way too much sun this week.

  We were walking toward my car when a pickup came squealing into the parking lot. There were ladders rattling from a cage in the bed of it. It came to an abrupt stop right next to us. Ryan leaned out of the driver’s side window.

  “Sorry, man. Jesus, all hell broke loose right before I got your message. You ready?” Ryan had one arm draped casually over the steering wheel. When he caught my eye, he grinned. “Well, hello there, Fancy.”

  I rolled my eyes at Ryan.

  Seth walked over and hit him upside the head. “We need to go, asshole. Now.” He yanked open the passenger door and swung himself inside the truck.

  Ryan looked from me to where Seth drummed his fingers on the door. “Okay, then. Well thank you, Fancy, for offering my boy here a ride even though he doesn’t have manners enough to say it himself.”

  Seth glanced over and caught my stare. “Sorry. Thanks.”

  “Wow, a little more conviction next time and I might even believe you,” I said. I don’t know why it bothered me so much when he acted like this. I liked it a lot when he actually let all the bullshit fall away and was just . . . himself. When he acted like this, he brought out my inner bitch, something a lot of people never saw.

  Something I didn’t like because it meant I wasn’t in control.

  That made me mad because part of being a good lawyer was the ability to suppress your emotions. And around Seth, I couldn’t when he acted like an ass.

  “Have a good weekend.” I turned and waved over my shoulder, fighting the urge to give Seth a one-fingered salute just because. This was so not me, but something about that infuriating guy made me want to strangle him.

  “Thank you so much, Princess,” I heard Seth shout. “Is that enough fucking conviction for you?”

  Ryan’s laughter rang out and the truck’s tires squealed as it fishtailed out of the parking lot.

  This time I gave them both the finger.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Seth

  “Christ, she’s a lot hotter than I remembered.” Ryan grinned over at me but I tried to ignore him. “You gonna try and tap that, man?”

  I snorted. “You see that fucking Beemer in the lot? That’s hers. Been down that road, not going back.”

  “You are seriously not still hung up over that Melissa shit, are you? God, that was like five years ago.”

  I gritted my teeth and looked out the window. That Melissa shit almost broke me beyond repair. The one and only time I actually thought someone else gave a shit about me. Except it had all been a fucking joke. On me.

  I should have known someone like Melissa Westhaven would have no interest in a seventeen-year-old boy with nothing to offer. Yet somehow I convinced myself we were different. That even though she lived behind huge iron gates and went to Hillcrest Academy, we would make it work.

  God, I was a fucking idiot. Months of being together but never going anywhere we could be seen should have been my first warning, but she was so beautiful and she smelled like flowers, and when we had sex, I knew she was the one.

  I never met any of her friends or her family, and she never wanted to meet mine. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was mine. I asked her to be my girlfriend one night after we had sex in my truck. She was the first girl I ever loved. The only one I ever said it to.

  I gave her a necklace with a silver heart pendant on it. It took me a month to save up enough to buy it at the Walmart jewelry counter. I was so fucking proud of that thing. I thought she’d love it. I told her I loved her and that I wanted to make her happy for the rest of her life.

  Pain twisted my guts into knots when I remembered the way she laughed. The disbelief and amusement in her eyes had cut straight through my heart. She put her clothes back on and climbed out of my truck. She stood there in the middle of the vacant parking lot next to her car. The necklace lay tangled in a heap on the floorboard of the truck.

  “Seth, you’re hot as hell, but there is no way I’d ever actually be with you. I thought you knew that. We were just having fun. But you and me? A couple?” She laughed and shook her head. Her long black hair swayed around her shoulders. “This isn’t some Disney movie, this is real life. I have a boyfriend and we make sense together. We’re the golden couple. But I wanted you. You were an itch I had to scratch, and now I have.”

  I remembered trying to breathe when she told me that. Even now, five years later, my pulse thumped in my ears. She drove away and I never saw her again. She never even said goodbye. The hurt turned to anger, and I started drinking. A lot. Three months later my mother OD’d and my life went completely to shit.

  “So what if Avery has money?” Ryan said, pulling me from the memories I’d rather forget. “That doesn’t matter when you’re just looking for a quick fuck, right? The way she was looking at you, yeah, I think she’s a pretty sure bet.”

  Oh, I knew what Ryan was talking about. Hell, all week I’d catch Avery peeking up from under those eyelashes when she thought I wasn’t looking. She might think she hated me, but I knew that look. That repressed little-rich-girl-wanting-to-be-bad look.

  I fell for that once. Never going to happen again.

  She could go slumming somewhere else.

  Except I’d been watching her all week and I saw it when she finally let her guard down. When she relaxed and laughed and joked with Sasha. The uptight bitch was gone.

  This girl-next-door Avery made it hard to look away.

  Which was exactly why I should.

  “Okay, what you need is a drink. Let’s hit Jimmy’s. Like old times?” Ryan practically bounced in his seat. “Look, you need some T&A therapy. You’ve been on the inside too long with all those hairy asses. Time to get your groove back on. Hot chicks and alcohol. All you need to forget your troubles, my fri
end.”

  After a week of picking up other people’s shit, I was fucking exhausted. But the idea of going back to my apartment to spend the night alone, yeah, that pretty much made up my mind.

  “I have check-in and then a six o’clock appointment with the only lawyer who bothered to call me back. If you can wait until after that, I’m game. Not like I’ve got a packed social calendar or anything.”

  “That’s the fuckin’ spirit!” Ryan slammed his palm into the steering wheel and hit the gas harder.

  I was in and out of Arnold’s office in no time. He basically took my CS form, logged it into his computer, asked how I was doing, then I left. Fifteen minutes. Hell, it didn’t seem right that fifteen minutes dictated my life right now.

  The lawyer’s office was about six blocks from Arnold’s office and was still in a questionable part of town, but I couldn’t be choosy. Arnold told me it was a long shot to find a lawyer to even look at my case. I just wanted someone to tell me that there was a chance I could help Sara.

  Ryan and I walked into the lawyer’s front office together. Two bright green chairs with cracked vinyl sat against a gray wall. The place smelled like Arnold’s office, stale and like old food. Ryan sat and grabbed a magazine while I paced.

  After only a few minutes, the door opposite us opened and a round man with tiny glasses waddled out. His stomach stuck out between red suspenders and his white shirt had something that looked like mustard on it.

  “Mr. Hunter? I’m Matt Brand, attorney.”

  I shook his hand and fought the urge to roll my eyes. I already knew he was an attorney, for Christ’s sake. Why else would I be there?

  “Come into my office and we’ll talk.” He stood back and gestured for me to enter.

  The place made Arnold look like a professional organizer. Holy God, was it a mess. Piles of folders and papers and books littered every surface, including the floor. Brand moved behind his desk and sat in a creaky chair. I perched on the edge of another chair, trying not to dislodge the mountain of papers at my back.