Hard To Fall (Sliding Home Book 3)

by Elizabeth Perry

  He’s downright irresistible.

  But, not for me. I’m not going to do that, that’s for sure.

  The last thing that I need is to get wrapped up with some cocky famous guy, even though at this point, I have no idea what he’s even famous for.

  Maybe it’s for the size of his dick.

  Who seriously knows?

  “Let me buy you another drink,” he’s telling me as panic alarms are clanging loudly inside of my head. “It was a margarita, right?”

  Since I’ve lost all my words, I simply just nod.

  He motions to the drink and nods at the waitress before turning his attention back to me.

  “I’m so glad to run into you here. Do you have a few minutes? Can we talk?”

  Talk?

  Nope, not happening.

  After everything that I’ve just heard about the guy, I’m pretty sure that I can’t look him in the eye. So, talking is not going to be an option.

  “Actually, no. We were just…”

  “We were just talking about how I need to get going, but Isabelle doesn’t. Here, take my seat, Mr. James.”

  Sheila, the freaking traitor, flashes me a huge smile before standing abruptly.

  “Thanks. It’s just Ryan, by the way. Mr. James is my dad. You’re making me feel old.” He smiles again, and my knees get weak.

  Dammit all.

  I should not be feeling this way about the guy. He is my student’s father for crying out loud!

  “Ok, Ryan it is. Call me later, Isabelle.” She squeezes my arm on the way out as I shoot daggers at her back.

  Traitor!

  “Listen, I’m not trying to impose on you or anything. But I really wanted to apologize for what happened today.”

  He winces slightly, looking much like a school boy who just got into trouble.

  It’s incredibly sexy.

  “Things tend to get out of hand when my ex and I are in the room together. Obviously, we don’t get along.”

  “You don’t say.” I at least crack a smile, before taking a huge gulp of the fresh margarita placed in front of me.

  “I appreciate what you were trying to do, you know. Looking out for my kid and all. And I’m sorry for the way that everything went down.”

  “Thanks for the apology. I have to say that you guys are the first parents that I’ve ever considered calling the police on, and I used to teach at MLK.”

  He winces.

  “You thought about calling the police? Damn.” He exhales slowly before tilting his neck side to side.

  “I’m so fucking embarrassed.”

  “Yeah. It wasn’t a shining moment for any of us. I usually don’t lose my cool the way that I did.” I frown. “I’ve never had a parent threaten my job before, either. Today was the day of many firsts.”

  “I’m so sorry, Isabelle. Seriously. I could sit here and apologize to you all night, and still feel awful. Audra and I do not see eye to eye on anything, and it’s obviously affecting our son. I’m so, so sorry.”

  Ryan does look sorry. In fact, he looks very sorry, and I do feel bad for the guy.

  Yes, he also lost his cool today, but he was far more reasonable than his ex-wife. Plus, he didn’t threaten my job, and he thanked me.

  She just wanted to kill me.

  “First of all, it’s just Miss Mendez, but please, call me Isabelle. And I’m sorry to hear that. Divorce is hard on kids as it is. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Isaac, being caught in the crossfire of you two. Hopefully, you can find a way to get along with each other. I think your son really needs that.”

  “I agree.”

  The poor guy looks defeated, and really, I don’t want to hear any more apologies from him. He’s already apologized enough. It isn’t going to change anything.

  I’m probably still getting fired on Monday, thanks to his crazy ass ex-wife.

  “Thank you for the drink, but I should really be going.”

  “So soon?” He grins. “Do you have a hot date or something?”

  Those eyes move up to mine, and my knees become so weak that I almost need to sit back down. Why does he have to be so handsome?

  Ugh.

  “No hot date. I just…”

  “Need to get away from me.” He pretends to frown, making himself even more adorable. “Do I stink?” He sniffs himself, and as he lifts his shirt, his scent suddenly surrounds me.

  He most definitely does not smell bad. In fact, the masculine smell makes it even harder to stand my ground.

  “I did just leave practice, but I showered.”

  “Practice?” I ask, making his grin widen.

  “Yeah. Baseball practice.”

  “Oh.” I shrug, before grabbing my purse. “I promise, you don’t smell bad at all. I just really need to get going.”

  He hops to his feet and follows me to the door.

  “What are you doing?” My eyes widen as he opens the door to the bar and follows me out.

  “I’m walking you to your car. It’s dark outside.”

  I roll my eyes as we head towards the parking lot.

  “I’m perfectly capable of handling myself, thank you very much,” I grumble as he falls into step alongside me.

  “I’m sure that you are. But I was raised to always look out for a woman. My dad would punch me in the throat if he knew that I let a beautiful woman like you walk out into the night all alone.”

  Beautiful woman.

  Those words should not wreak havoc on my body the way that they are. But coupling them with his insane hotness, and his delicious smell, I instantly feel drunk, and I hardly have had enough to drink to feel this way.

  I’m simply drunk off of Ryan James.

  Who wouldn’t be?

  “So, baseball practice, huh?” I force the conversation, even though I’m struggling to find words. “Do you coach Isaac or something? I didn’t realize he played baseball.”

  He laughs loudly, his head tipping back as his bark of laughter fills up the quiet night air.

  “You don’t know who I am, do you?” he finally chuckles as we reach my car.

  “Sure, I do. You’re Isaac James’ father, Ryan.” I cut my eyes at him, as he continues to grin wide.

  “You’re getting angry that I’m laughing.” His laughter dies down as he reaches out and tucks a finger underneath my chin.

  At his contact, my heart begins to race like crazy in my chest.

  He tips my head up so that our eyes can meet.

  “I’m not laughing at you, Isabelle.” The sound of my name leaving his lips sends chills down my spine, leaving me tingling in a spot that I most definitely should not be.

  “You’re just absolutely adorable.”

  His face is way too close to mine. In fact, all of him is way too close. I can feel his body heat radiating off of him, slamming into me like a tidal wave. I brace myself against my car.

  “You really don’t know who I am, do you?” He inquires, and I just shake my head.

  “You’re so fucking cute.” He sighs, before taking a step back, and opening my car door for me.

  “Goodnight, Ryan.” I nod at him.

  “Goodnight Isabelle. Drive safe.”

  I lower myself into the car, and he pats the top.

  And as I back out and speed off into the night, my mind is a complete blur.

  Apparently, being close to Ryan James will do that to a person. I try to shove any thoughts of him that go beyond that of the parent to one of my students out of my mind.

  But geez louise.

  The guy just screams sex. That part is impossible to ignore.

  Since I’ve been lacking in that department since my divorce, it’s only natural for me to be so drawn to him, right?

  I mean, especially now that I’m aware of what he’s carrying in his pants.

  Good lord.

  Chapter Two

  Ryan

  “I’m just stressed out right now Ryan, alright?”

  Audra’s hands are on
her hips as she glares at me.

  “I just need to get away for a while and clear my head. Which means that you need to keep Isaac.”

  I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

  I have no problem keeping my son for four months, in fact, I’d rather have him all the time. Isaac hates going with his mom these days, and it has everything to do with her new boyfriend Rex.

  He was never fond of being with her prior to Rex, but that guy has sealed the deal.

  My kid fucking hates him.

  Obviously, right? He drew a picture of himself running the two of them over in a dump truck.

  “Audra, you know that I have never complained about keeping Isaac, but this is super shitty timing. My season starts tomorrow. I don’t have a nanny, or any kind of care arranged for Isaac because he is supposed to be with you on the days that I’m gone. That’s our agreement.”

  “Listen, Ryan.” Her hands fly to her hips as she leans forward. “Our agreements are just that. Agreements. They’re only valid if I agree, which right now, I don’t. You’re always begging me for more time with him anyhow. You should be thanking me. I mean, you should be happy that I even let you see him, let alone offer you several months of one on one time with him.”

  My blood boils at her words, and for a second, I see red.

  I am so fucking sick and tired of dealing with her and the way that she continues to act as if she is doing me a favor by letting me see Isaac.

  The woman is just not right in the head, and I swear to God, I don’t know what I was ever thinking when I married her.

  I take a step back and squeeze my eyes shut before counting to ten in my head, trying to calm myself down.

  This was a trick that I learned in the two years of therapy after our split, when I about lost my damn mind and murdered the woman.

  I’ve never been violent towards women, but this one tests my fucking limits daily.

  I have no idea what I ever saw in her.

  Well, to be honest, what I saw at first was just a façade. She pretended to be this sweet and caring woman, who I fell in love with before I even knew what was happening.

  I ignored all the warning signs with her and let my heart guide me.

  What a joke that turned out to be.

  Everyone warned me that we didn’t know each other well enough to get married, but I wasn’t listening.

  The second that her last name changed, so did everything else. She totally flipped the switch on me and played me like a damn fiddle.

  I was so in love with her, that I overlooked a lot of shit that I should have payed attention to. It all came to a head when I got home early from the world series, only to find my wife in bed with two other dudes.

  She had one dick in her mouth and the other in her ass.

  I swear to God, there is nothing more scarring than walking into your own damn bedroom, to find your wife enacting a dirty fucking porno with two men in your own bed.

  I about lost it.

  In fact, I did fucking lose it.

  Before I could even realize what I was doing, I was pummeling the shit out of both men. Audra called the police, and I was arrested.

  My attorneys were able to get me off, after a hefty payoff deal to both men, of course.

  But I still have to deal with the haunting visions of my wife getting fucked in the ass.

  Turns out, though, I’m the one that’s actually taking it in the ass, all at the hands of the rotten bitch in front of me.

  During one of the many fights that followed that day, she blurted out that Isaac wasn’t even my biological kid.

  Nothing in the world has ever crushed me more than hearing that, unless you consider the DNA results backing up what she said.

  That hurt like a bitch.

  But Audra knew that she had me by the balls. She knew how in love I was with Isaac and has since used him as leverage to get me to do whatever she wants.

  She dangles him in front of my nose like a carrot whenever it suits her, and I always give in, because no fucking way am I letting her take my son away from me.

  I couldn’t care less that he doesn’t share my DNA. That boy is mine. He’s always been mine, and he always will be.

  Which means that I have to allow Audra to continue to walk all over me.

  I exhale, long and slow, before finally opening my eyes again.

  “Ok. Fine, I’ll keep him, but you need to give me a few days to get something figured out. I leave for Cleveland in the morning, and I will be back Thursday night. I’ve got home games this weekend, so I should have something figured out by then.”

  “Nope, that’s not going to work. My flight leaves at 3:00 tomorrow.”

  She turns on one heel and heads towards the door, signaling that the conversation is over.

  “Wait, what in the fuck, Audra? You already booked a flight? What if I said no?”

  She snorts as she flings the front door open.

  “You aren’t going to say no to me. You can’t.” She smirks at me, and I about lose my mind.

  “Wait, so what? Do I need to pick him up from school?”

  “Obviously.” She steps out onto my front porch, heading out towards her car, but I’m out of the door and hot on her heels.

  “So, what? I just pull him out of school then, Audra? He needs to have structure! And it’s not fair to his teacher either, trying to teach a kid who’s only there a day or two a week.”

  “Isaac doesn’t have a teacher anymore, so that’s not part of the argument. The subs that he will have for the rest of the year won’t mind. And anyhow, it’s kindergarten. Pull him out if you want to. It doesn’t even matter.”

  “What do you mean, he doesn’t have a teacher anymore?”

  My mind flashes to Isabelle and our meeting.

  As Audra’s smile widens, I already know what happened.

  “I got that bitch fired. I told her I was going to. She had no right to act the way that she did. She doesn’t deserve to teach at a school like Isaac’s. Hopefully, they send her back to the Heights, or whatever migrant farm she came from.”

  “Audra,” I force out through clenched teeth. “That’s a fucked-up thing to say, even for you.”

  “Whatever. What can I say, Ryan? You always bring out the worst in me.”

  I could say the same damn thing. I just stand there, shaking my head, as I watch her load herself into her brand-new Porsche.

  “Racist bitch,” I mutter under my breath as she peels out of my driveway, flipping her middle finger at me as she speeds off.

  “Dude. You ok today?” I glance up at Jake over my beer and shrug.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t seem fine. In fact, you look like you’re going to kill someone,” Eric chimes in before signaling to the waitress and ordering three shots.

  “I don’t want a shot,” I mutter before taking a big slug of my beer.

  “Don’t care,” Eric mutters before sliding a small shot glass filled with tequila my way. “I think you need one.”

  He’s probably right. I need something to numb all the bullshit swirling around in my head. The only problem with getting wasted is that a few years ago, it was my only solution to dealing with this shit.

  I then started drinking heavily every day, trying to calm down the chaos inside of my head. I never got to the point of being an alcoholic, but I am very hesitant these days to try to drown my sorrows in the bottle.

  “One shot, Ry guy. Just enough to make you stop clenching that fist, man.” Eric levels his eyes with mine, because he knows better than anyone just how fucked up I used to be.

  “Fuck it. One shot,” I mumble before tipping the glass back, letting the bitter alcohol burn my throat on the way down.

  A few moments pass before Eric starts to pry again.

  “Alright, you’ve had two beers and one shot. Now tell us, what in the fuck is going on with you today?”

  I hate to even say it, because it’s always the same fucking answer.

>   Always Audra.

  Before her, I was the kind of guy that never let anything get me down. I was always happy, always felt fucking blessed because I had totally made my dream a reality. I was getting paid a shit load of money to play a sport that I loved.

  But since her, that happy go lucky guy is long gone.

  And in his place is just the bitter shell of a man who seems to be pissed off all the time.

  It’s not that I miss her. Not one bit.

  In fact, looking back, I wonder what in the hell I was ever thinking.

  At the time when I met her, she totally blew me away. She was every fucking thing that I thought I could ever want in a woman. She fulfilled every fantasy of mine and seemed so sweet and genuine.

  She came to all my games, cheered me on even when we were down, and would just lay in bed with me, rotating between rocking my world and listening to me for hours.

  Now she just makes my life a living hell.

  “It’s Audra, ok? Same thing that’s always the issue. I’m not even going to dump my shit on you guys because I know that I sound like a broken record. Audra fucked me hard again, ok? That’s all.”

  “Is Isaac ok?” Eric questions, the concern evident on his face.

  Not to sound like a sap, but man.

  I fucking love these guys.

  “Yeah, Isaac’s fine. Actually, better than ever. Audra claimed that she needed a break, so she booked a four-month long vacation. Said she was stressed out or some shit.”

  “Being that big of a bitch would be stressful,” Eric mutters, making me at least smile.

  “Right? But she just dropped it on me at the last second. Her flight leaves tomorrow at 3, and then she’s gone for four months. So, starting tomorrow morning, Isaac is with me for the next four months. Which is great, don’t get me wrong. But what in the fuck am I supposed to do with him during our games?”

  “Ave’s will watch him,” Eric cuts in, and Jake nods.

  “Yeah. Laci will help out too.”

  “I’m not going to ask your guys’ wives to be my babysitters. Avery’s pregnant, and Laci’s got the baby.”

  “You aren’t asking, we’re offering. And I know that we’re speaking for them, but dude, we’re family. If they were here, they would be the first ones to jump in to help.”