Take the Fall

by Marquita Valentine

  I hear her running after me. “So you’re leaving for good. Again.”

  “No.” I round on her, taking a calculated risk with my next words. “I’m giving you what you want. If you want me here, then say so, right now, and I’ll come home every weekend.”

  For the first time in both our lives, I render Rowan speechless. She’s actually incapable of saying anything. Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she snaps it shut.

  “I’ve already packed my stuff up and it’s in my truck,” I tell her.

  She crosses her arms and looks away. “Good for you.”

  “If you want to talk, then you know how to get ahold of me,” I remind her.

  “That’ll be a cold day in hell,” she bites out.

  Without another word, I turn and walk away, hoping like hell that this risk will pay off in the end.

  —

  True to her word, Rowan doesn’t contact me at all. I stay busy most of the workweek. It’s not hard when you live near base and always have something to do and someone to do stuff with.

  I get to live off base due to my rank, but I still like to hang out with buddies. But the ones I’m gravitating to these days are the ones who’ve settled down into family life. Which is why I’m on base playing Call of Duty on Friday night with my friend Brian instead of barhopping.

  “Dawson is trying to sweeten the pot to get me to reenlist.” I hand my potential marching orders, the ones the Marines are dangling in front of me like a carrot, to Brian. “I’m not budging. I’ve already made civilian arrangements. Like college in Charlotte.” I’d already applied for next fall and was awaiting their response.

  “I hear you. Put that GI Bill to use before it goes to waste,” he says, looking over my packet. “Kaneohe Bay? Shit man. I’m jealous.” He sets it down between us on the couch. “I was offered my choice of Bum Fuck One and Bum Fuck Two, America.”

  “Told you to put your least favorite first.” I press the buttons on the controller in a series of combinations that should boost my avatar’s health and ammo. “This is their latest. Before that, I got offered Ramstein.”

  “Who the hell are you blowing?”

  “You should know. I believe you call her Mom.”

  Brian punches me in the arm. “Punk ass.”

  “More nachos,” Brian’s wife, Jill, announces as she joins us. She sets the platter on the table in front of us. “Anything else, great warriors?”

  Brian’s arm snakes out and grabs Jill around the waist, pulling her into his lap. He’s extra careful with her, though, because she’s pregnant. “Yeah, you can help me beat O’Connor’s ass. He keeps turning down my dream assignments—Hawaii. Germany.”

  With a laugh, Jill takes the control and lets Brian eat. She kills me in less than a minute.

  “My secret weapon,” Brian brags as they high-five. “She’s a gamer girl.”

  “That’s gamer woman.”

  “I’m out.” I place the controller beside me and dig into the snack. “God, if you weren’t married, Jill, I’d take you back to my place right this second.”

  She raises her eyebrows at me.

  “Yeah, I’ll finish the nachos first.”

  “Good boy. That’s what I like to hear,” she says. “I’m going to bed. You two play as long as you like.” She leans down to give her husband a kiss. “But not too long.”

  “Get a room,” I joke.

  Brian kisses his wife again, his hands cupping her face like she’s the most precious woman in existence. “I’ll be up in a while. Gotta let Seth recover from the beatdown you gave him.”

  She giggles and he helps her to her feet. “ ’Night, Seth.”

  “ ’Night, ma’am.” I can’t help it. It’s a habit I fully embrace when I’m in Jacksonville.

  “I have to admit, it’s going to be weird not seeing your ugly mug every day. Who else will I have to talk about the shittastic orders we get?”

  I hit my chest with my fist. “Love you, too, man. Let’s get matching bracelets to remember our time together.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Jill wouldn’t like it if you cheated on her,” I say. “But I am a great catch. Remember that girl in Alaska?”

  Brian laughs. “The one who proposed to you during sex?”

  “Yeah, that one.” I had to sneak out of her hotel room the next morning and book an early flight back to the States. Not my finest moment. But when she mentioned marriage—all I saw was Rowan.

  “Thanks for cutting our man vacation two days short.”

  “Dude, she was picking out rings on the Internet. And in my defense, I wasn’t myself that night.” Actually, I had done the most incredibly stupid thing before we left for our fishing trip, and Facebook-stalked Rowan. Her status update had been In a relationship. Not Single, not It’s complicated. But In a relationship.

  “You, married.” Brian shakes his head. “I’d like to see that.”

  “You don’t think I will?” I tip up my beer, finishing it off. I put all thoughts of my time with Rowan out of my mind.

  “Based on the number of women you’ve not stayed with for any length of time, no.”

  “Would you be my best man if I do decide to blow your mind?”

  “I’d pay for the honeymoon.”

  Based on the fact that I know how much Brian makes, that they just bought a new house, and that Jill plans on staying home with the baby after it’s born, he has to be pretty damn sure I won’t be marrying anyone to make that promise.

  “But you can’t go anywhere but Sunset Beach,” he adds. “Jill’s parents have a place down there you can stay. For free—as long as you clean up after yourself. I’ll kick in for groceries and gas.”

  “Big spender,” I joke.

  “What’s on your mind? Besides looking ravishing on your wedding day?” He flips his nonexistent hair over his shoulder.

  “Old girlfriend.”

  “She have something to do with the ink on your back?”

  “Maybe.”

  “And those letters?” Brian and I bunked together in boot camp and during each deployment to Afghanistan. “You made love to those more often than—”

  “Fuck off, O’Dwyer.” I flip him off and chow down on the rest of the nachos. I guzzle down a glass of water because I’m half-hoping Rowan will change her mind and call me, and there’s no way I’ll drive the least bit intoxicated—especially on base. The MPs would throw my ass in the brig faster than I can blink.

  “This is me you’re talking to. Cut the bullshit.”

  “Rowan has everything to do with…well, everything.”

  “She’s not a fan of the Marines?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “More like she’s not a fan of me.”

  “And she’s tearing you up inside because of it,” he mused.

  It’s hard to get anything past the man who covered you while the enemy fired on your ass. “Yes.”

  “Is she worth it?”

  Before I can answer, my phone buzzes with her message tone. “Motherfucker.” Grabbing it, I read the one line of text and start grabbing my shit.

  “What the hell was that?” he asks.

  I toss him the phone. “See for yourself.”

  “Hell just froze over,” he reads out loud and then turns to me. “I don’t get it.”

  “Oorah, buddy.”

  With understanding dawning on his face, Brian throws my packet of papers at me. I shove them into my coat pocket.

  “Go get her, O’Connor, and that’s a fucking order.”

  Chapter 13

  Rowan

  I snatch the phone back from Piper, but my hands are covered in grease and it goes flying across the concrete floor. It hits the tire of the car next to us with a dull thud.

  “Why in the hell did you text him?” I shout. “This is supposed to be my time to relax.” And work through what’s going on with Seth and me while I get this engine purring once more.

  “Because you’re grouchy as hell,” s
he says. “I think you need to get laid.”

  “And Seth is the only one who can take care of that?” I grumble. “Hand me the torque wrench.”

  She hands me a screwdriver. “Here you go.”

  Closing my eyes, I try to keep my temper intact because, while I’m pissed at her for texting Seth, I am not irritated that she doesn’t know a torque wrench from a hole in the ground.

  “Try again, honey. It has its own box, right beside you.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I like the company.”

  Piper moves to retrieve the phone, holding it with the least amount of fingers possible as she attempts to clean it. Luckily, the protector on it is waterproof. She sighs when oil drips onto her flats.

  Only she would volunteer to help fix a car while wearing a designer skirt and sweater with a string of pearls around her neck. She’s even wearing her hair in a fancy updo that I can never remember how to pronounce correctly. That’s her, though.

  “You’d like Seth’s even better. I bet he knows the difference between all the tools,” she says pointedly and grins. “Guess who’s coming to see you tonight?”

  “It better not be Seth.” I grab the torque wrench and go back to work under the hood, working the wrench hard.

  “Oh, it’s not. It’s a hot Marine whose latest mission is to win you back,” she says.

  “Stop watching The Bachelor,” I grumble, but inside I’m panicking and celebrating. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m terrified and excited. Seth is coming back and all it took was an invitation from me. And not even a real invitation at that. “How did you know what I said to him?” I ask, standing up.

  “Because, despite what you think about me being so prim and proper, I am the world’s best eavesdropper.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah, really.” She crosses her arms to mimic me, except her boobs are way bigger.

  “Did you happen to overhear what I do to nosy bitches like yourself?”

  “Buy them a drink at King’s?”

  I roll my eyes at her mention of a bar that I can afford to go to only about once a month. “More like perform your last rites.”

  “Only works if I’m dying, and you would never kill me.”

  “Stupid morals,” I mutter.

  “Rowan,” she says with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I didn’t know any other way to get you back together.”

  “We don’t belong together.” I grab a rag and wipe off my hands and then walk to the sink. I pump the soap container a couple of times and work the lather over my hands. I might be a grease monkey, but this stuff sure as hell keeps my skin smooth. It’s like a secret beauty regimen no one knows about but me.

  “I think you do.”

  “You can think whatever you want.” I dry my hands and unzip my coveralls, then hang them up beside Boyd’s. Those will need to be cleaned soon. I make a mental note to let Linda know.

  “How would you feel if Seth went out with someone else?” Piper asks. “Be truthful.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or I will be forced to give away the second pair of shoes I bought for you.”

  “I wouldn’t like it,” I say tightly. I hate admitting that Seth is my Achilles’ heel. Always has been, always will be.

  “Aha!”

  “But that means nothing, Piper.” I blow out a breath. “You want the truth. Here’s some for you. My brother loathes the thought of you with another guy, but that’s not going to stop him from hooking up with Giselle or any other chick. Guys don’t sit and wait with their legs closed like some damn prude with a special vagina only for the one. Why should we?”

  Piper’s sparkling eyes go dull. She hands over my phone. “I think I need to go.”

  I never should have opened my big mouth. Guilt lances me, and I chase after her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  She whirls on me, bright flags of color on her cheeks. Her hands are drawn into fists, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this mad before in my life. “Yes, you did. You made it perfectly clear that prudes like me are stupid for wanting something different. I never thought or said anything so insulting about your choices of whom to sleep with even though they weren’t the one. I respected your choices. There were times I was jealous that you could be so independent with your sexuality, but that’s not me. It’s never been me, and even now that I’ve moved out from under my mother’s thumb, it’s still not me. I want more than a one-night stand and there’s not a damn thing wrong with waiting for the guy I love.”

  Piper clenches her jaw, waiting for me to respond, but I can’t argue with her. She’s right. She’s never judged me. She’s always celebrated with me before I went out with a new guy and cried with me when the men I dated turned out to be asshole losers. Not once did she judge or slut-shame me.

  “Oh my God. You can’t even admit I’m right.” Without another word, she marches out of the bay and into the parking lot.

  “You’re right, Piper,” I shout.

  She waves her hand in the air. “Whoopty-doo.”

  I make a face. “Whoopty-doo?”

  “Shut up, Rowan.” Piper yanks open her cute little BMW’s door and climbs inside. “I’m getting Chinese tonight and I’ll think about getting you some, too. But I’m not promising anything.”

  “General Tso’s chicken is my favorite.”

  “I know your favorite, but do you know mine?” She slams the car door before I can reply and speeds off. Or, rather, her version of speeding. Her dad would kill her if she got a ticket, or even got pulled over. Though I doubt she has to worry about either. Right now, her parents aren’t speaking to her. Piper claims that they are giving her time to come to her senses first.

  “You don’t eat Chinese food because your mother claims it makes you put on water weight,” I say to the empty parking lot.

  After I can’t even make out her taillights, I go back inside and put up my tools. If there’s one thing that sets me on edge at work, it’s a messy workstation. Miss Myrtle was very particular about that, and I carry on the tradition. Twenty minutes later, I’m satisfied and closing the bay doors.

  I do a little hop over the sensor, and then turn around to key in the security code before heading to my car.

  Seth’s car, Jase’s voice whispers in my mind.

  Not until I get into my car do I read Seth’s reply: Be there in 3 hours.

  But it’s a four-hour drive. I connect my phone to the charger and drum my fingers on the steering wheel. He’s going to get a ticket. He’s insane. There’s no way he’ll make it here before midnight. I’m not going to wait up for him, either.

  Yeah, because you have such big plans on a Friday night.

  Hey, the marathon of My Big Fat Redneck Wedding I plan on watching is super important.

  Don’t you mean reruns of Prince Charming Comes to America?

  I roll my eyes and put the car in drive. Still not waiting up for him.

  When I finally get home, after picking up a bag of Butterfingers at the gas station, there’s a to-go bag and a to-go drink on the kitchen counter, along with a note from Piper.

  “I did not get this just for you. It was BOGO night at Wicked Wok.”

  The Wicked Wok is an upscale Chinese restaurant right on the outskirts of NoDa—an artsy community on the northeast side of Charlotte proper. It’s also my most favorite Chinese restaurant ever.

  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that no Chinese restaurant worth their soy sauce would offer a BOGO night because they would be out of everything in mere minutes. Piper had to buy it just for me.

  Me: Thanks for the treat. I’m starving.

  Piper: Whatever. I’m staying at my nana’s tonight, so you and Seth can have alone time.

  Me: I’m not waiting up for him.

  Piper: You didn’t tell him not to come home?

  That devious little witch. She distracted me by pretending to be hurt over my rant about special vaginas and men. Immediately, all the gui
lt I’d been carrying disappears like it was never there.

  Piper: My feelings are still hurt, but I love you anyway.

  Well, damn it. So much for feeling better.

  Me: Love you too. Sorry. :(

  Piper: Eat your dinner and go put on something sexy.

  Me: Yes, mother.

  Piper: My mother would never put on something sexy, much less order me to wear something inappropriate. Unless it were for my husband, but it would have to be done “just so” in case he got the wrong idea.

  I shake my head in sympathy. I bet Mrs. Ross would, too. She’d probably travel with Piper on her honeymoon to make sure everything was done just so. It is one of Piper’s mother’s favorite phrases.

  I grimace.

  Me: Thanks again. I promise to be more careful.

  Piper: xo

  Sneaking a peek at the time, I make a mental note of how many hours I have left until Seth will get here. Wait. No. I’m not waiting on him. I grab my dinner and move to the living room so that I can watch my shows while I eat.

  After the first episode ends, I check the time. Only two hours and—

  “Not waiting on him,” I announce to the room. Or myself.

  Liar, a voice whispers in my head.

  Chapter 14

  Rowan

  It’s nearly midnight when the back door opens and closes with an intensity that sends zings of excitement all over my body. I’m waiting for him in my room, sitting on my bed, when he walks inside.

  He stops in his tracks and his dark gaze slides over my body, making me supremely conscious of the fact that all I’m wearing is a skimpy pair of panties and a white tank top. When we were younger, he’d always liked it when I wore tank tops…without a bra.

  “The door was unlocked, baby,” he says with a scowl. “That’s not safe.”

  “I know, but you gave your key to Piper.”

  “Not before I had a copy made.”

  “So much for this being my house now.” Mr. Shaw had sent me the papers on Monday, exactly like Seth had said he would. I am now the owner of a three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow that sits on an acre of land.