Catch My Fall (4 page)

Throwing her hands over her ears she sang NSYNC’s ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ at the top of her lungs until I shut up.  I gave in easily because I didn’t want to alienate or embarrass her, and by the time we got to the resta
urant we were both laughing about the fact that she had gone so old school when she started singing. We spent the next hour and a half at Olive Garden having a great time… and I watched in awe as she consumed at least half her weight in salad and breadsticks. 

I hadn’t eaten as much as Darby had, mostly because I’m pretty sure that anyone who isn’t a professional eater could
n’t. Having said that, I was still stuffed to the gills and really in no mood to go to a party, no matter how small it was.  I tried to plead too full to move, but she was having no part of it.  I grumbled as I redid the little bit of makeup I felt comfortable wearing but I staunchly refused to get changed into anything ‘more party like.’  I’ll be stressed out enough without worrying that some guy is going to think that because I’m wearing a skirt I must want his hand to be up in my business. 

I’m really not sure how
she was able to move—I shit you not, she ate fifteen breadsticks and three bowls of salad—but twenty minutes after we got back to our dorm she was all decked out in a gray skirt and a white tank top.  She had eaten so much at dinner I thought she’d be all puffed out, but instead she looked like an all-American redhead stunner.

My palms were sweaty and my heart
hammered in my chest during the entire drive, and I worked hard on my breathing exercises.  Going to Tristan and Trace’s party was the first social event I’d gone to in forever and I was terrified.  My therapist has assured me, dozens of times, that lightning generally doesn’t strike twice and that as long as I listen to what my gut tells me and stay on the alert for anything that feels off, I will be fine.  My gut was telling me to turn the car around, go back to my dorm room and never even attempt to go anywhere again, but I knew that’s not what my therapist meant at all. 

Before I knew it we were at the house that Darby had given instructions to
, and I started to panic when I realized it was in a pretty remote part of town and it would be hard to run away if it came down to it.  Not that it would, but these days that’s my natural thought process.  My hands shook as I turned off the car and, after taking a deep breath, I asked her the question that I needed to have answered.

“Listen, I know what I’m about to say probably sounds crazy, but I can’t do this if I don’t ask.  Are these people all…normal?  Shit, dammit, I don’t mean it like that.  What I’m trying to ask is, will we be safe here?”

I could practically see the barrage of questions that my words gave her, and I know that at some point I’m going to have to tell her what my deal is.  I hadn’t really been sure that I would at first, but that was more because I didn’t know her and wasn’t sure if she could keep it a secret.  Although I’ve only known her for a few days I can already tell that Darby is a good egg and I trust her.

Giving me a smile tinged with concern, she nodded.  “The Chamberlain boys will
never
let anything happen to us, Mia.  Trust me when I tell you that while they might be total sluts, they are two of the best guys in the world. If it’s safety that you’re worried about, then you hit the mother-lode with this group. Nothing is going to happen to either one of us while they’re around.  If you start to feel panicky or you need to leave, you just say the word and I will go with you, no questions asked.”

Taking a deep breath I nodded my head.  “
All right, let’s do this.”

Being that it’s a school night, I knew not to expect a full-on rager.  I was surprised when we got inside the house to see how normal it
is.  For two guys, Tristan and Trace keep their place shockingly clean.  Instead of the mismatched menagerie of furniture that I’d been expecting, their living room was home to a giant leather sectional, two enormous leather recliners, a coffee table and three side tables.  It wasn’t what you would call decorated, but it was still really nice.  It didn’t scream college-guy-pit and I could barely contain my surprise when I detected a hint of Febreze in the air.  Do Malores make time to dust and clean?  Not in my experience, although apparently the Chamberlain twins found time to do so.  There was no one inside the living room and I wondered where everyone was, but Darby didn’t even blink so I assumed that they must be outside. 

As we walked through the house, I noticed that the one nod to
a college lifestyle was the set-up in what was supposed to be the dining room.  Instead of a table and chairs there was a fairly elaborate Karaoke set-up and a large card table.  There was also a recycling center that took up almost an entire wall.  Gesturing to it, Darby dramatically whispered, “Do
not
let Trace find you throwing anything recyclable anywhere other than in this room.  He thinks he’s the recycling police.”

She led the way into the kitchen where there were
a few bottles of liquor along with various mixers sitting on the counter.  Grabbing a cup, she made herself a Sprite with vodka before turning to me and asking what I wanted.  “Um, do they have bottled water or bottled soda?  I like things with the lids on.  If not, I’m good.”

She half raised an eyebrow at me at that, but instead of asking what that was about, she went to the refrigerator.  Looking over her shoulder at me she said, “As I expected you’ve got a choice of water, Dr. Pepper or bottled Yoo-Hoo. What’s your poison?”

“Water.  Who the heck drinks Yoo-Hoo?”

Our conversation came to a halt when we heard voices coming from the hallway. 

“I don’t understand why you’re not interested in letting me suck your…”

I’m not sure how, but I immediately knew that it was Tristan’s voice that answered. “
Come on, Kim, I’m really trying to be nice about this but you’re making it hard.  I’m not interested and you just need to let it go.”

“Is it because of that stupid ginger bitch sister of Austin’s?  Just because she’s coming tonight and she calls you a slut or whatever doesn’t mean that you have to deprive yourself of one of my legendary blow jo
—”

The sound of his voice gave me
goosebumps as he cut her off.  “Don’t
ever
talk about Darby that way.  You’re fucking done. The door is over there; I suggest you use it. Don’t come back—you aren’t welcome.”

Turning to Darby I found that her mouth was hanging open just like my own.  I went to high school with some slutty girls, but the girl in the hallway with Tristan really took the cake.  Walking closer to me with the bottle of water in her hand Darby whispered, “Of all the skanks around here, that one takes the cake. I call her Kenny G because she blows so much.  If he had let her talk like that about me I would have
—”

We both startled when Tristan spoke from the doorway.  “You would have what, Darbs?  You know damn well that I’ll always stick up for you
—it shouldn’t have ever crossed your mind that I would do otherwise, you nut.”  Stepping into the room, he threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a sideways hug.  “You’re one of my people.  If someone says something about you, I’m always going to toss ‘em out on their ass, no questions asked.  I’m hurt that you doubted me.”

He said everything but the last sentence with conviction, but when he got to that part, he made boo-boo eyes at her and tried to look sad.  Stepping away from him with a laugh, she slapped him on the arm.  “Oh yeah, you’re real hurt, I can tell.”

Turning towards me, Tristan gave me a confused smile.  “Oh, hey Mimi.  I didn’t see you there.  Did you come to get your pen or something?”

I spluttered like an idiot a
s I gaped at him.  Christ, how embarrassing.  “I’m here for…. um, no…I’m not here for the pen… my name isn’t Mimi….”

I hate to admit that it hurt that he d
idn’t remember my name.  I’d spent most of the day thinking about him, but clearly the feeling wasn’t mutual.  Dammit, not that it should be!  I was trying to avoid guys, especially guys like Tristan Chamberlain.  What the hell is wrong with me that I actually care whether or not he knows me from Adam?

His serious face crumbled as he burst out laughing.  “I remember your name, Mia.  Trace told me that when he saw you earlier you mistook him for me and called him Stan so I was just joking with you for forgetting all about me.”

I blushed from head to toe, whether because I was relieved that he remembered my name or because he was paying me any attention at all, I really don’t know.

His arm brushed against mine as he moved around me to walk to the refrigerator and I couldn’t restrain the little shiver of awareness that small touch
sent through my body.  I felt lucky that neither of them noticed and I tried to calm myself down as I watched him reach into the fridge to grab something.  When he came back with a bottle of brown liquid, the mystery of who drank the Yoo-Hoo was solved. 

As he pivoted and came back
in my direction there was no way for me not to notice the way his t-shirt was stretched across his chest.  He’s too good looking by half and it’s super annoying.  His eyes stayed locked on mine as he crossed the room towards me and I struggled to remember to breathe in and out at a normal rate.  He shook the bottle of Yoo-Hoo as he walked and my eyes shifted down to watch the way his arm moved as he went back and forth.

I jumped when the silence was broken by the loud pop of him opening the
bottle, and I skittered foolishly as he came to a stop in front of me and took a big sip.  We stared at each other in silence and I wondered if he could hear how fast my heart was racing as he reached around me to grab something off the counter.  He smelled so good, like fresh laundry and sea air, that I actually found myself thinking I could understand why that girl had wanted to use her mouth on him. 

Licking my lips nervously, I turned toward Darby in the hope that she would say something to break the tension, only to find that Trace had entered the room and all of her attention had gone to him. 
Like a magnet my head swiveled back to Tristan, and I found him watching me silently.  I licked my lips again as I nervously rubbed the best friend necklace around my neck.  He made a noise that sounded like a groan and my eyes flew back up to find him staring at my mouth.

Stepping away from him I let out a fake laugh and said the first thing that popped into my head.  “So what’s the deal with you and the Yoo-Hoo?”

When he held up a bottle of Kahlua in his left hand, I realized that was what he had gotten from behind me on the counter.  “My drink of choice is Yoo-Hoo and Kahlua.”

Against my will, my nose crinkled up and I shook my head.  “Ew, that sounds disgusting, not to mention sacrilegious!  That’s a lunchbox drink
for kids who don’t mind drinking dirt water, not a mixer.”

He chucked as he set both bottles back on the counter and went about pouring some Kahlua into the Yoo-Hoo bottle.  I realized that the giant sip he had taken had been to make room for the alcohol.  After screwing th
e caps back onto the bottles he lifted his Yoo-Hoo and Kahlua concoction up and shook it a few times.  “People always get grossed out when I tell them that this is what I drink, but I’m telling you, it’s good.”  Holding out the bottle he offered it to me. “Here, drink some of it.”

I froze.  Just completely froze to the goddamn spot, my fingernails digging painfully into my palms as my breath started coming in gasps and the room
began to close in on me.  Without realizing I was doing it, I maneuvered myself away from the front of the counter and started to back away from him. I startled when my back smacked up against the refrigerator and I wondered if it would be possible for me to die of embarrassment.  I didn’t want to look as foolish as I did in the cafeteria earlier and I mentally screamed at myself to get it together.  He looked unsettled, maybe even concerned, and I knew that he was wondering what the hell was wrong with me.  Squeezing my fists tight enough that I felt like my fingernails might be breaking the skin of my palms, I shook my head emphatically.  “No thank you,” I croaked past the anxiety that clogged my throat.  “I’m drinking water because I’m the designated driver.”  Holding up the water bottle, I said, “See?”

Walking back to the counter he grabbed a red
Solo cup and filled it with ice from a giant bowl before crossing the room and handing it to me.  “Here… now there’s plenty of ice for your drink.”

It was like he was saying and doing every damn thing on earth that would make me lose my shit.  My head was shaking back and fo
rth so fast that I’m surprised it didn’t take flight.  “No! I mean, no thank you.  I don’t like my water too cold.  I’m going….I’m going outside.  I’ll see you around.”

Confusion was written all
over his face but I didn’t even stop as I practically sprinted out the side door and into the backyard.

There was a covered porch right outside the door that had about twenty or so people playing flip cup on a long table that was set up to the left.  To the right there were a few people sitting in lawn chairs talking.  I couldn’t help but be tense after the exchange with Tristan in the kitchen, and I was also anxious about whether the people at this party would be friendly, stuck up
, or worse, shady.  I felt an enormous rush of relief when the people who looked up as I came out all acknowledged me with friendly smiles.

Austin
stood near the door with a beautiful girl with long dark hair.  When he saw me he took her by the hand and brought her over. 

“Hey Mia, this is my girlfriend Allie.  Allie, this is Mia, Darby’s roommate.”

I was startled when Allie put her arms around me and gave me a hug as she said, “I’m so happy to meet you. We’re all so excited that Darby is all moved into her dorm and living the college life.”