Chapter Twenty-Five
Fallon
“Look at the state of my hair. This is what you left me to deal with whilst you swanned off abroad. I even had to go and buy my own shampoo! I haven’t bought shampoo in the ten years I’ve been coming to you,” Meghan says, her arms flying around with her dramatics.
It’s a good job she’s one of my favourite clients, and I know her well enough to know she is joking. She always books my last appointment of the day, because we chat so much, I always end up running into my next appointment.
“Well, I’m here now. So stop your moaning, will you?” I force a laugh.
Ever since I left Luke's the other morning, I haven’t been able to shift this shitty mood I’ve been in.
All he said was one, tiny, insignificant thing.
But that one thing triggered me. He wasn’t to know.
How could he when I'm too scared shitless to tell him? What if he doesn’t want me when he finds out?
The last boyfriend I told hugged me close and said it didn’t bother him, but it took three days for him to ghost me.
Never to be seen again until I bumped into him a few weeks later with his arm around a new girl.
“My hair needs all the TLC, because you know I can’t do it for shit,” Meghan giggles. “All jokes aside, I've missed you, girl. Did you have a nice break away?”
If only that’s what it was.
“Yeah, it was lovely. Can’t you tell by my tan lines?” I wink, scrubbing her head more forcefully than usual.
“You’re glowing and making me very jealous. Did you meet any sexy men whilst you were there?” She asks.
“With my brothers around? You must be joking,” I laugh. “To be honest, we stayed in our little group most of the time.”
“I’m happy you had fun,” she smiles. “But don’t ever leave me for that long again.”
“I’ll try not to.”
The rest of the appointment, I zone out, going into my own little world, thinking about Luke, and if tomorrow will be the last time I get to see him.
“You are so special, Fallon. I’m so lucky to have such a talented young woman in my class,” Mr Tatum says.
I love how he calls me a woman. He always says such nice things to me. No boys my age would ever talk to me the way he does.
“Thank you, sir,” I say, biting my bottom lip as I lean over his desk to collect my worksheets.
His hand grazes my thigh as I begin to stand. My head whips towards him, but surely he wouldn’t have meant to have done that. But when I look at him, I can see the crinkle at the side of his eyes, and he doesn’t apologise for it.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” He asks casually.
“Nothing much, probably just hang out with Maya.”
“What? You can’t tell me a beautiful girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?” His tone is light, but his eyes twinkle with mischief.
“Erm, no. I don’t really like the boys in my year,” I admit. “They’re all so childish.”
“Well, that’s the problem right there. You need a man, not a boy.”
I startle awake. If I didn’t know any better, I'd think I had wet the bed. But the thing is, I've had nightmares about my time with Mr John Tatum so many times, I know it's sweat.
John wasn’t the first or the last bad thing to ever happen in my life, but it was most definitely the worst. But the thing is, when I talk about it, it doesn’t even seem that bad.
Yet, he is the reason I have never been able to fall in love with another man.
He took my heart and tore it to tiny pieces, and I have never been able to make it whole again.
It’s been nine years. Nine years of fretting over him appearing back in my life again. Nine years of being scared to have a normal relationship. Even Harry. My poor, beautiful, Harry. The one man I should have loved, but couldn’t. He was torn away from me before I even had the chance to try.
This is why I'm broken, why I'm so damaged beyond repair. Or, so I thought. That was until Luke waltzed into my life and flipped it upside down. Can my heart ever beat again for another? Because the thing is, I think it already might be.
The past few months I have known him have been eye-opening, showing me what love could truly be like. He is kind and caring, but sexy and commanding. A true alpha male with a heart of gold. With the added plus that he knows his way around the bedroom.
Just the thought of Luke blows away the hurt my nightmare caused. He isn’t even here, yet the idea of him is enough to stop me from spiralling. So why do I still have this gut-wrenching ache that it is all too good to be true?
Dragging myself out of bed, I strip off my clothes and head straight to the shower.
No one, not even me, needs to deal with my smelly mess from a shitty night's sleep. I’ll do all my washing this morning too, including the bedding.
I only have to work for a few hours today after the long arse shifts I’ve put in the last few days.
Luke is meeting me at work and taking me out from there.
I’ve made sure I'm in later than the other two girls, because for some reason, I'm not ready for them to know about him and me. Not yet, anyway.
But tonight could change everything, because tonight is the night I'm finally coming clean.