Best Friends Never Kiss Unnecessary Roughness
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~ 1 ~
FALLON
My first knock was weak, but that was because I’d almost missed the door. It was hard to gauge distance with my eyes this red and swollen. I probably looked like a freak the whole way here, with tears streaming down my cheeks and a bag dangling from each arm. But I was a freak on a mission. A freak who needed a roof over her head, especially after walking halfway across town as the nighttime chill seeped into my very bones.
I had only myself to blame. They say you can’t see the forest from the trees, but I’d seen the forest months and even years ago. Stubbornly I’d stayed in the stupid forest, blindly covering my eyes. Up until today, that is, when the forest spit me out for someone else entirely. And without my car keys, to boot.
“Uhhh… hi?”
My second knock thumped hard, bouncing off the T-shirt covered chest of a sandy-haired stranger. The giant who answered the door was six-and-a-half feet tall, and looked mildly amused. He had a milk-covered spoon in one hand, and what appeared to be a popcorn bowl full of cereal in the other.
“I—I’m sorry,” I stammered, yanking my hand back. “I knocked before already, and—”
“That was a knock?” he laughed. “I thought a mouse ran into the door.”
He must’ve noticed I was crying. Hastily he put the cereal down; on a table just inside the door.
“Is Serena here?” I blurted.
The man shook his head and pointed his spoon across the street. “Serena’s place was right there.”
“Was?” My voice cracked.
“Yup. She never came back this semester. I think an old lady lives there now. Or she’d better, because we’ve been taking her garbage cans in since—”
I broke down sobbing. I couldn’t help it. The bags pulled themselves from my tired hands, at the exact moment the tears started falling again.
“Hey, hey, don’t do that,” the man pleaded. For such a tremendous guy, his voice was surprisingly soft and compassionate. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not—”
“FALLON!”
I blinked at the familiar voice. Two big hands shoved the giant to one side — which was no small feat — and then suddenly, a familiar face filled the doorway.
“DALTON!”
He rushed me with a hug just as I flung myself into his embrace. The collision would’ve sent me spinning away, if not for the two corded arms that folded over my back.
“What are you doing here!?” Dalton cried. “And how did you find me! We just got here. I haven’t even—”
My wracking sobs — which were mostly of joy at this point — caused him to stop mid-sentence. He pulled back to look at me.
“Wait… what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I’m not,” I lied quickly. “I mean, I am… or at least I was. But right now I’m just happy to—”
Dalton pushed past me, and onto the cracked, concrete porch. He swept me protectively behind him with one big arm, and looked up and down the street both ways.
“Who do we have to kill?”
“Nobody,” I sniffed. “I’m fine. Trust me. I just… well…”
“I’m sorry we lost touch over the summer,” he cut back in. “I got busy with two different training camps, then I stopped by Florida to visit some cousins, and then I ended up in this four-day combine—”
“ We ,” the sandy-haired giant corrected him. “We ended up in the four-day combine.”
“Right,” Dalton smiled. “Fallon, meet Trey. Trey, Fallon.”
With a boyish but handsome smile, Trey extended a hand that was more like a catcher’s mitt. I shook it.
“Anyway, that’s why we haven’t caught up in weeks. Other than that hour-long FaceTime chat—”
“No,” I stopped him quickly. “No, it was mostly my fault. I’m sorry. I’m a terrible friend.”
“Fuck that,” Dalton stood there with his hat on backwards and scoffed. “You’re an awesome friend. We’re campus besties since freshman year, remember?”
“I know,” I smiled weakly. “And we are. But seriously, we’ve been back on campus for weeks now. I should’ve reached out.”
“You are reaching out,” he reminded me. “Now get the hell in here. It’s windy.”
Together they each grabbed a bag and ushered me inside. The house was old and ramshackle, and looked almost abandoned from the outside. Inside it was a whole lot warmer, even if it was under a ton of construction. There were piles of fresh lumber everywhere, along with tools, paint cans, coils of nails, and buckets of plaster. Plastic sheeting cordoned off two of the three side rooms that led off from the big foyer. Overall, the house was enormous.
“What is this place?” I marveled.
“This is our home!” Trey grinned. “For our senior year, anyway. But it was the old Delta Tau fraternity house. Back before they got shut down for hazing.”
“Hazing…” I murmured, spinning in a slow circle. “Holy shit. That was decades ago, wasn’t it?”
“The University’s letting us stay for practically nothing,” Trey added, “provided we fix the place up. That’s the deal we made. It was condemned, up until a few months ago. It might not even be fixable, depending upon—”
“Forget all that,” Dalton waved him off. “Now tell me, what kind of asshole made you cry like this? And why isn’t Blake taking care of it?”
“Blaine, not Blake,” I corrected him. “And, well… he’s not taking care of it because he is the asshole.”
Dalton shook his head slowly. “That fucker.”
“Fucker,” Trey repeated. He’d taken up the popcorn bowl of cereal again, and mumbled the word around a new mouthful.
Dalton slid a gentle hand to my face, brushing a tear away. His crystal blue eyes scanned left and right, as if distracted by something.
“Shit,” he murmured softly. “I forgot how cute these freckles are.”
I turned a little more red and sniffed.
“What’d he do?”
“He threw me out!” I cried. “Or rather, he moved someone else in, and I left.” I shook my head. “I’m never going back. It’s over.”
“Who’d he move in?”
“Some rich, preppie girl he grew up with that he used to date,” I spat. “Bailey or Beatrice or something equally insufferable.”
“Insufferable!” Trey agreed, waving his spoon.
“He even introduced me to her, like we’d somehow become friends or something. Then he told me they’d been seeing each other for weeks now, and he was terribly sorry, and he would’ve told me sooner but he was busy studying for the MCATs.” I curled my lip into a snarl. “Holy fucking shit, that sounds pathetic. Can you believe it?”
“I believe it,” Dalton said, scratching at his line of blond stubble. “The guy’s a douche, Fallon. He always was.”
My eyes widened. “So why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged helplessly. “Because campus besties don’t rag on their bestie’s significant others. They support them, even through their douchey mistakes.”
“Such a douche,” Trey agreed, lifting his bowl to finish the milk.
Dalton’s hand went consolingly to my shoulder. It felt immeasurably good there, all nice and warm against the coldness of my skin.
“Yeah, well support’s nice, but I could’ve used some common sense slapped into me,” I sighed. “It’s still my fault, though. Everyone and their mother told me I was crazy to date Blaine Aldrich.”
“Aldrich…” Trey repeated. “Wait, isn’t that the name on that wing of the library?”
“Yup,” Dalton nodded. “Purchased with his daddy’s money.”
“Almost three years, down the drain,” I seethed, ignoring them. The tears were gone now, replaced by a savage, rising anger. “He stole my college years. He wasted so much of my time!”
“Not all your college years.”
I turned at the sound of the new voice. Emerson — Dalton’s best friend — bounded down the last few creaky steps of an ancient-looking staircase. I should’ve known he’d be here, too. The foster brothers and teammates were hardly ever apart.
“Tough break, wallflower. But at least you’re out.”
He looked exactly the same as when I’d last seen him, six months prior. Dark, luscious hair. Forest green eyes. Jaw-dropping good looks, enhanced not only by his football physique, but by his sardonic, eternally crooked smile.
“Wallflower,” I repeated glibly. “We’re still calling me that?”
“You’re a wallflower,” he said simply. “An introvert. You hang back, watching from the sidelines.” He gave a shrug of his sculpted shoulders. “Tell me you’re not.”
“I’m not,” I lied. “Not anymore.”
“We’ll see about that,” he winked.
His words weren’t far from the truth though, and the three of us knew it. I’d arrived at the West Texas A bright-eyed, fresh-faced, and ready to experience the world. But almost immediately I’d met Blaine, who put me on a very high, very pretty shelf. The rest was history.
“Anyway,” I turned back to Dalton, “I’m sorry to bug you guys, but has anyone seen Serena? I was hoping to stay with her a few days. Just long enough to get back on my feet, and find a place of my own.”
“Serena’s gone,” said Dalton. “I heard she took summer classes and graduated early. Went back to Maine.”
My heart sank. “Damn.”
“No worries though,” he smiled. “We’ve got plenty of room here, don’t we?”
He nodded toward Trey, who’d set his bowl down again.
“Sure do,” Trey confirmed with a smile.
“No, I— I couldn’t,” I protested. “I’ll just get a hotel for the night. Or—”
But it was too late. The two of them had already shouldered my bags, and were halfway up the staircase. They brushed past Emerson, who was still standing there, eying me strangely.
“Good to have you, wallflower,” he eventually nodded. His smile was even more crooked now than before. “Welcome to the shitshow.”