The Hardest Fall

by Ella Maise

Her grip reflexively tightened around my hands at my words as her eyelids closed slowly. “Leave him,” I continued. “I’m right here and I want you, so damn much. I’m not sure how much more I can take. Every time I see you with a guy…I just want to rip his head off for touching you, for looking at you, for being close to you when I can’t. The guy from the Tucson game? I’ve never played that aggressively before. All I wanted to do was take him down. You’re driving me crazy, and I’ve never been so jealous of anyone in my life.” I paused. “I need you to let him go, Zoe. Whatever it is that’s going on between you two, I don’t want to know. Just…I need you to choose me now. I’m the one that’s supposed to be with you, not anyone else.”

I let go of her and her body stiffened. “I should apologize for that…it was more than just a friendly kiss…but I can’t.” “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she blurted out, head turned toward me, eyes focused on my chin, arms hugging herself as if she was about to fall apart and was barely holding herself together. “What did you just say?” “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she repeated slowly, this time meeting my gaze. “It’s over? It’s done?” I asked in disbelief as something indescribable coursed through my veins.

Nudging her nose with mine, I kissed the edge of her mouth as she let out a harsh breath. “We need to talk, Dylan. I need to tell you what was going on. I don’t want you to think—” “We’ll figure out what to do,” I murmured and kissed her cheek. “What do you—” “Are you drunk?” “What? No. You need to listen to—” “Then kiss me, Zoe.”

She pulled back, studying my face as her eyes slowly narrowed. “And lose the bet?” Her eyes dropped to my lips then back up. “You kiss me first,” she said, all breathless as her cheeks turned a pretty pink. She was going to lose the bet.

My smile grew bigger and I hid my face against her neck. “You’re so damn cute, and you’re trembling,” I whispered in her ear. “Are you scared of kissing me?” A pause so I could press another lingering kiss on her neck. “Or are you scared I’ll kiss you?” Lifting my head, I met her big eyes. “I don’t give a fuck about the bet, I just need—”

Clearing her throat, she nodded but didn’t give me her eyes. Instead of forcing her to face me, I slid my arms around her and pulled her hands away from the wall. I wasn’t ready for her to hide from me. I needed more. More of her eyes on mine. More of that shy, shaky smile I loved so much. More of her touch. More of her lips, her skin.

“She won’t talk to me if you’re there. She called an Uber and I’m going to go with her.” “You won’t come home?”

“Tomorrow. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow. If you can come back, call me and I’ll come get you.” “You don’t have to do that. I’ll call an Uber or just walk. It’s not that far away from the apartment.” I closed the distance between us and tucked her hair behind her ear so I could kiss her temple. “Call me—I don’t want you out on your own so late, definitely not walking.” A quick nod as she stared

I was too far in my head, trying to come up with a solution for Zoe and me. For no reason at all, I quickened my steps, and soon I was full-out running. There was just something nagging at me, and I felt the need to see her. Feeling strange, I ignored the rain and pulled out my phone, trying Zoe again. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

The need to find her squeezed something in my chest and I took off toward the library like a bat out of hell.

The voices stopped. Walking in farther, I checked the room on the right then headed for the opposite side. When I pushed in some chairs to pass by, I spotted Zoe’s friend through the doorway in the east wing. Then my mind registered Zoe being held against the wall by some guy. Her face was flushed, eyes big, and she was silently gasping for air, her hands unsuccessfully trying to push the guy away. I ran to them, not giving a damn that I was bulldozing through the desks and chairs in my way. Her name spilled from my lips, but I didn’t think she heard me. Neither of them did.

I was down on one knee before her friend could get to her. “Who the fuck are you?” the guy roared, coming at us, but I ignored him and pushed Zoe’s hair away from her face. “Are you okay? Baby, talk to me—you okay?” She grabbed my arm and lifted her head, her free hand covering her throat. “Yeah,” she gasped, her voice rough and barely audible. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m fine.” I helped her up and her friend took over. The guy was still spewing shit, shouting and cursing, but I heard not a single word. My senses dulled and all I could focus on was this fucking bastard who had dared to put his hands on Zoe.

Gritting my teeth, I turned to Zoe and cupped her face, trying my best to control my breathing. She looked so scared as her eyes welled with tears, and she already had dried tears on her face. How late had I been? What else had he done?

Fuck. My hands were trembling. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice coming out harsher than I’d intended. “Did he do anything else?” She shook her head and blinked,

Feeling tired in my bones, I threw my keys toward the living room, not caring where they landed. I gave her an entire minute, not because I thought she would ever call out to me, but because I needed to make sure she was okay and a minute was as long as I could make myself wait.

“It’s okay, baby. Cry all you want,” I whispered, water dripping from my face. “I’m right here, Zoe. Just hold on to me. I’ll be right here. I’ll always be here.” I

“You scared the shit out of me, Zoe,” I rasped out before gently kissing her cheeks as hot water rained down on us. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. Don’t you ever put yourself in danger like that.” Because of the way I was holding on to her, she barely managed to nod. Breathing hard, I rested my forehead against hers, closed my eyes, and listened to her breathe. I just needed one more minute to hold her in my arms, breathe her in, and calm myself down, and then I could be whoever she needed me to be—her roommate? Her friend? Her everything?

“Shhh,” Dylan murmured, pressing his lips against my neck and lingering. “I can almost hear you thinking. Just go to sleep, baby. I’ll watch over you until morning.” And he will, won’t he? I thought. He’d help me breathe after scaring me to death. He’d save me from earthquakes, hold my hand after watching a scary movie, buy me pizza because he knew it’d make me happy, protect me from anything and everything by putting himself in front of the danger. He’d watch over me until morning.

I could’ve killed that sick bastard for putting his hands on her. If she hadn’t stopped me, hadn’t burrowed herself into my arms, I’m not sure I would’ve stopped. Feeling helpless, that deep burn in my chest—the same one I had felt at the library when I’d first seen him press Zoe against the bookshelves—started to consume me again, that intense initial shock, the sudden anger.

“Dylan, I…” I reached between us and laced our fingers together. Lifting her chin, she peered up at me. “I have this…thing for you,” she said quietly, letting out a breath as if relieved to say it out loud. Did she think she had been hiding it from me all this time? Did she think I didn’t know, didn’t feel the same…thing? After resting our hands on her hip, I leaned down so I could speak into her ear. “I have a thing for you, too, Flash.” She groaned and tried to let go of my hand, but I held her tighter. “I’m not joking, Dylan. I really have a big thing for you.”

“I don’t care what you call it. I like it. I like having your eyes on me. I love it even more when you look into my eyes and give me your biggest smile. Every time I see you smiling at me like that, like after the game in Tucson, it feels like you’re handing me your world. Even in the dark, I can feel your—” Before I could finish my sentence, her head shot up and her lips found mine. Not prepared for it, I couldn’t soften the kiss, and our teeth clashed. She immediately drew her head back. I knew she was blushing; I didn’t need any light to know that. She covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. I just—” This time I didn’t wait to hear the rest. As far as I was concerned, even though it had lasted only one second, that brief kiss was the best kiss of my life. Pulling her hand down, I cupped the back of her head and went in for more. I didn’t want to miss out on another second with this girl. Fuck everything. Fuck everyone. None of it mattered.

“My heart beats differently for you. It feels different somehow. I know this probably doesn’t make sense, but…it beats louder, wilder when I see you.”

feels like I’ve been waiting for this to happen all my life, waiting for you to happen.”

“We should get a little more sleep, Flash. Tomorrow is gonna be another tough day for you.” She sighed and snuggled in closer. “I can sleep with you?” “Just try to get away from me.”

Chris: It’s a good night to go out. Maybe you’d like to have a drink somewhere.

Me: I’d love to. Where do you want to meet? Chris: Uh…not with me. I think you should go by yourself.

I looked down to her shivering lips and couldn’t help myself anymore. You need water to live, can only survive without it for three to five days, and it’d been so much longer since I’d had my fill of her, since I’d tasted her. I’d barely survived.

“How could you just leave like that?” she asked in a gasp when she could find the words. I stopped moving against her and my hold on her tightened again. My gaze took in her flushed face and met her glazed eyes. “How could you not come after me?” I croaked. “I’m an idiot. What’s your excuse?” I smiled and let my forehead drop to her shoulder. “You’ve called me an idiot a few times tonight, so I’m guessing I’m your other half, just as big of an idiot, if not bigger.” “Then we’re perfect for each other, huh?” “We are best buddies, aren’t we?”

Still smiling big, she shook her head. “I won’t.” “And you’re waiting until I close up. You’re sitting right in front of me until then.” “I am. I won’t move—I won’t even look away.”

“No one has ever looked at me like that before, you know,” I admitted, having a little trouble holding his gaze. He moved closer—arms resting on my thighs, hands around my waist—and my eyes closed on their own. “Like what?” I felt him kiss the edge of my lips, then my cheek. “Like…that,” I repeated lamely in a whisper against his lips. He smiled then brushed a soft kiss right next to my ear. “Can you be a little more specific?” “Nope.” I felt his chuckle deep in my bones more than merely hearing it. “Okay.” Then he kissed me. Our lips molded together, gently, nothing more than a whisper in the night, up until he spoke. “You should keep me then. No one else can look at you the way I do.”

His thumb moved over my lip, but he didn’t look away from my eyes. “Keep me, Flash. I’m a good catch.” I grinned, my heart skipping all over the place. “You know what? I think I will.” His smile got bigger, and I felt out of my mind with happiness.

“I missed you more than I had any right to miss you, and it ate at me,” he said before the silence could become awkward. “I was so pissed at myself because I couldn’t even hate you. Do you realize how hard it was for me to work with him, knowing he got you and I didn’t? How hard it still is?

“I’m not going to stay away from you until draft day, Flash. You can get that out of your head right now. Now that I know everything, nothing you say can keep me away from you.”

“I can’t have you sleeping somewhere else, Flash. I can’t go another day without waking up to you wrapped around me. We’ll find a small apartment and move in together. I know I only have a few months until the draft, and after that—” Not even trying to contain my smile, I might have shouted my response a bit louder than I was aiming for. “Yes. Yes. Yes!” With the way I was acting, you’d have thought he’d asked me to marry him.

“I’ll catch you when you land, Flash. Just don’t take too much time, because I’m already there, impatiently waiting for you.”

I blinked. “You can’t make a joke about something like that, Dylan.” “Who said I’m joking? You happened in a heartbeat Zoe, I had no chance.”

“So I’m banging my best friend’s sister, huh? I like it.”

“I didn’t even get a chance to learn what turns you on,”

“I don’t think you need to learn anything,”

“I don’t want to miss you like that again. You make fun of me for saying it, but you’re my buddy, my best friend. I don’t want to let you go, no matter what.” “I’m not going anywhere, baby. It’s just us from now on.”

“Just us.” I exhaled, the words giving me life, and then I hesitated. It wasn’t the time, but… “But, you won’t be here next year, and if—” “Don’t even finish that sentence, Zoe. We’ll figure everything out when the time comes, but believe me when I say I have no intention of letting you go. Just let me sleep with you in my arms and we’ll take it one step at a time tomorrow, okay?”

even picturing you near another man makes the blood boil in my veins. I can’t stand to picture you in someone else’s bed, lying just like this.” He pulled me closer. “Just me from now on—I’ll be the only one touching you, kissing you, holding you,

The one person that was missing had just landed fifteen minutes ago, and I was getting restless and impatient waiting for her at the airport.

“What! You never asked me. We got so busy trying to find a place to live, and then there was the combine. How am I supposed to know whether you want me there or not? Plus, I have one more year, and maybe you—” I let go of the handle of her carry-on and cradled her face in my hands. She was still trying to talk when I slipped my tongue into her mouth and kissed her senseless right there in front of the strangers walking in and out of the hotel. “I always want you with me—don’t you know that by now? It’s been months.” I groaned against her lips, my breathing already heavy, my heart racing. “I’ve always wanted you, Zoe Clarke.”

“With the second pick of the 2018 NFL draft, the New York Giants select Dylan Reed, wide receiver…”

“I can give you everything you want now. I know I couldn’t do much until now, but Flash, trust me, you’ll—”

“I love you too, Flash. On and off the field, you’re my hardest fall. No one has ever compared, and no one ever will. It was always going to be you for me.”