Page 52 of Catch My Fall
I swallow thickly, my heart racing. “So that’s what you are, tonight? My boyfriend?”
A look crosses his face, one I can’t work out. “Just tonight. Come on.” He steps back, keeping his hand firmly on my lower back as we head inside, the gesture protective, possessive.
The music is loud, the air thick and humid, and I’m suddenly glad I didn’t bother with a jacket.
We walk through to the bar, and despite it being rammed in here tonight, there are two bar stools free in the corner. Alec places himself on the corner, a position in which he can keep watch over the entire bar. Taking a seat on the stool beside him, he grips it and drags it closer so my knees are positioned between his spread legs.
“What can I get you folks?” the young barmaid asks.
“Vodka and coke, please,” I say.
“I’ll have an orange juice, thanks,” Alec replies.
I turn to him. “Alec, seriously? Have a beer for crying out loud.”
“I’m working, Sierra.”
“One beer is not going to kill you. You’re allowed to enjoy yourself too, you know?”
“I don’t have to have alcohol to enjoy myself. I find good company much more enjoyable.” His eyes hold mine as he speaks and my belly does a flip.
The bartender brings us our drinks a minute later, placing them on the smooth bar top.
“My uncle got in touch today, asked if I was free tomorrow to go and see him,” Alec tells me.
“That’s great! Did you say yes?”
He nods. “I’m kind of nervous.”
“Now that is one thing I never expected to leave your mouth. What are you nervous about?”
“It’s been years. The way we ended things wasn’t great. I see now everything he said and did was to make me into a better person, but I didn’t see it back then.”
“A lot can change in sixteen years, people grow. The fact that he wants to see you is a good thing. But if you need someone to hold your hand, mine’s available.”
He breaks out into a smile, which is apparently infectious because it makes me smile too. “I might just take you up on that.”
The lights in the bar begin to flicker, the music playing through the speakers crackling and the football game on the flat screen turning to static.
The lights come back on for a few seconds before we’re plunged into total darkness, the music cutting out as a collection of gasps fill the room.
“Don’t worry folks, backup generator will kick in soon,” someone says, probably the older guy I’ve seen working behind the bar.
No. No. No. No. No!
My monsters reside in the shadows, the memory of sinister laughter echoing through my mind.
My heart thuds in my chest as I search for Alec through the dark, clasping his hand in a death grip. “I don’t like the dark, Alec.”
I feel him lean closer, wrapping an arm around my waist, his touch instantly slowing my racing heart as his lips graze my temple. “It’s alright, the lights will be back on soon.”
“B—But they come for me in the dark. The monsters.”
He squeezes me tighter, placing delicate kisses to my forehead while his hand rubs slow, soothing circles on my back. “I won’t let anything hurt you. You’re safe, princess. I’ve got you.”
Just as the words leave his mouth, the generator must kick in and everything returns to normal as the bar fills with sighs of relief.
“See? You’re absolutely fine. You don’t need to worry about anything when you’re with me,” he reassures, not making any move to let me out of his hold.