Page 25 of The Fall

“Sure.” He gave me a small smile, nodded, and waved goodbye to Beatrice before he walked off.

“Oh…shit…honey, I smell trouble,” she said, shaking her head as she picked up the phone when it rang.

I couldn’t help but laugh at her spot-on assessment of the situation. I fully intended on making sure that lunch happened with Dean soon. I wanted to know why he was back in Texas and working in my hospital and why he was so reluctant to talk about his fiancée.

Whatever the hell was going on with him, I had decided to find out sooner rather than later.

Dean

Then

It was three long years before I heard three words that would forever change me. I was walking across campus toward the Marshall Hall building when the voice sounded. “Dean, Dean Martin?” A smile was already on my lips as I looked in the direction of the voice. Dallas’s laugh was unmistakable as she walked toward me. What I wasn’t expecting was that the mere sight of her would leave me scrambling to regain basic fucking motor function. My smile quickly faded as she flew at me in a hug. All the breath left my body as I inhaled her scent. I gripped her to me tightly as she laughed and hugged me back. When she pulled away, my arms were still securely around her. I knew I had to be grinning like an idiot as she beamed back at me.

“How the hell are you?” she asked, a little Texas twang in her voice.

“Better now,” I said, still refusing to let her out of my grasp.

We spent a little longer than we should have in our embrace, neither of us willing to pull away from the other. In that instant, I felt the pain of missing her ease slightly. My chest tightened at the return of a familiar stir.

It was just that damned easy.

“Let me look at you. Damn …” My voice was hoarse as I let her go to take her in. She was wearing tight jeans, knee-high rider boots, and a tight-fitting red sweater. I took in every curve as I whistled slowly.

“I know.” She waggled her eyebrows up then down and did a little turn for the full effect. She was a far cry from the skinnier version I left. She had a small amount of curve on her hips, and her long legs remained one of her best assets. This was no longer the tempting Lolita that I had left. This was the young woman I’d always pictured but even more beautiful than I could’ve imagined.

“Still dressing like every day is a Sunday at church,” she said, poking fun at my clothes, as usual.

“I don’t hear anyone else complaining,” I pointed out, still overwhelmed by the sight of her in front of me. “And you’re still a pain in the ass,” I noted as she laughed.

“You have no idea. So did you miss me, Dean?”

“You know the saying ‘Don’t know what you got till it’s gone?’ Well, I can’t stand most of the girls at this school,” I assured her.

“Well, don’t tell me the infamous Dean Martin has changed his ways,” she teased.

“No, I still sleep with them. I just run like hell after,” I chuckled. “Anyway, what about you?”

“What about me?” she asked, her eyes meeting mine. I let them stray and sweep down her body, slowly bringing them back to her. “Dean, you wouldn’t be checking me out, would you?”

“Yes, I absolutely fucking am,” I said pointedly, giving her pause. She gave me a wary glance as she looked around campus. She seemed more relaxed than when I’d left her—more comfortable in her own skin. Her confidence radiated off her in waves. My mind drifted back to the kiss I’d left her with as I studied the slow curve of a smile forming on her lips.

We quickly made up for lost time and spent the rest of the day stuck together, holding hands and laughing as I gave her a full tour of campus. I was in my last year and would be leaving for Columbia next fall, and I was again a senior to her freshman. I refused to dwell on that. I felt completely relaxed for the first time since I’d left her three years ago.

We were inseparable our first few weeks of school as we stayed busy, getting reacquainted. When we were not in class, we spent our nights on the phone, walking on campus, attending parties, or hanging out at my frat house. My friends seemed to like her right away—a little too much for my liking. I caught their hungry eyes on her and glared at them openly as they shot a game of pool at the table in what was supposed to be our dining room. The minute her back was turned, I was bombarded with the inevitable question of who she was to me.

There was no mistaking my straight answer to Casey, the newest member of my fraternity. “Don’t even fucking look at her,” I barked.

“Okay, bud, all right,” he said, backing away to grab the pool stick from Rob—another brother who was a senior—and eyed Dallas suspiciously. It wasn’t common practice for me to bring girls back to the house other than to my bedroom. I had fallen into a bad habit my first few years at school but had slacked since then, concentrating more on my grades.

New York was a whisper away, but Dallas…Dallas was here.

I watched her work the table as she made herself comfortable, shooting off her shit talk at my frat buddies, who happily obliged her. They were impressed, especially Casey.

Casey was notorious on campus, easily one of the biggest players. He had absolutely no good intentions when it came to the opposite sex, and though I wasn’t one to preach, he had a rather tasteless way of discarding the affections of his women. He did his best to impress her, and she seemed to notice, humoring him.

Rob was the next to ask, stepping up and handing me a beer. “What’s the deal?” He asked as he eyed Dallas’s perfect ass as she took a shot and made the eight ball, winning the game. She looked up at me with her knowing smile. She was so fucking beautiful. I cursed my stupidity in bringing her to the house.

“The deal is any woman I bring into this house is off limits,” I said through clenched teeth. Rob laughed as he eyed me. “Dude, that’s not exactly fair. I don’t think any of us would get anywhere that way,” he said loudly. I ignored him and grabbed Dallas’s hand.