The Fragile Fall (10 page)

Ryanne

I
T
WAS
F
RIDAY
,
BUT
J
AX
was ditching our regular movie night for Lindsey. He actually didn’t know that Will and I planned to still watch a movie together; he was under the impression that the three of us were eating dinner and then all going our separate ways, but I had sent Will a text asking him to stay. I couldn’t wait to have an excuse to spend time with Will without Jax jumping down my throat. I was still reeling from the fact that he had asked me to the dance. When he asked me, I texted Jax to make sure he was okay with us going together. He told me he was fine with it. I was still waiting for him to change his mind.

“You guys ready for homecoming tomorrow?” Jax asked. We were sitting in the kitchen, eating pizza.

“Yep,” I said and Will nodded. “Do you want me to pick you up or do you want to pick me up?”

“I can pick you up. I’ll have to see if Aunt Liv will let me borrow the car, but I’m not supposed to drive without someone over twenty-one in the car with me.”

“Live a little, man,” Jax said, elbowing Will in his side. “You’ll be fine. Just say she’s your sister.” I raised an eyebrow and Will looked disgusted.

“She’s not my sister.”

“Get over it. Do you want your aunt to be your driver or do you want to live a little? You’ve clocked several hours behind the wheel already, you’ll be fine. Just be careful.”

Will looked at me, clearly unsure.

“You can use my car. We’ll just pretend it’s your car and you’re picking me up.”

Will nodded.

“Perfect, it’s all settled then,” I said.

After we had eaten, Jax left to go to Lindsey’s place. I was in the kitchen making popcorn and getting drinks together and Will was sitting on a stool.

“How come you never do any of the normal college stuff?” he asked.

“It’s not really my scene. I don’t like getting stupid drunk and sleeping around. Plus, I have to be here for Jax if he needs me. With our dad gone so much, someone needs to be here for him.”

“Will your dad be home anytime soon?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. He just kind of comes and goes when he wants.”

“He should be here with you guys. Family is too important to blow off. I’d give anything to have my parents back. Though, I’m loving going to high school and hanging out with you and Jax. They never would have let me do that. I like being able to feel at least somewhat normal.”

“I bet.” I poured the popcorn into a bowl.

“They were killed in a drunk driving accident.” He was staring at the counter and pushing a pencil back and forth. “The one night I disobeyed them, they ended up dying. It sucks. I hate that my family is gone.”

I stood there, staring at him, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry, Will.”

“It’s not your fault.” He sat up and hopped off the stool. “It’s my fault. And it’s a reality I have to face, unfortunately.” He left the room, leaving me speechless. I stood there unsure of what the hell to do. He was usually very closed off about everything and I had only learned about his past from Liv. After a few minutes, I grabbed the popcorn and followed after him.

When I got in the room, he was looking through our DVDs. “What do you want to watch?” Will asked, looking up at me.

“I’m not sure…” We normally let Jax pick the movie, so it was odd not having him here, dictating which movie we would watch.

“You pick and we’ll see if I agree.” He stood and went to sit on the couch while I looked through the DVDs.

“How do you feel about scary movies?”

“That sounds good. I’ve never seen a scary movie before.” He had the most adorable grin. It was lopsided and it reminded me of how much of a boy he really was, though there was something undeniably sexy about it.

I picked Paranormal Activity and put it in, then turned off the lights and sat on the couch with the popcorn between us. “It’s an unspoken rule that you have to watch scary movies in the dark. It heightens the suspense. ”

“Works for me.”

Picking a scary movie wasn’t a good idea. I was a complete chicken shit and I was freaking out. He was munching on the popcorn, seemingly unaffected. When I jumped and screamed, he moved the popcorn and patted the seat next to him. “Come sit next to me.” I scooted to his side, not giving him time to change his mind or time to remind myself why it was such a bad idea to be so close to him. He wrapped his arm around me and rested his cheek on my head. “I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He kissed the top of my head.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

He stiffened and moved away from me a little. “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I, uh, I shouldn’t have done that. I got caught up in the moment, I guess.”

“No, it’s okay.” I moved closer to his side and wrapped my arm around his waist. “You’re making me feel safe.”

He relaxed and put his cheek back on my head.

I freaked out even more, though this time it was over Will. Being this close and smelling him, feeling his arm wrapped around me and his muscles through his shirt did things to me that were completely unacceptable. I liked how warm he felt against me and the tingles he sent all over my body as his thumb rubbed circles on my arm. I loved how I perfectly fit against him.

I stayed snuggled up to him through the rest of the movie, learning the rhythm of Will’s heart. When the movie was over, he adjusted on the couch a little. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I didn’t think you’d get so scared.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m a complete baby. I should have remembered that when I picked it.” Though I was glad I hadn’t. Spending the time wrapped up with Will was more than worth it.

“It all worked out in the end.” His lips curved in a lopsided grin. I was far too comfortable being this close to him, so I sat up and stretched. Will pulled his phone out and checked the time. “I guess I need to head back. It’s almost midnight.” He stood and stretched, causing his shirt to ride up and his abs to be revealed. I looked away, needing to get control of myself.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea.” The last thing I wanted was for Will to leave. I was completely freaked out over the movie, but I knew Jax would flip out if he knew Will and I had watched a movie alone and I didn’t want to ruin a perfectly good evening by having it end in a ridiculous fight.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I hated when he left. I felt like a part of me went with him.

I felt alone.

Courtney was helping me get ready for homecoming. It felt like I was back in high school as we danced around my room and she fixed my hair.

“So you’re going to a high school dance with a nice hunk of jail bait,” Courtney said as she twisted my hair and put a pin in to hold it in place.

“He’s not jail bait, Court. We’re just friends.”

She sprayed more hair spray. “I’ve seen the way you two are around each other. You have some kind of weird telepathy or something. You always seem to know where each other is, even if you aren’t in the same room, and you look at him like he’s the only person you see.”

“He’s a good friend. I like hanging out with him.”

Courtney put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I know Jax is giving you a hard time, but you need to ignore him.”

“He’s a friend, Court. I’m not stirring up shit with Jax.”

“You need to stop letting your brother determine life.” She put a final twist in my hair and sprayed a cloud of hair spray around me, causing me to cough from the fumes. “All done. Now, I’ll do your makeup and then you can look.” She smiled at me.

I wanted to stop caring about what Jax said. He certainly didn’t let me weigh in on his life the way I let him weigh in on mine. Being close to Will last night, feeling his arms around me and the way he offered me comfort when I was scared, made me realize that we couldn’t go back to being strictly friends. I wanted …
needed
to act on the feelings that were boiling over inside me.

“Do you think it’d be weird?”

“Would what be weird?” She brushed powder over my cheeks.

“If something were to happen between Will and me? I know he’s still seventeen, but it doesn’t feel like that when he’s around, and I’m only two years older. I know he’s my little brother’s best friend, but it’s kind of hard to deny how I feel about him.” I chewed my lip, wondering what she would say.

“Oh, honey, there’s nothing wrong with it. Lots of college students date high school seniors. It’s not a big deal. Close your eyes.” She brushed eye shadow over my lids. “I’m only teasing about the jail bait thing. It doesn’t bug me at all. Some of the other girls are a bit weirded out by it all, but they’d get over it. And Jax would eventually get used to the idea. You’d just have to show him that he wouldn’t be losing his sister or his best friend. After he realized that, I think he’d get over it. Open and look up.” She brushed mascara on my eyelashes.

“You’ve seen how much Jax and I fight over Will. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know how to convince him that Will and I would still be there for him if he’s so vehemently against the idea.”

She gave me a stern look. “As I said, you need to stop letting your brother dictate what you do. Plus, Will blossoms around you, Ry. He came over that first day and was all shy and awkward, shuffling around, but by the end of the night, he was laughing and joking around like he had been around us forever. His eyes rarely left you all night. It was so sweet and awkward.”

She spread lip gloss over my lips and I smacked my lips together. “If Jax got in your way, I’d kick his ass. You deserve someone sweet like Will. You deserve someone who looks at you like you hung the moon. Jax needs to stop thinking this is all about him. Now turn around and look how beautiful you are,” Courtney said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up and smiled as tears welled in my eyes at how awesome of a friend she was. “Now, don’t go crying and ruining all my hard work.” She turned me around and I gasped. My makeup was subtle, yet still sexy and beautiful. She’d used soft pinks and browns to highlight my features. My hair was twisted and braided up off my shoulders. I looked like I was going to a wedding, not a high school dance.

“Oh, Court, I love it. Thank you so much.” I turned and threw my arms around her.

“No problem. You know I love you.” She gripped my shoulders and pushed me away. “Now, I have a date and you need to get moving.”

“Have fun and enjoy tonight.”

“No problem. Just remember who your number one bitch is.” She winked and left the room.

I looked in the mirror again and studied myself. Courtney was a genius. I walked over to my closet and grabbed my dress, then shrugged out of my robe and pulled my dress off the hanger. My phone buzzed with a new text message just as I was about to slip my dress on.

Will: Is clothing mandatory? I rock a mean pair of underwear.

Ryanne: I have no doubt you can rock the hell out of underwear. Clothes are required, though.

Will: I guess I’m stuck in this stupid, uncomfortable suit.

I laughed. Sometimes, he said the funniest things. I slipped my dress on and looked in the full length mirror. The dress was turquoise and strapless with sequins embellishing the top, flaring slightly at my hips and landing mid-thigh. I loved the way I felt in it.

Will: I’m on my way over.

Ryanne: Almost ready now.

I put on my silver heels and went downstairs. I heard a knock at the door and smiled as I opened it, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of Will. He had on a black suit with a white shirt and the tie I bought him. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, which allowed me to see the way his shirt hugged his defined chest.

“You look beautiful, Ryanne.” He gently took my hand and slipped the corsage on my wrist.

“Thanks.” I moved my corsage a little, uncomfortable with the compliment. “You look really nice, Will.”

He smirked. “Thanks.” I pinned the boutonniere on his jacket. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Shutting the door and making sure it was locked, I tried to keep my eyes off Will. Seeing him dressed up made my heart twist in my chest and I was uncomfortable. I felt ripped in two. Part of me wanting to throw caution to the wind and make a move, the other part of me wanted to keep the peace with Jax.

When I turned around, Will offered me his arm. I raised my eyes to meet his and my breath hitched. His eyes were full of adoration and an emotion that looked a lot like love. He opened my door and I slipped inside. He walked around the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. When he turned and smiled at me, I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him. I wondered how he would feel about that.

“Are you ready for a night of high school fun?” he asked as he backed out of the driveway.

“You better believe it. You have no idea how much fun high school dances can be,” I teased.

“Hopefully this one lives up to your high expectations,” he said, his voice timid.

My heart swelled. In the past, guys who were insecure annoyed me, but with Will I found it endearing. “I don’t have high expectations. It’ll be nice to hang out with you tonight.”