Page 45 of Feels Like Falling
I stick my tongue out at him and he chuckles.
“What? I’m not great with the friend thing, but I have good ideas sometimes.”
Tilting his head to the side, he stares at me. “You’re not great at the friend thing? You seem pretty great to me, although I might not be the resident expert on long-lasting relationships.”
Now it’s my turn to deflect, choosing to study the mint leaves in my drink for a minute longer before finally saying, “I grew up here but we neverfithere. My parents are pretty influential in certain circles. I learned at a young age what it meant to attend functions and events to keep up appearances instead of working the land and being a part of the community.”
“I hate that for you.”
I shrug. “It was a long time ago.” I pause, frowning. “I mean I guess not that long ago. I moved to Savannah, Georgia, for school after I left here. My parents were going to travel and then move closer to Nashville, but a few months after I left they bought a house not far from my campus, and I retreated into myself like I was still under their thumb. I’d moved to a different state and I still couldn’t get away from them.”
“What happened after you graduated?”
“I took a job teaching at a private school in the city. My mother had a hand in that too,” I say bitterly, “but when Montana’s grandmother passed away a few years ago, I came back for the funeral. No matter the time and distance between us, it wasn’t something I could miss.” He nods, but I get the impression he has no idea how to process that kind of connection. “Montana and I rekindled our friendship, and I waited out my contract before moving here for good.”
“Why didn’t you do the long-distance thing? People do that all the time, right?”
It was a loaded question if I’d ever heard one, and I shove a pretzel bite in my mouth to buy me a minute of reprieve. It’s delicious, the texture perfect, and complements the tang of the honey mustard I dunked it in.
“Being away from Montana was complicated. Westillhave a lot of things we need to work out. We would never have been good at being apart, and it was easier for me to keep the distance—physical and emotional—for the duration of my contract. We used that time to rebuild our friendship.” I leave out the other complication because it’s not worth muddying the waters.
“Have you told him any of this?”
“Some of it. But I—we—just dove into things like we hadn’t been apart for a long time. We jumped ahead ten spaces, and now we’re reeling with how to make new us be old us while adding adult problems and intimacy.”
Cal lets out a low whistle before chuckling as I take a massive gulp of my drink.
“I feel like this is heavy for a trial friendship outing.”
Snorting, Cal throws a balled-up napkin at me. “You should have thought about that before you went and invited me for drinks. I’m a done deal.”
I narrow my eyes. “You invited me.”
He waves his hand in a flourish. “Semantics.” His smile widens and so does mine.
“So, what about you?” I ask, leaning forward and batting my lashes. “Dating? Attached? Need help swiping on some apps?”
“You truly are selfless,” he deadpans.
“It’s one of my best qualities.”
Shaking his head, Cal fiddles with a paracord bracelet on his wrist before meeting my gaze. There’s humor still in his, but it feels forced now.
“Uh, not dating or attached and probably focusing on me for a while.” He rolls his eyes like that is truly a hardship—but he’s not wrong. Self-reflection can be a bitch. “My sister already tried to play matchmaker with me and this guy, Tanner. Have you met him?”
“I don’t think so.”
“He’s a transplant. Was married to one of the Thayer wives and now co-owns Vetted Paws with the scary guy.”
“Hank?” I ask, trying to sort through the brothers in my head.
“No, I met Hank—I think his wife is scarier honestly.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Sure,” he drawls. “No, this guy married the sister—Rhea, maybe? Starts with a “S” I think.”
“Oh, Sorren! I remember him being super hot but not scary,” I say because even though I didn’t interact much with them, that whole group was well known even in Blackstone Falls.
