“I agree,” Jason replies. For some reason in my brain, he was going to say no, so his easy acceptance is throwing me off. “I’m sure we can get something organized.”
“Great,” I say. “I—uh, I need to get back to my office, I have a tour soon. But it was good to see you again, Jason.”
“You too, Fallon. I’ll let you know about a playdate.”
I offer him an awkward finger gun, turning and hiding my blazing red face before he can see my humiliation.
6
JASON
“Daddy, what time are they going to be here?” Lennie asks for what might be the hundredth time. We arrived at the indoor playground early, so they should be arriving any minute.
“I’m not sure, Lenners. Why don’t you go play, I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” I gesture to the swings. “I can push you on the swing, if you’d like?”
Lennie shakes her head adamantly. “Not yet. I want to show Presley how I can jump off the swing when I get really high.”
Her words send a spiral of panic through me, causewhat? “What do you mean, jump off?”
“When I pump my legs really hard and get high enough, I jump off and land on my feet. Uncle Andrew showed me how to do it when he took me here last,” she explains.
“Of course he did,” I mutter, making a mental note to text my little brother to stop teaching my daughter dangerous things. Do I remember doing things like that when I was a kid? Yes, absolutely, but that doesn’t mean Iwant my daughter doing them. I broke both my arms as a kid, and I’ll do anything to keep Lennie from doing that.
I’m about to explain to Lennie why we shouldn’t jump from the swings from heights, when she screeches, “They’re here!” She runs across the room to greet Presley. Fallon walks in right behind her, unzipping her jacket and smiling when she sees Lennie bounding toward them.
Presley shouts Lennie’s name, and pulls her into a hug. It’s adorable how much their friendship has grown in a few short months since meeting at the wedding, and I’m glad Lennie has found a friend in her. Fallon takes off her winter jacket, revealing a black floral wrap dress. She has on a pair of black tights underneath, showing off her gorgeous legs and hints of her thick thighs. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun, like she threw it up as soon as she got in the car after work. It’s beautiful, showing off the gentle slope of her neck. She has such a natural beauty, that I forget to breathe for a moment.
Presley takes off her jacket and hands it over to Fallon, and then the girls are off running, heading right to the swings. “Hey Jason,” Fallon greets when she’s closer.
“Hey,” I reply. I can’t keep my eyes on her though, because if I do, I won’t be able to stop ogling her. It reminds me of college. Her mind is as brilliant as her beauty, and I could never take my eyes off her, even if I tried.
“How was your day?” she asks, looking up at me briefly before turning back to the girls.
“Fine.” One word answers. That’s what I can do right now. I need to keep a firm boundary for my sanity, and if I’m honest with myself, I might still have some unresolved frustration with her over the way things ended between us all those years ago. I’m an asshole. I know this, and my momwould smack me upside the head if she knew the way I was acting.
Fallon shuffles, kicking at the padded floor with her wedged boot. We stand in awkward silence for a long few minutes, until I decide to go sit on one of the benches. She follows, sitting on the opposite end from me. Her back is ramrod straight as she sits as far as she can from me.
“I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about,” Fallon starts, and I look over at her. “But I wanted to apologize for the way I left things back?—”
I interrupt her. “We don’t need to talk about it.”
“I-I’m sorry. Can I at least say that?”
I shift my eyes back to where my daughter is pumping her legs on the swings, Presley right beside her, mimicking the motions. They both swing higher and higher as I watch. Great, Lennie is totally going to jump the way Andrew taught her. My heart pounds with nervous energy as I grumble out, “It’s fine, the past is the past.”
From the corner of my eye, I can see Fallon look down at her hands in her lap. She twists her fingers in the hem of her dress, and I know I’ve made this way more uncomfortable than necessary.
“Um—okay then,” Fallon states. Without another word, she stands from the bench, plastering a smile on her face and walking over to the swings. With each step, her hips sway, the curve of her ass on display as her body moves with grace, making my body react in ways I know it shouldn’t. My pulse quickens, and there’s a tightness in my jeans I choose to ignore. She pushes both of them, alternating between kids, and I watch how easily the girls shriek in happiness, all from the simplicity of a swing.
Fallon smiles easily now, laughing with the two young girls, even cheering them on as they test how far they canjump off the swings. I shouldn’t let her do this, but it makes her so happy, and she really isn’t jumping from that high. Fallon seems to be okay with it, so maybe it’s fine. My heart pulses rapidly in my chest out of fear each time they jump, but when they stick each landing, the anxiety lessens.
Even though I was a jerk for no reason other than not wanting to dwell on the past, Fallon practically radiates sunshine. I’ve heard the tiniest hints of her past, and for her to stand as tall as she does, it’s impressive. Everyone loves her and her daughter, and knowing her all those years ago, I know exactly why everyone does. She’s amazing. Sweet, kind, beautiful, joyful, everything I’m not.
I have no qualms with Presley and Lennie being friends, but I know I can’t open myself up to Fallon again. I can’t deal with that hurt again.
7
JASON
