The Fall Up

“Gotcha,” he said, sitting beside me on the couch.

With a snap and a point from Sam, Sampson lumbered over to a dog bed in the corner, grunting before flopping down.

We both stayed silent, awkwardly drinking our beers. Small talk was officially over, but it seemed Sam wasn’t any more excited to start the heavy conversation than I was.

“You hungry?” he asked as I nervously polished my beer off.

“I’m good, thanks.”

He nodded and went back to staring into space. “Sooo…” he drawled but didn’t say anything else.

Without looking at him, I broke the silence. “Are you positive that we can’t just start with sex?”

Chuckling, he dropped his head back against the couch and turned to look at me. I met his gaze with a grin, hoping he was about to give in. Instead, his smile fell and his eyes softened.

“I’m sorry I stormed out the way I did, but I really can’t apologize for telling Devon. Levee, I have a really fucked-up past, and it terrifies me to start something with someone like you.”

Someone like you.

I swallowed hard, trying not to flinch from the sting of his words. “Oh.” I scooted to the edge of couch and slid my shoes back on.

He caught my elbow before I had the chance to push to my feet. “Hear me out. Please.”

“Yeah, of course. I was just go

With one hand, he grabbed the neck of my empty beer between two fingers and replaced it with his half-full one. “Stop and listen. That’s all I’m asking.”

A nod was my only response.

“My fondest memories from when I was a kid are when I was with my dad. I remember him spending hours ru

All of my hurt disappeared as I watched something far worse appear on Sam’s face. I didn’t necessarily want to encourage his habit, but I’d have done anything to erase that pained expression.

“You want to take this to the porch swing so you can smoke?” I asked, folding my hand over his.

“Yes. But I need to stop compromising your breakup with lung cancer. So no.” His lips twitched as he intertwined our fingers. Groaning, he continued. “There were times when my dad would disappear to his workshop in our backyard for a week or more. It was a way of life, and A

That does not sound good.

I’d figured the whole walk down memory lane was to set up A

He ran a hand through his hair. “When I was fifteen, Dad lost his job and went into one of his typical lows. No one really paid it any attention. We were overly used to it by then. Mom used to have us deliver his di

He lifted my hand to his mouth as I waited on pins and needles for what I prayed wouldn’t be the ending I feared he was about to give me.

“A

Ice chilled my veins as a reality sliced through me.

Oh God.

I couldn’t let that happen either.

Sam really can’t be with someone like me.

“I HAVE TO go,” Levee said, scrambling off my lap.

I had just dredged up memories I’d spent my entire life trying to forget in order to explain my past. I had close friends who didn’t know about the skeletons I’d pulled from the closet and all but put on display for her. And now she was darting?

“Where the hell are you going?” I bit out entirely too roughly while pushing to my feet after her.

She began messing with her phone until it powered on with a chime. “I have a busy day tomorrow. They rescheduled my concert in LA for tomorrow night. I should probably head home. I’m taking off on vacation for a few weeks. You know, rest and relaxation and all that jazz. I’ll just call Devon for a ride.” She lifted the phone to her ear.

Fuck.

That.

“Put the phone down, Levee,” I growled.

She squeezed the phone between her shoulder and ear and lifted the empty beer bottles off the table. “I’ll just put these in the trash.” Then she flittered to the kitchen, grabbing a rag off the side of the sink and wiping away imaginary dirt from my spotless counters.

What hell is she doing?

“Levee?” I called, but apparently, Devon had just picked up.

“Hey. Can you come get me?” she asked quietly, but not quietly enough, because I’d heard the quiver in her voice loud and clear.

And that was all it took to get my legs moving in her direction.

Her back was to me, but I reached over her shoulder and snatched the phone away from her ear.

“Hey!” she shouted, spi

My nerves were still raw and exposed from the little journey back in time, but I was mainly frustrated beyond belief.

With my gaze locked on hers, I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey, Devon. I’ll bring her home in a little while.”

“No, the fuck you won’t,” he barked, but I pressed the end button.

She swallowed hard and pasted on a sweet smile that definitely belonged to the Levee Williams.

It just didn’t belong to my Designer Shoes.

Not at all.

“Sam, you don’t have to take me back. Give me the phone. Devon can be here in a few minutes.”

Tossing her phone onto the counter, I took a menacing step forward.

Her eyes grew wide as she backed away. “Sam, I have to go.”

I sucked in a calming breath that did nothing to quell the frustration brewing inside me. “No, you don’t. You’re freaking out about something, so open your mouth and tell me what that is.” I continued to advance. “I spill my darkest secrets and suddenly you have shit to do tomorrow? Well, guess what, Levee? I have shit to do tonight. And it starts and ends with you.”

Finally, she’d exhausted the space in my kitchen, and her back hit my sliding glass door. “I don’t know what to say. I just need to go,” she said so matter-of-factly that, if it hadn’t been for the tear that rolled down her cheek, I might have believed her.