Page 22 of Imperfectly Perfect

“I don’t think I do.” Savannah’s cheeks heated at that comment. She hadn’t expected to feel this warmth when seeing Fallon in person again. It’d been a few weeks, but it was long enough that being in her very presence again was stirring all those same feelings up. The ones where she’d enjoyed the flirting, the compliments, the teasing back and forth but also the openness and vulnerability that they’d shared. Just peeks during the weak moments into who they were. Those were more beautiful than anything.

Fallon sucked in a sharp breath when she slid open the lid. Small bottles were tucked in fabric around a glass. On the backside of the lid behind ribbons were directions for how to make your very own Long Island Iced Tea at home and all the mixings for it.

Chuckling, Fallon shook her head. “You really do know how to find a gift, don’t you?”

“Some say it’s a talent.” She’d always said that. No one else really had. But it had given her a wonderful advantage in her jobwhen recruiting new coaches and students. “It seemed fitting, since you barely got to drink yours.”

Savannah would know. Because after downing her drink, she’d taken Fallon’s leftover one to bed and stayed up drinking and reading until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. But she hadn’t been able to get the embarrassment out of her chest for at least another week. And even now, if she thought about the situation with Forrest too much, it would come back, rearing its ugly head once more.

“It’s only enough for one,” Fallon commented, gliding her fingers over each of the bottles and tilting her head as she read the labels.

“I wasn’t sure if…” Why couldn’t she just say the words out loud? “I wasn’t sure if you’d want company.”

Surprise lingered in Fallon’s eyes as she raised her gaze to meet Savannah’s. “I won’t lie and tell you that Forrest didn’t give me a lot to think about.”

“He does that.” Disappointment was right there to nip at the heels of the embarrassment Savannah had just managed to push behind her. Instead, that disappointment was ravenous, and it wanted every piece of her.

Fallon closed the lid of the box and slid it so it was right between them. “My father used to beat my mother daily. That might be exaggerating slightly, but I don’t remember every day of my childhood. What I do remember is that he beat her regularly.”

Savannah’s stomach plummeted.

Fallon glanced at the door behind Savannah, probably checking to see if anyone else was around. Then she continued, “Forrest bears a lot of similarities to my father. I’m not willing to put anyone in a situation like my mother was in or like I was in.”

“Understandable,” Savannah responded. She knew that was how it was going to be, even if she hadn’t wanted to hearthe words out loud. Ultimately, she also knew that being in a relationship while Forrest was still barging into her life wasn’t going to do anyone any favors. And in a similar sense to Fallon, she didn’t want to repeat past mistakes. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“You’re not?” Fallon leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers. “Could have fooled me.”

“I’m sorry if I gave you that impression, Fallon, but I’m not looking for a relationship. What I am looking for is friendship. I enjoy your company.”

Was that disappointment eating away at Fallon now? Something flashed across her eyes so quickly that Savannah hadn’t managed to catch a full glimpse of it. Nothing Savannah had said was untrue. She did enjoy Fallon’s company, and the last few weeks of quiet had given her that perspective. She needed someone who wasn’t tangled up in her life and drama, but also someone who understood the depth of pain that she’d been through.

“Friends don’t often buy friends expensive gifts.” Fallon tapped the box with one finger, but her eyes remained glued to Savannah's face.

“I do.” Savannah flushed. It was a half-truth, but one she was going to go with for now. “I like to give gifts with meaning, and unexpectedly. It’s one of my love languages.”

Fallon hummed and pulled the box closer to her. “I’m not sure you can talk about friends and love languages in the same breath and tell me you only want friendship with me.”

Was this Fallon asking for more? Savannah was so unsure, not only of what Fallon wanted, but of what she wanted. And this conversation seriously couldn’t be more awkward to have in the middle of the office.

“Can we talk after my meeting?” Savannah asked.

“Sure.” Fallon nodded toward the door to Athena’s office. “She’s ready for you now, anyway.”

“Oh?” Savannah spun around, finding Athena eyeing the both of them. Great, now she’d have even more questions to answer, ones where she wasn’t sure what to say. “Right.”

“Ready?”

“Yeah.” Savannah glanced at Fallon before she followed Athena into the small conference room that she was becoming very familiar with. Maybe the extra time for both of them to think was exactly what they needed. Depending on what Fallon said, Savannah would ask her outright what she was looking for from their friendship—or whatever it was.

Savannah’s head spun after spending an hour and a half with Athena. She had so many more questions to answer and things to find than she thought humanly possible. And it would, unfortunately, involve talking to Kyla—the one thing that Kyla had specifically asked her not to do.

Sighing, Savannah stepped out of the conference room and walked toward Fallon’s desk. Fallon had a stack of paperwork out, sprawled over the top of her desk as she looked from the paper to her computer.

“Having fun?” Savannah teased, hoping her tone didn’t make it sound like she was too drained.

Fallon glanced up and nodded. “I’m doing billing for the month.”

“I’m sure my name is at the top of the list.” Savannah tried to make it come off like a joke, but she was pretty sure that she didn’t manage it. “Sorry, that was a long and intense meeting.”

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