Page 5 of Worth the Fall

Me

At least we'll go down together.

As I drift off to sleep, I think about how different my life looks from what I imagined at fifteen when Cameron first asked me to be his girlfriend. No ring on my finger, no house in the suburbs, no carefully planned future stretching out before me.

Instead, I have an apartment that's all mine, a career I love, even if it sometimes feels like it’s taking over my life, and friends who show up exactly when I need them.

It's not the happy ending I always imagined, but maybe it's not supposed to be an ending at all. Maybe it's finally the beginning.

"Oh." I turn around in my lavender short set, checking my reflection one last time before I head out. "Maybe it accentuates my ass a little too much."

I desperately try to tug it down lower but it’s no use. Either the junk food I’ve been using to soothe my broken heart has gone straight to my ass or this outfit shrank a size since I bought it.

"Shit," I mutter anxiously, glancing quickly through my closet for something else but it’s no use. This is the only cute set I have since my workout regimen over the last ten years has been relying on my young metabolism and sex with Cameron—both of which seem to have made a dramatic exit in the last six months.

"Whatever," I say in defeat before rushing out the front door.

Austin spots me first, jogging over with his trademark easy grin. "Ready to dominate? And by dominate, I mean not completely humiliate ourselves?"

"I watched three TikTok tutorials last night," I admit, adjusting my ponytail for the tenth time. "I think that makes me practically a pro."

"Damn." He whistles, stepping back to dramatically look me up and down. "If you had worn that on our first date, it would have definitely ended differently."

"Stop it." I playfully smack him. "I’m already super self-conscious in this. It fit much looser just a few months back, I swear."

"I’m kidding." He laughs. "But maybe I should buy one for Taylor," he says about his business partner, the same one he’s secretly in love with—his confession to me on our first date after I burst into tears at the table, telling him all about how I wasn’t over my ex yet.

"Seriously, is it too much?"

"You look great. Stop worrying about it. Everyone’s over there." He laughs, leading me toward the courts where Becca and Hector are already warming up.

And that's when I see him.

Time does that slow-motion thing they always talk about in movies.

"Oh my God," I squeak.

He’s tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and the kind of smile that makes you forget basic functions like breathing or forming coherent sentences. The morning sun catches the slight silver at his temples, and something flutters in my stomach that has nothing to do with pre-game nerves.

"That's Miguel," Austin explains, following my gaze. "Hector's brother. He's actually a lawyer too. In fact, we just hired him for the firm."

"Oh?" I aim for casual, but my voice comes out slightly higher than normal, like I'm back in ninth grade speech class and I’m trying to act calm but I’m two seconds away from passing out.

Miguel looks up then, catching my eye. His smile shifts from polite to something warmer, and I swear the temperature on the court rises ten degrees. A single drop of boob sweat trickles down my stomach and I’m suddenly very aware that any amount of moisture is going to show through this material in a second.

"Pleasure," Miguel says, his hand coming toward me in a welcome gesture.

"Nice to meet you too," I practically croak when my hand touches his. His handshake is firm, his skin soft, his fingers thick.

"This is my future brother-in-law," Becca says, looping her arm around Miguel’s shoulders, "and you’ve already met Hector."

"Hey." Hector waves with a smile but Becca is already turning to point out Taylor, the stunning blonde with mile long legs walking toward us.

"And this is my bestie Taylor, the real-life Barbie, as I like to refer to her." She giggles, high-fiving her best friend.

I steal a quick glance at Austin, a flash of red on his cheeks when Taylor approaches. It makes me giggle, taking my mind off how insanely gorgeous Miguel is and the fact that I can feel his gaze on me.

"Nice to meet you. I—I need to run to the restroom," Taylor says before quickly turning on her toe and practically sprinting toward the clubhouse.

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