Page 120 of Fall Into Me

It was all I knew, that’s why this was so fucking scary.

I stayed on the porch until his car disappeared, and only when Jerry let out his own little whine long after the rumble of Fane’s truck disappeared, did I look down at him, give him a little scratch under the chin and walk back into the house.

The whole place used to feel perfect for me and Jerry, now it felt too big, too empty. The way Jerry stared at the front door the entire morning while I made breakfast and showered to get ready for work, I could tell he felt it too.

By the time I’d gotten out, he’d somehow managed to grab one of Fane’s shirts from the laundry hamper and take it to hiscouch, where he dropped his head right on top of it, looking so forlorn that I snapped a photo and sent it to the man in question.

Calista:[Photo]

Calista: Just in case you were wondering who misses you more. It’s Jerry…

Fane: Miss you too, buddy.

Fane: What about Jerry’s mom?

Calista: Are you texting and driving?

Fane: Stopped for gas. Where’s your photo of how much you miss me?

Calista: You saw me an hour ago, I think you’re obsessed.

Fane: :(

Calista:[Photo]

My phone started to ring on my way into work, pinging through the car thanks to the bluetooth system in Delilah’s car that was so beyond advanced compared to what I’d been driving it felt closer to being an alien spacecraft than a vehicle intended for the roads.

When she had dropped off Jerry, she’d told me point blank it was mine to use until further notice. I tried to hand her keys back to her and so she proceeded to throw them onto the porch and run towards the idling car that housed Dylan, all ready to zoom away as her getaway driver.

“Hello?”

“Cali, you’re naked in that photo.”

“I am?” A hand flew to my chest, even though he couldn’t see it.

I heard the door to his truck close through the phone. “How am I supposed to focus on saving Darling if I’m thinking about the way your tits look covered in water?”

“Just trying to be helpful.”

“My dick is hard, and I can’t remember where I’m supposed to be going.”

“Oh no,” I cooed. “That actually sounds really awful.” I moved my hand from my chest to cover the laugh I couldn’t hold back.

“You’re such a brat.”

“Maybe you should teach me a lesson with number three on the sex list.”

Fane groaned so loudly that the smile on my face made my cheeks hurt.

“You’re killing me,” he whimpered just as I put the car into park out the back of Sunshine.

“I’m seeing Delilah tonight for dinner, and then maybe you can call me, and you can guess whether or not I’ve been wearing panties all day.”

Fane was only sort of able to speak a few coherent words after that. One of them being “Rosie” and another being “filthy.” Needless to say, the expression on my face was the perfect mix of flushed and happy.

The moment Gus strolled in for his coffee, then when my dad showed up a few minutes later, I knew that the churning in my gut from this morning had been stupid.

Sammy and I managed the Saturday shift with ease now that the contractors had left town. I had expected to see Ashton come in, but when I asked Sammy about him, she just frowned, lost somewhere in her own head, and walked off to clear the tables.

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