Page 29 of And They Had a Great Fall

“I don’t make mistakes,” she fired back. “I can’t make mistakes.”

He looked at her and shook his head. “That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself, Kat. No one can be perfect all the time. Not even you.”

When she didn’t respond, he just focused on rubbing her feet. He didn’t want to make it worse by arguing with her, but he watched the pressure she put on herself and wondered how she didn’t break.

She finally spoke. “I’m just glad the situation is fixed, for now. Oww.…” She started laughing when he cracked her toes. “That hurts and tickles at the same time.”

Jake loved hearing her laugh and seeing her tears stop. “Oh,” he said, setting her feet to the side so he could stand up. “Can’t believe I forgot. I picked something up on my way to set today.”He pulled a bottle of wine out of his backpack. “Sounds like you could use it.” He pulled two glasses out of the cabinet and filled them both.

“Right! How was your first day back?” she asked.

He sat back down on the couch and handed her a glass. “It went better than I could have imagined. Garren loved the direction, and we were able to sketch out reshoots. Really, it felt good. I know when it’s right, and it’s finally right.” He took a sip of wine and relaxed into the warm feeling.

“Jake, that’s wonderful,” she said, raising her glass to his and then taking a drink. “This is good. This isn’t our normal cab, what is it?” she asked, taking another sip before pulling the bottle off the table to look at the label.

“We needed a new wine,” he started. “It’s a cabernet and merlot together. I thought a blend would be appropriate,” he said, and gave her a wink. He really did want to create a new memory for them—one that symbolized a time they were together, facing the real world, instead of in the temporary bubble of the pandemic. These past few days had not just been about sex for Jake. It had been a comfort; an intimacy and friendship he hadn’t realize how much he’d missed.

“Jake,” she said softly. “That’s incredibly sweet.”

He was emboldened by her response, and he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He moved closer and took both of her hands in his.

“Kat,” he started, “I want to talk about this. Us.” He stopped as he watched her face drop, and her eyes fill with tears yet again. “I want—”

She shook her head, “No, we can’t. I can’t,” she said. “You have the worst timing, Jake.”

He searched her face and all he saw was sadness. He put his hand on her cheek.. “You don’t have to say anything. I needed you, and you came. I just really feel like I have to tell you—”

Before he could say another word, Kat’s fingers were on hislips. “Shh … please don’t,” she said. “Not tonight. No more talking.”

Jake sighed with disappointment but didn’t push her. They’d promised to keep it simple and easy, and that’s what he thought he’d wanted. He’d convinced himself that he wanted to be free, unencumbered and without anyone’s expectations, but that was before she was here. She came to him, and they instantly fit together as if they had never been apart. It felt easy and it felt right. That was worth something, and he needed to know if she felt the same. If he was a stronger person, he would have pushed further, but Kat pulled him toward her on the couch and his brain went fuzzy.

chapter thirteen

The alarm on Jake’s phone blared and the sun seemed to be beaming straight into his eyes. His back and neck hurt, making him aware that he was still on the couch, blanket askew, his naked body intertwined with Kat’s. God, that couch was not comfortable for sleeping, much less with two people. He didn’t know why they hadn’t just gone to bed. He let out a groan as he tried to reach down to turn off his phone. Kat moved out of the way and untwined her legs from his. She grumbled at him to turn off his phone as she stretched.

He untangled their bodies, but kept his arms wrapped around her. Kat tried to sit up, and Jake tightened his grip. He felt her relax back into him. “Good morning,” she said, her voice soft and sleepy.

He ran his fingers down the side of her face and kissed each one of her cheeks. “Are you feeling better this morning?” he asked. She nodded but did not speak.

He gazed at her face, awash in the morning sun. It was brand new for them to wake up together morning after morning, and he liked it. He was unsure and emotional about what was going on between them. Unlike Kat, he couldn’t rationalize everything; he lived in an emotional state that, right now, was tearing him in half.

He paused before murmuring, “This is nice.” He was treading lightly, lest she pull away.

“Mmm,” she said.

He kissed her behind her ear, tracing his finger over her collarbone. “I could get used to this,” he whispered, testing the waters. He wanted to see if she, too, felt the desire to go beyond the escape and the simple.

“Don’t. I leave in five days,” she said untangling her arms from his and sitting up.

“And what if I want it for longer than five days?” he asked her, his tone more challenging than he intended.

“What does that even mean, Jake? I can’t stay here. You can’t pick up and come back to New York. Stop saying impossible things. You’ll just end up disappointed,” she countered, her attention focused on her phone as she scrolled through her email.

The rejection went straight to his core. He sprung up, pulled on his shorts, and walked into the kitchen to make coffee. He gripped the dials tightly, overcoming the sudden urge to smash the coffee cup on the floor. He felt a familiar vibration that came when he was angry. He took a deep breath to calm down.

“Hey,” she called from the living room, looking up from her phone. “Why are you up so early? What’s your call time?”

She was acting like their first interaction hadn’t even happened, like everything was normal. Jake’s first instinct was to ignore her, get dressed, and walk out—a passive aggressive set of actions to show his anger. But he was trying to work through it and temper himself.Don’t let the sparks burn down the house, he reminded himself, thinking of their earlier conversation. “I have to see my trainer today,” he said, his voice tight. He offered up no other details.

---