Page 50 of Fall to Me
I cast a glance in his direction.
“I don’t know if he’s really told you anything about my past . . .” She trails off.
I shake my head, rinse another dish, and hand it to her.
“It felt like he and I were worlds apart once we graduated high school. I was in Florida, and he chose to stay and attend the university here. We were trying to discover who we wereindividually, but during my sophomore year of college, I was attacked.”
I freeze and look up at her. Water runs through the faucet, but I set the dish in the sink and give her my full attention. Both of her hands grip the counter, her head down, but then she lifts her chin and looks me in the eyes.
“Soon after, I quit school and moved back home. Told my family that college wasn’t for me. I tried to act like everything was normal, get on with my life, but Carter could tell something was off. I finally broke down and told him. He immediately went to his coach and the athletic director and convinced them to allow him to move out of the dorms and back home.
“He commuted every day. Went to all the practices, games, and classes, then he would come home to be with me. I refused to leave the house. . . isolated myself . . . became a recluse, until one day, Carter insisted that I let him take me somewhere. That’s the day I started self-defense classes, and he became my sparring partner.
“He tried to convince me to go to counseling, but I was too ashamed and embarrassed to talk to anyone about what happened to me. Like, how do you explain toanyonethat even though you were mentally checked out during an assault, that your body still biologically reacted as if it was perfectly . . . normal?” She shakes her head. “I was disgusted with myself. I wouldn’t talk to anyone. So, Carter, being Carter, started taking psychology classes. One class became three, and before we all knew what was going on, he had changed his degree from engineering to psychology.”
I look away, trying to blink the tears from my eyes, understanding what she went through. And poor Carter; he must’ve felt so helpless. I wipe under my eyes, and though I try to do it discreetly, she catches me and turns me to face her.
“No. No. Please don’t do that.” she says softly, interrupting my thoughts. “It’s been a decade since all that happened. And though sometimes, you know, something might bring up a memory, I’ve found my peace through helping other women who are going through what I went through. I only told you all that, so you would understand the kind of man my brother is. He’s a good man; through and through. He will always put you and your needs above his own.”
I nod. Grabbing the plate out of the sink, I rinse it off and hand it to her. She bumps me with her hip, lightening the mood.
“You know. I see how he looks at you too. That boy would cross oceans for you. Before you two got together, he would tell me about you . . . the things he’d do to get your attention.” She giggles, but then she becomes serious.
“He loves you. Don’t let him go when the year is up, yeah?” she whispers.
Carter crosses the living room, comes around the island, and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. Pressing a kiss to the top of my head, he asks, “What are you two in here whispering about?”
“None’ya.” Cammie grins, the same dimples as her brother’s making an appearance.
“Uh huh. I’m beat. Are you ready for bed?” he asks me.
I nod, and Cammie drops a playful wink in my direction as her brother leads me out of the kitchen and into the guestroom.
My stomach is a ball of nerves as we stand at the double sink in his en suite bathroom brushing our teeth together. There’s something so domestic about it, but I try not to think about that too much.
“You go ahead and change. I'll go after you.”
Handling all my business, I change, then step out of the bathroom. Carter sidesteps, moving past me. I’m already in bed when he comes out, and holy shit. I’ve seen him without a shirtbefore butdamn. He chuckles under his breath, shaking his head as he moves to turn off the light.
“Pick your jaw up off the floor, Kitten.”
“The only jaw that’s gonna be on the floor tonight, is yours, when I make you sleep on it, Fight Club.”
“Oh. I’ll just . . . um . . .” He grabs a pillow and tosses it onto the ground.
“Get your ass up here, you big goofball.”
“I knew you wanted this body pressed against yours.”
I release a sigh, and as the bed dips, I turn over; away from him.
My eyes are closed when I feel him shift. Two strong arms circle around me and pull my back to his front. My eyes pop back open as he whispers in the dark, “Tell me something about you that I don’t know.”
“I love riding dirt bikes. What about you?”
“1980’s rock music is my favorite.”
“Carter?”
