Page 25 of Catch My Fall (Catch)

Icouldn’t believe how protective he was. “I know how dangerous frats are, Tristan. I promise that I stayed sober the entire night and I made sure that Darby and I were safe the entire time. I’m sure that with her dating Brandon we’re bound to wind up back there at some point, but I know that he’ll take care of us. Allie was there that night and even she said that Gamma was a good frat full of nice guys. We were as safe as we could be, I swear. You don’t have to feel like you need to protect us. I don’t want you to worry.”

He had the car pulled over in seconds and he ran his hands through his hair while he stared at me. “But I do worry and I can’t stop because it’s just who I am. Darby’s like a sister to me and you’re… well…you.” Turning to look out the window he blew out a frustrated breath. “You already mean something, Mia. I need to know that you’re safe. If you go back to the frat, please fucking call me and let me know. I’ll be there.”

I nodded my head like a marionette. “I’ll call, I promise.”

Turning away from me he looked out the window in silence for a moment. “I don’t know how to do this and God knows I’ve never wanted to. I get that Darby went on and on about me being some kind of freak-show Malore, and I know that I earned that name, but I’m not trying to play you or be a fucking idiot. I’ve never been friends with a girl before and I never wanted to be, either. Darby doesn’t count because to me, she’s family. I asked you to be friends because I like you, Mia. More than I wanted to and certainly more than I should, but I do. The more time we spend together the bigger it gets and I’m not walking away. I like you a hell of a lot more than I’d like a friend and I think that last night showed that I’m not going to be able to pretend that I don’t. I want to try… I want to see where this goes. What do you think about that?”

My heartwas pounding so fast that I swore it was powering the engine. He liked me! He liked me! But still….I was scared shitless. What if I was a complete failure at dating?

“I think I’m scared. No, I know I am. I’m… prickly. I mean… I’m not normal, Tristan. But… yes. I like you.”

Cupping my chin in his hand, he gently turned me so that I was looking into his beautiful chocolate eyes, which really wasn’t fair to my heart because it made it beat quadruple time. “You’re normal, Mia. Me…not so much. I think you need me to tread gently, but the truth is, I need that just as much as you do. Can we take things slow and just see where we end up?”

I wanted that badly, but I also wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to feel like an idiot for not asking the most important question. Summoning up my courage, I asked the one question that would determine whether I was willing to try with him.

“I can do slow, but I can’t be one of many. I’m not saying that you have to be my boyfriend, it’s clear that neither of us is ready for something like that, but I also don’t want to look like an idiot if you’re going to continue sleeping with randoms like Tiffany. If that’s what you want to do, I understand and I won’t judge you… but I’m not going down this road if that’s what you’re going to do.”

I wondered if he would be angry that I’d said that, but if anything, he looked sad that I’d had to.

“I’m not going to be bagging any randoms, Mia. Whatever this is, I want to try. I want to be good enough for you, and I mean that. I promise that I won’t do anything to hurt you like that.”

“Then yes. I want to try, too. Slowly.”

When he looked at me and smiled, my heart melted all over his dashboard.I was dating Tristan Chamberlain.

Wiggling his eyebrows at me like a goofball he asked, “Can we seal that with a kiss?”

My answer was to meet him halfway, and he held my face gently as he kissed me deeply. Tristan knows how to kiss, no doubt about that. I leaned into him as we kissed, and we only separated when a passing car honked their horn and yelled out, “Get a room, losers!” Pulling apart, we looked at each other and burst out laughing. When our laughter died down, he pulled the Jeep back into traffic and drove us the rest of the way to his gym. I smiled like a goofy idiot when he ran around the car and opened the door for me, and then I shivered when he slung his arm across my shoulder and walked me into the gym.

I’d noticed the gym the night that I was at the pool hall, mostly due to its sheer size. It’s huge, new looking, and it dominates the left side of the shopping center. As we entered the building, Tristan guided me to the front desk. There was an incredibly hot, unbelievably muscular guy behind the desk, and even though I didn’t find myself attracted to him, I was still human and it would be impossible not to notice how handsome he was. Looking up at us, he raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey man! You’re not on the schedule today so I assume you’re here to work out. Since you don’t bring chicks in and you’d cut your junk off before getting all cozy with a girl, I gotta assume this is Darby.”

He smiled at me as he spoke, and I laughed when Tristan started spluttering next to me. “Ah, no. Dude! No. This isn’t Darby. This is my…. Uh, this is… Mia. We’re dating… and I didn’t cut my junk off. Colin, this is Mia. Mia, this is Colin.”

Colin’s eyebrows went up so highI wondered if they were going to stay lodged up near his hairline permanently. After shaking his head dramatically, Colin’s eyebrows went back to their normal spot on his face. Sticking out his hand, he shook mine. “It’s great to meet you, Mia. I’m sorry I just acted like a total idiot but I thought this one was allergic to anything that smacked of normal. Not that I’m saying you’re normal… Oh Christ, I am all over the fucking place making an ass out of myself. Clearly you’re normal; I meant boring…fuck me, I’ll shut up now.”

Laughing out loud, Tristan nodded his head. “Yeah, you probably should. You just butchered this introduction beyond belief. Can you get the waiver form that she needs to sign to use the gym today?”

It only took a few minutes for Colin to find the form and have me sign it, and after that Tristan walked me down to the locker rooms so I could put my stuff into a locker. I was glad he’d thought ahead and borrowed a lock from the front desk for me, and after putting everything away, I met him back in the hallway.

When he saw me he asked, “What’s your workout of choice?”

“I’m boring—I run or take a spin class. How about you?”

“I run, use the elliptical or do weights. Let’s head upstairs to the track and run.”

We took the stairs up to the indoor track and then began walking to warm up. Looking over at him I asked, “So, you work here?”

“Yep, I started working here right when it opened the year I turned sixteen. Trace works here, too.”

“What do you do? Trainer? Or front desk like Colin?”

“Trace and I both do a mix of personal training and self-defense classes. I teach two nights a week and he does two as well.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I think that’s a great job, Tristan. You’re doing something good for the community. You’re a really good guy.”

The look on his face said he was uncomfortable with the subject, particularly with the fact that I had complimented him on it.I wasn’t sure what that was about but I didn’t want to upset him so I let it go.

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