Page 6 of Catch My Fall (Catch)

Pointing to Tristan she explained, “Mia, that’s not Tristan. This is his twin brother, Trace.”

My happinessabout the fact that I wasn’t attracted to him evaporated pretty quickly once I realized that it wasn’t even really him standing there. Trace came into the room still laughing, and I smiled politely as Darby introduced us. He seemed nice and a lot less intense than Tristan had been earlier so I didn’t feel as prickly around him. Still, he was an unknown entity and I was not about to let down my guard until I was sure he was safe.

He spent a few minutes talking to Darby about a get-together being held tonightat the house he and Tristan have off-campus, and of course she got right on me about going. I got so tense even thinking about it that I’m pretty sure you could bounce quarters off my eyeballs. It didn’t matter because for every objection I came up with, Darby tore it down. Sensing that I was never going to be able to get out of it, I agreed to go for an hour or so. I figured that as long as I had my car with me, I’d be good. Trace at least seemed gentlemanly and non-threatening, unlike Tristan. It’s not like Tristan was rude to me or anything, but he did call me out on my uptight attitude and whether he was actually threatening or not, I felt unsettled around him.

Trace walked Darby andme down to my car, and they both got a kick out of the fact that I wasn’t sure where it was at first. “Sorry,” I mumbled through my embarrassment. “My uncle dropped it off after he picked it up from the dealership and I haven’t had to drive anywhere yet. He said it was in the B section…wait! There it is.” Using the clicker in my hand, I unlocked my brand new car. My father had thrown an absolute fit when I told him what I wanted and a series of emails had flown back and forth as he demanded that I get something that better represented ‘his class.’ His choice for me had been an Audi A4 and I had nixed that right away. Whateverhislifestyle is, it most certainly isn’t mine and he knows it.

I wanted a Jeep that I’d be able to take the top off of on nice days, but no matter how hard I lobbied for it, he wasn’t having it. In the end I compromised and my new car is a white Jeep Grand Cherokee. He wanted me to get the black, and until myuncle turned up and told me that he’d gotten me what I wanted instead of what my father decreed, I had assumed that I’d be driving around the heat of Texas in a black car that would soak up the sun and leave me sweating my ass off every time I got into it.

Letting out a little whistle of appreciationas she climbed in Darby said, “Holy shit Mia, nice whip! It’s even the Overland edition. Damn, you even have air conditioned seats and satellite radio. This car is the shit!”

I smiled and nodded because I didn’t want to talk about it. The overwhelming feeling of relief that I won the argument soI wasn’t sitting there in an Audi was all I could really focus on. I’d only known her for a few days, but I already knew that Darby’s family is like my mom and Neil, meaning that they’re down-to-earth. Because Darby’s family lives less than fifty miles from the school, she wasn’t allowed to bring her car with her. Freshman don’t get parking passes unless they’re out-of-towners, and I know it bugs her that she had to leave her car at home. She’s talked about her blue Ford Escape at least a dozen times since we moved in and I know that even though her parents paid for the car, Darby had to work summers because they had her pay the insurance in order to teach her responsibility. Darby’s from a real family with real values and it’s embarrassing that all I’ve got to show for my father is a car that I didn’t really want and a credit card with a big limit.

I could see that Trace noticed I was uncomfortable and I was grateful that he started talking to Darbywhile I spent a few minutes adjusting the seat and the mirrors before Trace said goodbye. Darby turned her attention back to me as we drove away.

“So, yeah, guess I forgot to mention that Tristan is a twin. Trust me, it’s not because I forgot about Trace,” she said with a breathy little giggle. Fortunately we were ata traffic light at the end of our dorm parking lot and it happened to be red when she said it so I was able to turn and look at her.

“Oh ho ho! Sounds to me like someone in this car has got the HOTS for Mr. Trace Chamberlain! Spill it, girl!”

She turned all fifty-seven shades of tomato red that are normally found in a bottle of ketchup as she frantically shook her head. “No, it’s not....”

Easing my foot onto the gas, I started driving again with a chuckle. “It totally is, Darbs. I can tell!Darby and Trace, sitting in a…”

Throwing her hands over her ears she sang NSYNC’s ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ at the top of her lungs until I shut up. I gave in easily because I didn’t want to alienate or embarrass her, and by the time we got to the restaurant we were both laughing about the fact that she had gone so old school when she started singing. We spent the next hour and a half at Olive Garden having a great time… and I watched in awe as she consumed at least half her weight in salad and breadsticks.

Chapter Four

I hadn’t eaten as much as Darby had, mostly because I’m pretty sure that anyone who isn’t a professional eater couldn’t. Having said that, I was still stuffed to the gills and really in no mood to go to a party, no matter how small it was. I tried to plead too full to move, but she was having no part of it. I grumbled as I redid the little bit of makeup I felt comfortable wearing but I staunchly refused to get changed into anything ‘more party like.’ I’ll be stressed out enough without worrying that some guy is going to think that because I’m wearing a skirt I must want his hand to be up in my business.

I’m really not sure howshe was able to move—I shit you not, she ate fifteen breadsticks and three bowls of salad—but twenty minutes after we got back to our dorm she was all decked out in a gray skirt and a white tank top. She had eaten so much at dinner I thought she’d be all puffed out, but instead she looked like an all-American redhead stunner.

My palms were sweaty and my hearthammered in my chest during the entire drive, and I worked hard on my breathing exercises. Going to Tristan and Trace’s party was the first social event I’d gone to in forever and I was terrified. My therapist has assured me, dozens of times, that lightning generally doesn’t strike twice and that as long as I listen to what my gut tells me and stay on the alert for anything that feels off, I will be fine. My gut was telling me to turn the car around, go back to my dorm room and never even attempt to go anywhere again, but I knew that’s not what my therapist meant at all.

Before I knew it we were at the house that Darby had given instructions to, and I started to panic when I realized it was in a pretty remote part of town and it would be hard to run away if it came down to it. Not that it would, but these days that’s my natural thought process. My hands shook as I turned off the car and, after taking a deep breath, I asked her the question that I needed to have answered.

“Listen, I know what I’m about to say probably sounds crazy, but I can’t do this if I don’t ask. Are these people all…normal? Shit, dammit, I don’t mean it like that. What I’m trying to ask is, will we be safe here?”

I could practically see the barrage of questions that my words gave her, and I know that at some point I’m going to have to tell her what my deal is. I hadn’t really been sure that I would at first, but that was more because I didn’t know her and wasn’t sure if she could keep it a secret. Although I’ve only known her for a few days I can already tell that Darby is a good egg and I trust her.

Giving me a smile tinged with concern, she nodded. “The Chamberlain boys willneverlet anything happen to us, Mia. Trust me when I tell you that while they might be total sluts, they are two of the best guys in the world. If it’s safety that you’re worried about, then you hit the mother-lode with this group. Nothing is going to happen to either one of us while they’re around. If you start to feel panicky or you need to leave, you just say the word and I will go with you, no questions asked.”

Taking a deep breath I nodded my head. “All right, let’s do this.”

Being that it’s a school night, I knew not to expect a full-on rager. I was surprised when we got inside the house to see how normal itis. For two guys, Tristan and Trace keep their place shockingly clean. Instead of the mismatched menagerie of furniture that I’d been expecting, their living room was home to a giant leather sectional, two enormous leather recliners, a coffee table and three side tables. It wasn’t what you would call decorated, but it was still really nice. It didn’t scream college-guy-pit and I could barely contain my surprise when I detected a hint of Febreze in the air. Do Malores make time to dust and clean? Not in my experience, although apparently the Chamberlain twins found time to do so. There was no one inside the living room and I wondered where everyone was, but Darby didn’t even blink so I assumed that they must be outside.

As we walked through the house, I noticed that the one nod toa college lifestyle was the set-up in what was supposed to be the dining room. Instead of a table and chairs there was a fairly elaborate Karaoke set-up and a large card table. There was also a recycling center that took up almost an entire wall. Gesturing to it, Darby dramatically whispered, “Donotlet Trace find you throwing anything recyclable anywhere other than in this room. He thinks he’s the recycling police.”

She led the way into the kitchen where there werea few bottles of liquor along with various mixers sitting on the counter. Grabbing a cup, she made herself a Sprite with vodka before turning to me and asking what I wanted. “Um, do they have bottled water or bottled soda? I like things with the lids on. If not, I’m good.”

She half raised an eyebrow at me at that, but instead of asking what that was about, she went to the refrigerator. Looking over her shoulder at me she said, “As I expected you’ve got a choice of water, Dr. Pepper or bottled Yoo-Hoo. What’s your poison?”

“Water. Who the heck drinks Yoo-Hoo?”

Our conversation came to a halt when we heard voices coming from the hallway.

“I don’t understand why you’re not interested in letting me suck your…”

I’m not sure how, but I immediately knew that it was Tristan’s voice that answered. “Come on, Kim, I’m really trying to be nice about this but you’re making it hard. I’m not interested and you just need to let it go.”

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