Status: Complete

Before the Fall

Ch. 7

That night, Faye collapsed on the bed, exhausted. They’d passed a festival on the way home and Nace had pulled in on impulse. They had ridden all of the rides, shaky as they were, three times. Faye was so tired that she forgot about the weirdness of sharing his bed.

And she forgot to call Logan.

Nace, on the other hand, was not too exhausted to realize the strangeness of their situation. He was shocked that she seemed so comfortable, and even more shocked at how comfortable he was with her.

The next morning, Faye kept her promise to herself and shoved back when he pushed at her. Nace woke up and gave her a groggy glare. “Was that really necessary?” he grumbled.

“Of course. If I didn’t push back, I would be on the floor right now.”

“No way. I wouldn’t actually push you off of the bed,” Nace protested, and shut up when she showed him a nasty green and purple bruise that went all up her left arm.

“I got that yesterday morning,” she said. He took her arm and prodded it gingerly. Faye wisely held back a wince.

His eyes met hers, and he offered her the most genuine apology she’d ever gotten. “I’m sorry, Faye. I need to remember how breakable you are.” His voice was laced with guilt, and she instantly felt bad for showing him the bruising.

She swatted at him lightly. “Breakable? No way.” He grinned and refrained from commenting. To him, she looked like a porcelain doll, shattered all too easily.

“You know, we can go around today looking for job openings. I think I know of a boutique in the mall that’s hiring, actually. My ex-girlfriend works there, and maybe she can get you in,” Nace said, taking her hand and pulling her the other way, toward the front door. Faye gave him a dazzling smile that made his heart skip a beat.

“I’d really like that.” Nace would be one of those rare boys who was on such good terms with exes that he could call in favors, she thought. Faye stepped outside and was astounded to see her car sitting in the driveway. “How did that get here?”

“Oh, my parents sent out two servants last night to fetch it.” Nace was already strolling towards his own car.

“No, no, I’d like to take mine. Please? I thought I’d never see it again!” Faye said, already heading for the passenger side. “Oh, baby, you missed me, didn’t you? It’s alright. I’m here now,” she crooned, stroking the front end lovingly as she passed it by.

“You don’t want to drive?” Nace asked doubtfully.

“No, I don’t know the way and you do. This only makes sense,” Faye replied. Nace nodded and and ran inside for the keys.

***

Faye had never seen such a big mall. She was immensely glad to have Nace as a guide and his hand in hers. It was comforting. From time to time, Nace would glance at her and give her a warm smile. If only they’d met under different circumstances, Faye thought. They could have been great friends, maybe more.

But she couldn’t dwell on that. On principle, he could only be a friend.

When they walked into Ray’s Boutique, which was not a very original shop name at all, Faye thought, Nace was greeted enthusiastically by a girl whose nametag read ‘Izzy.’ She gave Nace a bear hug and beamed at him before she noticed Faye standing there, her hand still linked in his. To her credit, Izzy’s face didn’t fall at all.

“You didn’t tell me you had a new girl,” she playfully accused Nace. Faye stayed quiet, expecting Nace to deny it quickly.

“I guess I didn’t, Iz. Sorry about that. I must have been a little busy, and I wanted to keep her to myself for a while.” Even as he spoke, Nace didn’t know why he hadn’t told her that he wasn’t dating Faye. He glanced at her and saw that she was still giving Izzy a friendly smile and had almost, but not quite, hidden the confusion in her eyes.

He would have some explaining to do later. If only he had a reason for not telling Izzy the truth. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to be taking it back any time soon. “Iz, I was just wondering if you might have an open job for Faye here. She’s new to the area and wants a little play money.”

“Oh, I think we can manage something,” Izzy said, grinning. She liked the looks of Faye. She would fit right in here. Besides, any girl of Nace’s had to be good.

Half an hour later, Faye and Nace were on their way to the food court for lunch and Faye had a job. Nace, I just can’t thank you enough,” Faye told him earnestly, swinging their linked hands absentmindedly. He smiled down at her. He liked that she never took anything for granted. Goodness knew he did all the time.

Nace paid for their food, saying, “With what my parents are putting you through, the least you can do is spend their money.” That made her smile. They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other.

When it was bedtime, they sat up, still talking. There were so many things he didn’t know about her, Nace thought. He was working on fixing that. He felt a pull toward her. He wanted to know her. And he thought that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to know him, too.