A Safe Place To Fall (The Fall Book 1) (5 page)

“
No you don’t,” he
denied. “We need to document our first date.”

“
This is not a date,” she
told him.

“
No double date happening here,”
the silent guy chimed in.

Ricky shot Drew a WTF look. Damn, they
had both been shot down within a couple of seconds. Judging from the
amount of space between Ricky and his friend, Drew had a better
chance with Lana. Drew felt bad for the guy.

Drew leaned down to whisper in Lana’s
ear. “If this were a real date they wouldn't be here. I can do
a lot better than breakfast.”

A blush colored her cheeks. Damn, she
was adorable. The urge to kiss her was back. His head moved down on
its’ own. A soft sigh escaped from her, slightly parted, lips.
Her body angled into his.

“
Oatmeal for the lady,” the
waitress said as she slid Lana’s bowl across the table.

Lana pulled back as if she had been
burned. Drew couldn't believe his luck. She had wanted the kiss
just as much as he did. He hoped they weren’t going to be back
at square one after this.

He winked at her as he took his plate
from the waitress, who had piss poor timing.

The other two guys awkwardly watched on.
It was clear Jerome felt out of place; while, Ricky seemed torn
between being happy for Lana and not wanting to witness any PDA,

Drew bit into a piece of bacon to keep
from pulling Lana back to him. They had plenty of time for all of
the things he wanted to do with her. Knowing she seemed to be
affected by him was enough for him at the moment.

“
So, where is the band playing
next?” Jerome asked, ending the silence that had settled on
their table.

“
Actually, we’re booked to go
back to Lux next weekend,” Drew replied.

Lana’s face turned beet red. Both
Ricky and Drew could do nothing to prevent their laughs.

She elbowed Drew in the side. “Shut
up. Did you expect me to admit I was sitting at home in my Pjs?”

He grinned. “I would've been
perfectly satisfied with joining you on your couch. Pajamas or not.”

Lana rolled her eyes. “I can’t
see you watching Dancing with the Stars.”

“
I’d watch it for you,”
he informed her. “Especially, if you’re in pajamas.”

She ducked her head and concentrating on
her oatmeal.

“
We should go, Lana,” Ricky
suggested.

“
Go where?” she asked.

“
Lux,” he said, as if he were
speaking to a child.

She busied herself by scooping oatmeal
onto her spoon and dumping it back into the bowl. “I don’t
know.”

“
You can stand right by the stage
if it’ll make you feel more comfortable,” Drew suggested.

“
She doesn’t need a
babysitter,” Ricky told him.

Lana gave a hesitant smile. “I’ll
think about it.”

Drew smiled. He had a feeling nobody at
the table had the slightest idea how big a step she'd just taken.
She was hiding something. Hell, maybe she
had
been lured into a white van.
If that were the case, he'd feel really bad for the jokes he'd made
when they first met.

Ricky snorted. “Why would you want
to just stand by the stage? I think you’re clueless to why
people go to clubs.”

Drew felt Lana’s body stiffen where
she touched him. When she pushed her half eaten oatmeal away, he
wanted to smack Ricky.

“
Did you drive?” Drew asked
her.

She shook her head. “They picked me
up.”

Drew took his wallet out tossed enough
money on the table to cover both meals. “Let’s get out
of here.”

Lana shot him a thankful look.

“
What the hell,” Ricky said.
“You’re just going to take off with him?”

Drew took her hand in his, guiding her
out of the booth. He wanted to tell the guy his exact thoughts but
knew that it would only cause problems with Lana. For now he would
settle for getting her away from her friend.

Chapter 3

Lana stared down at the puddle of coffee
at her feet. Her first day at her new job had been a disaster so
far. Tracie laughing every time she dropped a cup of coffee or a
cookie on the floor was not helping.

She was a bottle of nerves and it wasn't
all due to starting a new job. Drew had wiggled his way into her
every thought. As a result, her brain was only half on what it was
supposed to be. Coffee was paying the price.

“
Do I even need to ask where your
head is?” Tracie asked, bringing the mop to her. Again.

“
Drew can’t stand Ricky,”
she informed her friend. She began mopping up the mess. “Ricky
turns into an ass when he’s around.”

Tracie folded her arms across her chest
and rested a hip against the counter. “He's just being
protective—in his own weird way.”

She shook her head. “It’s
frustrating.”

“
Give it sometime,” her
friend advised. “Ricky will get to know him and be cool.”

Lana took the mop back to the supply
closet. “I hope you’re right.”

Tracie placed freshly baked cookies on
the racks of the cookie case. “Drew is a good guy. Ricky will
have no choice but to like him.”

A woman, wanting a refill, cut their
conversation short.

By the time she was able to go to the
gym, she was worn out. Tracie tried to talk her into going home.
She had not missed a night at the gym since she got there; she wasn't
about to start now.

It came as a complete shock to find Drew
on the treadmill beside the one she always used.

Not wanting to disturb him, she stepped
on and hit the walk setting to begin. Her iPod played
Five
Finger Death Punch
. The
longer she listened to the music the faster she walked, until she was
running as fast as the treadmill would allow. Oddly enough she felt
no need to be alert to who was around her. She didn't jump anytime
someone passed too closely beside her. They weren't talking but just
knowing he was close allowed her to let her guard down.

Before she knew it an hour had gone by.
She forced herself to begin her cool down. Drew also finished his
workout and was standing at the end of the row talking to some guy
who looked like he was best friends with Floyd Mayweather. The same
guy she did her best to avoid on a regular basis. He was
intimidating.

Drew reached out, as she walked passed
him; pulling her to a stop.

“
What?” he asked with a lazy
grin. “I don’t even get a
hi
tonight?”

She eyed the other man wearily; before
turning her gaze to Drew. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

“
You,” he said, moving in
front of her, “are never a bother.”

“
You were in the middle of a
conversation,” she said.

“
I see that dumb-ass every day,”
he told her, using her hand to tug her closer to him. “Chris
was just annoying me while I waited on you.”

“
Hey,” the guy responded, “I
take offense to that.”

Drew rested a hand on the part of her
waist not covered by her workout tank. Sparks scattered across her
stomach. “So, how was your first day?”

A groan escaped before she could stop it.

He grinned. “It couldn't have been
that bad?”

She arched a brow. “Don’t
believe me? Go ask the floor that kept getting scalded by coffee.”

Drew was rubbing circles on her stomach
with his thumb. “You know what fixes bad days? Really good
tacos. Let’s go get some.”

“
Worst line ever,” Chris shot
out at him.

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m
all sweaty. I just want to go home and shower.”

“
You go home and shower,”
Drew told her. “I’ll make a run to Taco Bell and come
straight to your place. I showered while you were finishing your
work out.”

“
I don’t get tacos,”
Chris whined.

“
Sure, you can have tacos,”
Drew said. “All you have to do is go and buy them yourself.”

“
And I thought you loved me,”
Chris laughed, walking away from them.

“
Roommates,” Drew said. “So,
what do you say?”

Just then her stomach decided to alert
the gym she hadn't taken time to eat since breakfast that morning.

“
That settles it,” Drew
announced, dropping a lite kiss to her sweating nose. “I’m
getting you food.”

“
Follow me to my car. I left my
wallet in my bag,” she told him, walking around him.

“
I’m walking you to your
car,” he agreed, “but you’re not giving me a
penny.”

“
But,” she complained,
walking out the main door. “You bought breakfast yesterday.”

“
I’m buying dinner tonight,”
he told her. “Don’t even bother arguing with me. I'll
win.”

***************************

Thirty minutes later, Drew stood outside
of Lana’s door holding a box of tacos and two fountain drinks.
Visions of her in the shower were still floating through his head
when she answered the door in a pair of sweat pants and baggy shirt.

“
Hi,” she said softly,
opening the door wider.

He turned sideways to squeeze between her
and the door. Luckily he didn't see any signs of Ricky anywhere as
he took up residency on her couch. Judging by the stack of books and
fuzzy throw this was where Lana spent most of her time.

Drew caught Lana around the waist as she
tried to head to the recliner. No way was he going to let her sit
half way across the room. She stiffened for a split second but
relaxed as he placed her on the couch with just the right amount of
space between them.

“
I take it the dip-shit isn’t
here?” he stated, handing her a drink.

“
Are you ever going to like him?”
she asked, reaching for a soft shell taco.

He bit into a taco and swallowed before
answering. “Probably not.”

She sighed. “He really is a good
guy.”

Seeing that she was seconds from getting
upset, he sat back against the couch. He was fighting the need to
touch her. “I didn’t come here to talk about him.”

Lana leaned across him to grab the remote
control from the stand causing his nose to catch the scent of her
fruity perfume. “Why did you come here?”

Did she really just ask that question?

“
You really have to ask that?”

She remained silent as she scrolled down
the guide on the TV.

“
Has Ricky knocked your confidence
down that much?” he questioned.

“
It wasn’t him,” she
whispered, setting her taco down on the small coffee table.

Something tightened around his heart as
he watched her concentrate a little too hard on finding something to
watch. Clearly whatever she'd been through had done a number on her.

She needed to be distracted from her dark
place. “So, why do you think your day was so bad?”

“
I dropped more coffee than I
served,” Lana admitted, as she relaxed against the couch. “I
burnt a batch of cookies. Would you like me to continue?”

Finished with his tacos he angled his
body to face her; his knee touched her hip. “It sounds like a
typical first day.”

“
It was horrible.”

He tugged on a strand of her hair. “How
can I make it better?” Immediately, he cringed at the way it
came out. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that.”

His comments made her blush. “I
really don’t want to talk about work anymore.”

“
Done.” Giving into his
desire to touch her, he began massaging her neck. “What do you
want to talk about?”

Her head fell forward with a soft sigh.

“
Or, do you just want to sit here
and watch TV.,” he asked, his fingers continuing to work loose
the knots. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

He laughed when he heard her whisper,
“Just don’t stop.”

“
Turn around,” he demanded.

As soon as she turned her back to him, he
put both of his hands to work massaging her shoulders. Slowly, her
body began to relax until she was leaning back against his chest.
His legs rested on each side of her on the couch.

“
I cannot believe people willingly
do this crap,” Lana announced, fifteen minutes later, referring
to the jackass show.

“
You picked the show,” he
reminded her with a laugh. He lazily twisted a strand of her hair
around his finger.

“
You said you liked the show,”
she reminded him. “I think they are complete idiots.”

“
You’re right,” he told
her. “But it’s funny.”

Just then the door flew open and Ricky
came in, singing an odd rendition of ‘if you’re happy and
you know it’. Happy was replaced by sexy.