Free Fall into Him by Evelyn Harper Page B

on his handsome face. At that moment, she could still see a bit of
the boy she'd fallen in love with in the man before her. It hadn't all been
bad. He'd chosen her, a nobody sophomore, when he could've had anyone,
including the head cheerleader. He'd defended her when his buddies had teased
him about his choice. He'd even knocked out Gregor Childes when the football
player had made a comment about Brad 'slumming it.' No one had dared pick on
her after that. Even the girls who'd hated her because she had the boy they all
wanted didn't say a bad word against her. No one wanted to be on Brad's bad
side.
     
    The good times hadn't just been in high school either. Three weeks into
her freshman year of college, she'd gotten sick. It had been the first time
she'd been sick away from home and she'd been miserable. Brad had called her
mother and asked about all of the things that she'd do when Jennifer was sick.
He'd shown up in her dorm room with chicken soup, crackers, and a stack of
dvds, all of her favorites. Since she'd left her childhood stuffed bear at
home, he'd bought her the only stuffed animal he'd been able to find – the
school's mascot. It was currently sitting in the top of her closet. When Rachel
had helped her clear out all of Brad's pictures and mementos, she'd saved the
little brown badger. She just couldn't bring herself to throw it away.
     
    “Jen, say something,” Brad's voice held an edge of desperation. “Am I
too late? Is there someone else?”
     
    “Brad,” Jennifer hesitated, suddenly unsure of what she was going to
say. She wasn't even entirely sure anymore of what she wanted. Finally, she
answered him honestly. “I need some time to think.”
     
    A look of relief washed over him and he stood. “I understand. Take as
much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere.”
     
    Jennifer nodded and walked with Brad to door. When it shut, she sank to
the floor, resting her head on the door. What had she done? Why had she given
him hope? She'd sworn she'd never get back together with him, but at the time,
she'd never really thought it would be a possibility. Now it wasn't just a
possibility but an actual offer. All she had to do was say 'yes.' Part of her
argued that she'd be stupid to take him back, that he'd just fall back into old
habits, but another part of her asked what it would be like if he really had
changed. It would be a do-over for them. The relationship would be what it had
been meant to be from the beginning.
     
    Then there was Philip. Did she really want to risk losing what she had
started with him? But, she didn't know what that something was. What if she
turned Brad down and Philip got tired of her? What if it wasn't anything more
than physical to him? And if it was something more to Philip, how did she know
that she wanted that? She didn't really know him, after all, not like she knew
Brad.
     
    It wasn't a question of whether or not she was willing to take a risk.
The question was, what risk was she willing to take? The familiar path could
take a bad turn, but it would at least be one she'd know. The unknown that
could break her heart or take her to places she'd never been.
     
    She had a choice to make and no idea what it would be.

Chapter 11
     
    Jennifer was at a loss about what she wanted when she went to work the
next day. While her confusion included her true feelings about Brad, the
biggest obstacle to her decision making was not knowing how Philip felt about
her. Today, she decided, would be the perfect time to find out the answer. For
the first time in her life, she intentionally dressed to catch someone's eye.
Her charcoal gray skirt was shorter than what she normally wore. She would need
to be careful when sitting or bending over so that she didn't flash her black
lace panties. She'd forgone the bra in favor of one built in to a white
camisole. The scoop neck showed off the tops of her creamy breasts, accentuated
when she put on the fitted jacket that went with the skirt.