Free Falling (Fading Series) by E.K. Blair

Don’t go anywhere. I’m about five minutes away.”
    “Later,” I say before hanging up.
     

     
    After Gavin dropped off the tickets the other day, I wound up running into Jase when I made it to the gym. We spent a couple hours lifting, and he took a few of the tickets off my hands, saying that he would go with Mark and bring along one of his friends, who I assume is the same person that Mark was telling me about a while back. We also made plans for the three of us to head down to Mount Rainier to go hiking next weekend.
    After talking to my mom, I’m now running a bit late. I take a quick shower, fix my hair, and throw on my typical dark jeans, grey shirt, and black boots. I make my way downstairs and grab my jacket before I head out. The night is misty as I drive across town to Spines, a local book and music shop that has managed to stay open and alive while most of the others have closed.
    I swing by one of the many espresso stands in this town and grab a cup of coffee. I don’t plan on drinking tonight, so I need the buzz of caffeine to keep me going since I was up so early this morning.
    I pull into Spines and park my jeep. When I walk in, the place is dimly lit, with people everywhere. The store is small, so even though there aren’t too many people here, it feels like there are. The band is already playing, and I leave my jacket on one of the coat racks before spotting Mark.
    He’s by himself, hanging out next to a low bookcase, and I make my way over.
    “Hey, Mark.”
    He turns around and claps my arm. “Hey. You just get here?”
    “Yeah. Where’s Jase?” I ask.
    “He’s grabbing a few beers,” he responds. “There he is,” he says as he looks over my shoulder.
    When I turn around, I’m taken by surprise when I see that Jase’s friend is her . Her eyes catch mine, and she coughs against the sip of beer she just took, looking shocked to see me just as I am her.
    She’s dressed casually in a long-sleeved, white v-neck shirt, jeans, and worn, brown leather boots that run up to just below her knees. She stands small next to Jase when she speaks, “You again.”
    “You two know each other?” Mark asks.
    “Not really,” I answer, finally breaking my eyes away from her.
    “He’s come into Common Grounds a couple times to get coffee. How do you guys know each other?” she asks Mark.
    “He owns Blur, where the band has been playing lately.”
    “And the guy who gave me the tickets,” Jase says and then turns to me and adds, “Thanks, man.”
    “No problem at all,” I tell him and flick my eyes over to the girl, only to see she now has her back to me as she listens to the band play.
    Mark and I go find a table to sit down while Jase stays back for a moment with his friend. I still don’t know her name. I sit down and look over at them. She looks upset when Jase reaches down and holds her hand. I immediately wonder if her mood has something to do with me being here. God, why am I feeling so self-conscious?
    They start heading over, and she sits down across from me, slipping her leopard scarf off her neck and laying it on the table. The two times I’ve seen her, her hair has been pulled up, messy, but for some reason, it looked good on her. Tonight it’s down, thick and layered. She pulls my focus when she says, “I’m sorry, but I never caught your name.”
    I smile. I don’t know why, but something about her is intriguing, so I let it linger on my lips when I tell her, “Ryan. Ryan Campbell.”
    “I’m Candace.” She looks at my cup of coffee, and teases, “Ever drink anything besides coffee?”
    “I work a lot of late nights.”
    “So, Ryan,” Jase starts, “Candace will be graduating this year as well. She’s a dance major.”
    I notice Candace looking annoyed at Jase for saying that, but I shrug it off and ask her, “Dance. What kind?”
    “Ballet,” she tells me and then takes a sip of her beer.
    “Can’t say I know anything about that,” I say with light