Free Fall Forever (Fall For Me) by Melanie Marks Page B

everything. Now it was all
fixed up and perfect again. But still, I felt guilty being the cause of his
“baby” (aka: prized car) taking a bashing.
    It made me coo about the car as though it meant more to me
than it actually did—because I knew it meant a lot to Riley.

 
    ***

 
    When Lacy got to the restaurant I was just getting off work.
I took her out to the parking lot and showed her Riley’s car and she was all
awed by it, just as I knew she would be.
    Then I took her into the restaurant and coaxed Riley into
sitting with us and visiting while we ate. Lacy was pretty awed by Riley as
well, more so than I’d expected. I had wanted the two of them to meet, and I’d
wanted Riley to see I actually had a friend to hang with tonight (besides ice
cream), and I’d wanted Lacy to meet my handsome co-worker/boss, and later I’d
tell her how we made out in his office the other night. I was hoping she’d be a
little, tiny bit jealous (‘cause Riley is gorgeous and awesome).
    So, that was my plan—introduce them to each other and
have them see I wasn’t lonely and pathetic.
    But suddenly, I could see things weren’t going to go the way
I’d imagined. I felt sort of sick watching Lacy blatantly flirt with Riley, and
she kept putting me down to make herself seem—I’m not sure—funny? Suddenly, I realized I liked her a lot
better when she was miles away. Suddenly, I realized I hated her.
    “Um, Riley has a girlfriend. Sort of,” I informed Lacy.
“Remember Ava?”
    Though Lacy had gone to middle school with us, boys and girls didn’t really mingle too much back
then—but Ava had been popular. I knew Lacy would remember her. And she did—I
saw her eyes narrow with a jealous glint in them. Before she could say anything
though, Riley cleared his throat.
    “Jones—what I was saying tonight—in my
office—I was trying to tell you Ava’s having a hard time with it … but
we’re over.” He gave me a level stare. “ Completely over.”
    My heart did a little flutter at his words. And the way he
was looking at me. And the way he had said that—all husky and meaningful.
Like he was conveying a message.
    But then my heart sank as Lacy
seemed to interpret his message differently. She gushed out, “Maybe you could
take me for a ride in your new car.” She pushed away her half-finished dinner
and smiled up at him all flirty and I’m
easy like. “And take me dancing.”
    Riley rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes cutting to me
before he answered. “You mean the three of us?”
    “No!” Lacy laughed. “Zoey isn’t into cars, or dancing. She
likes to stay home with her brothers and sisters since her dad died and her mom
is … struggling.”
    Okay, that was true, what she said, but it suddenly made me
feel boring (and I’d told her about my mom in confidence, so I was also kind of
fuming).
    “I like hanging out with Jones’s brother and sister too,”
Riley said, and I could have kissed him. In fact, I wanted to full-on make-out
with him right there on the table. Suddenly, he was the sexiest guy on the
planet.
    Take that Lacy! Who’s
boring now?
    But Lacy let the remark slide, as though it hadn’t even been
uttered. Instead she turned all chit-chatty, changing the subject. “Why do you
call Zoey, Jones?”
    Riley took a drink of his soda. He rubbed his mouth with his
palms before answering. “Back in middle school, when I first met her—I
just wanted to make it clear—let her know: her last name wasn’t Oaks.” I
blinked. (Oaks was Finn’s last name.) Riley’s eyes
locked on mine. “— not yet.”
    Missiles shot through my body. I choked out. “Riley, it’s
not going to be Oaks. Ever.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that, Jones?”
    I swallowed. “Riley, I’m completely over Finn. Despite what
you think—or what Finn’s mom tried to feed you—we’re not going to
get back together.”
    Riley’s eyes clung to mine, then he
leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling.