It didn't take long for life to return to normal. Colleen had me on a new diet and I took my brother's advice. I ignored Fallon's calls and messages; I ate a lot of zinc, and ran the track near my house twice a day.

I learned I love running. Even now I like the feeling of my blood pumping while I listen to music and tune out the world. Back then, I wanted to tune out that part of me that craved nothing more than to see Fallon's face.

I refused to restart my medication. I did it after my breakup with Kellen and was so sure Fallon wouldn't have been able to pull the wool over my eyes without it.

My nightmares were gone. My subconscious comprehending the wedding was off, even if Colleen and Winston didn't know it yet. I was free, and yet, it felt like there was a boulder on my chest.

"So... what happened?" Brielle winced as she, Em, and I gathered on my bed.

It was a little under two weeks before the start of my Junior year. I was happy I could see Emily before she left for school in Boston, but my depression was written all over my face.

I kept it simple; telling my friends my parents were being unreasonable, so I ran away to live with Fallon.

"Where did you sleep?" Emily asked with a curious smile.

I took a breath in an attempt to keep my cool as I told my best friends about the emotional roller coaster I experienced living with Fallon.

I tried to play it off like it didn't matter. Smiled softly for the happy parts. Hesitated the times it felt hard until my mouth flowed without restrictions.

"And then we had sex," I admitted.

Emily jumped to her knees, excitedly questioning how it was. I didn't know. I didn't have much to compare it to. I didn't enjoy it like the women in porn, but my mother had warned me long ago porn was fake and teenage boys only knew how to bang against you until they came. I figured, that was normal.

"Fine, I guess?" I shrugged. "It kinda hurt," I softly admitted, pulling my knees into my chest.

"It always hurts in the beginning. You get used to it." Emily excitedly hugged me before welcoming me into the big girls club and giving Brielle a pointed look.

I'm not sure when Brielle lost her virginity. I know it was to Wrenner, but I never wanted to know about her and my brother's sex life. Brielle is a romantic, she always believed in romance and a soulmate and didn't want to give herself to anyone until she was sure she met hers.

"Shut up." Brielle rolled her eyes. "I'm just waiting for the one. You've seen them together, they were obviously in love."

Her words hit me like a Mack Truck. I felt suddenly short of breath as my mind flashed with happy memories of Fallon. His eyes, his smile, his voice, his touch, even his laugh. I missed it all, and it hurt so bad.

"Rue... are you okay?" Brielle asked, as I tried to hold myself together.

I tried to breathe. Shake away the feeling and hold it in. Emily's smile faded, a knowing look on her face as she told me it was fine.

"It's alright, just let it out," she said softly.

I shook my head. It wasn't. I didn't want to cry. Crying was for the weak, but then they hugged me and I broke.

"I love him. I love him so much!" I sobbed uncontrollably.

Present

I'm still wearing my dress from the gala as I back through the door. It's a glittery rose-gold strapless gown I couldn't wait to model for Fallon. I've missed him. I know it's weird, I just saw him last night, but I missed having him close to me. Annoyed, I slept in the guest room last night.

"Honey, I'm home," I playfully call as I try to balance my gift basket, swag bags, and Fallon's keycard as I back into the apartment. "Fallon, a little help!" I call, hoping he isn't locked away in that soundproof room.

I make my way down the entrance hall trying not to fall on my face as I call for him again. I can hear him before I can see him. Quick pace, heavy footsteps, darting towards me.

"There you are! Help me?" I request, feeling my bounty slipping from my fingers.

Fallon takes the souvenirs from my hand, and places them to the ground beside us. He looks irritated and relieved and I hope he's not mad about last night. It would really ruin my plans for our last day.

"Don't I look pretty?" I say, fluttering my lashes, passing my hand over my long glamorous ponytail.

He doesn't respond. Fallon takes me by the face, planting a kiss that makes me weak in the knees.

I guess he's not mad.

I sigh as he pulls away, hating how smitten I am after just one kiss.

"I thought you left me," Fallon says, anxiously searching my eyes for the answer to some unasked question.

"Left you?" I smile incredulously. "My suitcase is here, and I took your keycard. Are you okay, Fallon?" I ask, confused by his unease.

"Yeah," he says with a weary smile, taking a step back. "I just missed you. You said I had another day."

"You do." I beam, flattered he missed me so deeply. "My dad was being honored this morning but the rest of the day is all about you and me," I say, loving the cute smile it brings to his face.

"I'd love that," Fallon says, reaching out to touch my hair.

"Good. I have a whole adventure planned, but first..." I grab his collar and pull Fallon into me, "I've really missed you," I say, kissing him passionately.

🕮🕮🕮🕮

Fallon leans against his side of the twin sink as I brush my teeth. "I'm sorry," he says as he smiles softly, gliding his fingers up the side of my corset.

I don't mind. A quick finish can be a compliment sometimes, and I really loved the face he made while I drank him down.

I smirk, washing my brush before leaning down to rinse my mouth, shutting off the water before coming back up for a wet kiss.

Fallon leans back, he enjoys how tiny I am compared to him with shoes off, trying to force me to stand on the tips of my toes.

I'll be damned.

I shrug, turning to leave the room when Fallon takes me by the waist, kissing my cheek.

"Rue, I—" Fallon hesitates as I spin around and wrap my arms around his neck.

"It's fine, you taste great."

"Thanks...?" he laughs, pulling down my no longer glamorous ponytail. "I um... I meant about last night. I could go to war with the whole world but I always hate fighting with you," he says, and I can't help but smile.

"You've gone soft, Lynch." I pull away to go change. "That wasn't a fight. Not for us," I giggle.

"You say that like it's normal," Fallon follows me into the bedroom.

"Who needs normal?" I smirk, backing away. "It's not like we agree on everything. It's fine, I love—" I freeze, catching myself mid-sentence.

A curious smile grows across Fallon's face, tilting his head and squinting his amused eyes.

"You what?"

My face grows warm as I sink my teeth into my lower lip.

It was a near slip of the tongue, nothing more. I don't love him. I can't love him. I love Gage. This is just a chemical reaction. A little bit of wine and too much sex.

"I love that you care so much about my feelings, but it's water under the bridge. Go shower and throw on some train-riding clothes. We're on schedule," I command, speeding off to the dresser.

🕮🕮🕮

We hit all five boroughs. Ride the ferry to Staten Island to play a game of laser tag. Take the bridge into Queens for some great burgers. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and take a lot of cute photos while the sun sets. Then stop for ice cream on Houston street before shooting up for a game in The Bronx.

I hate baseball. It's fucking boring and the fans are cut-throat, but Fallon adores it and my father holds year-round box seats.

"When did you do all this?" Fallon asks as I hand him a drink.

"Between the eggs and the mimosas. Don't fill up on junk. I want to go to that Caribbean place on Lennox," I tell him.

"The one I used to take you to?" Fallon asks.

"Is there another one?" I plop beside him and lay my head on his arm.

"You remember that place doesn't have seats, right?" he asks, popping some roasted nuts into his mouth.

"Yeah, I wanted to eat in the park by that lake." I snuggle close.

Fallon smiles, throwing his arm around me and pulling me closer.

"That makes five," he notes.

"Hm?" I reply, unsure what he means.

"I noticed some of these places were familiar, now I know we're reliving our first five dates. I have to admit, these are way better seats than the ones I got," he says, and the fact he remembers creates a funny feeling in my chest.

When we're done eating, Fallon insists we walk home. I didn't want to. We've been running around all day; my legs are a little tired and I'm filled with regret for not wearing more than a sweater.

"If we're taking a trip down memory lane, we have to do it right. That means we walk down to Columbus," he says, throwing his leather jacket over my shoulders.

"Yeah, no. We were teenagers, and it wasn't close to midnight. We will die." I giggle as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads the way.

"At the risk of sounding cheesy, I'd kill someone with my bare hands before I let them hurt you," Fallon declares, and I hate how much it makes me smile.

I feel silly. We stopped at a corner store and bought two enormous beers and wet naps to really live in the moment. I think the cheap malt is getting to me because looking at Fallon under the moonlight makes me feel funny.

I clear my throat, skipping ahead and climbing up on the nearby benches, to hop from seat to seat as we stroll down the path.

"What made us do this the first time?" I ask, while Fallon looks wary I might fall.

Give it a break, man, I'm a big person now.

"It was the end of our date. My Impala was broken, as usual." Fallon rolls his eyes. "We took the train up here and you didn't want to go back to my place because you didn't want our relationship to be all about sex. We couldn't go back to your place because you weren't ready to tell Wren we got back together. So you wanted to walk to buy more time. You also did that and skinned your knee, so please get down."

"I don't remember that at all," I innocently declare.

"That's because you only remember things the way you want to see it. Now get down," Fallon's commanding tone turns me on.

I smile, jumping to the next bench and announcing I would never be that clumsy or prudish. "Whoever that girl was, she sounds lame and I would have broken up with her." I turn up my nose.

"That girl's the love of my life," Fallon declares, stopping me in my tracks.

"What?" I ask, trying to ignore the riot in my chest.

"Yeah, she was amazing and the reason for the man I am now. Before her, I thought I would be happy pushing papers," Fallon says with a shrug.

"Isn't that what you do now?" I giggle.

"No." He smiles to himself. "Not always anyway. After her, life just made sense. She liked me before I had my shit anywhere near together, but I wanted to be this for her." Fallon raises his arms, looking down at himself.

I stare at him, unsure how to respond. I think somewhere there's an alternate universe where this is my life. Moonlit strolls with Fallon, heading home to a place where there's no other man in the world that makes my heart flutter like this.

"Rue..." He speaks my name softly and with so much meaning.

"Yes?" I ask as Fallon steps in front of me.

"I'm happy you came back to me. You mean everything to me," he says, forcing the world to a complete stop.

"What?" I squeak, the riot in my chest becoming a full-body quake.

A small smile pulls at Fallon's lips as he takes my face into his hands. "That's what I said at the end of our date before I put you in the cab home, and then I kissed you just like this," he says, kissing me in a way that can only be described as love.