Falling Hard

by Shelly Bell

  “Why do I get the impression you’re lying to me? It’s just as well. I don’t need that shit in my life.”

  “You don’t. But something tells me you don’t give a damn.”

  “’Night, Zee,” he said, engaging in diversion.

  “Goodnight, Mitch. I’ll call you when the potion is ready.”

  “Good deal.”

  After he ended the call, he placed the phone face down on the couch next to him. It was a cold realization to know his cock may never work again, except for a woman that was possessed.

  Chapter 8

  Aurora sat straight up in the bed. She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. Before laying down for the night, she’d sensed Mitch was with a girl. Then her father had paid her another visit, this time in her dreams. He was a horrible bastard who loved to torment her.

  She stepped into her slippers and walked to the small refrigerator in her room. Not even a full week before, she would have been out at a party or hanging out with friends. At barely eleven o’clock at night, she was in pajamas. Something was changing inside her.

  At that moment, she couldn’t tell exactly what it was for the rumble of anger and jealousy ripping through her. She wanted to call him and cuss him out. But what would she say?

  Hey, asshole. Even if we can’t be together, I don’t want you with anyone else! Somehow, she didn’t think he would take that statement well.

  Aurora walked to the window. Between her and the windowsill sat a table with a clock and a glass of water, but beyond that was a world of life she needed to live. Was it audacity that made her dream of loving a person who had a good heart? Or was it something else?

  Her mother had told her about impressions left behind from others. It was a connection stronger than love, and even life itself. The possibility existed for most supernatural beings—except demons. But what she’d described had made Aurora’s heart soar. She had been so young, and as she’d sat there, her wild mane of hair being braided by her mother, she’d wondered if she would ever have an imprint. She wondered if it was even possible. It was so rare that her mother had warned her to just hope for love. To pray for love.

  Of course, that was before she learned of her father’s blood coursing through her veins. It all made sense. The reason she would break her mother’s pathos plant instead of allowing the long strands to run their natural path. Or why she’d cut the bangs off three little girls in her fourth grade class after convincing them it was the only real way they would ever be considered beautiful. And stealing, then wrecking her mother’s car in an empty parking lot filled with snow . . . just to see what being out of control felt like.

  And at age sixteen, it had all made sense. It was when her father came for a visit. And it changed her life forever.

  Four years later, in a college full of people who were trying to simply find a new path, she had managed to steer clear of trouble. Until Mitch. While it wasn’t the normal kind of trouble, she was smart enough to know that even if they got together, she would eventually do something that assaulted his very moral fiber.

  Her mother had never shared the details about imprinting. One more thing to resent from her childhood.

  Taking a sip of her room temperature water, she rolled the possibility over in her mind. It had to be something, considering her father popped up. He always did when things were going well. His proposition was the same as it always was—either come to the Dark or cease to exist at all.

  She should have called Hazel. After Mitch was with the other girl, she’d shut down. She felt him. His movement with her. His passion for another. Her powers had never let her feel any other man with someone else. But to tell Hazel the reason she needed to know about imprinting on someone would have been too embarrassing, too revealing. She’d never gotten that close to anyone. She was a demon.

  In actuality, she wondered if even that was a façade.

  Aurora walked away from the window and slid onto the vacant bed across the room. Her roommate was never home. She always had plans and was a cheerleader, and polyamorous, so a single bed wasn’t her thing. Aurora didn’t mind at all, considering she preferred to be alone when she woke up screaming.

  The darkness of the room acted as a cloak. In the dark, Aurora wouldn’t confront any of her personal atrocities. The mirror had a way of illuminating her pain. There were no shiny things in the dark. Everything was muted and ordinary. And ordinary was what she wanted most. One day, she hoped, she’d just be a regular girl, dating a regular guy.

  Her heart pained as the improbability washed over her.

  Her cell phone was on the nightstand and she saw the alarm come on, illuminating part of the room. She stood to go get it and turn it off. Noticing she had a text message, she opened it.

  Naturally, it was Hazel.

  No matter what, don’t contact Mitch. We’ll figure it out.

  It was like having a mother on campus. Aurora didn’t respond. Instead, she opened up YouTube and sorted through her subscriptions. She followed one of the local bands and selected one of their videos. The background looked like Billy’s. The funky combination of jazz, pop, and blues was enchanting.

  Don’t fall off

  Don’t leave me alone

  Don’t forget me when you send me home

  I love you too much for that

  More than you’ll ever know

  So don’t fall off and leave me all alone

  As the words resonated insider her, she found an image that she recognized in the audience.

  There he was. Pressing pause, she watched him. Mitch was standing there in the same clothes he’d had on the night they’d met. His jeans were slung low on his hips and the hard body was evident in his T-shirt. The video was grainy when you zoomed in, but she did it anyway. As pissed as she was about the other girl, she held her iPad in her hands and watched the paused image on screen. He was magnificent.

  As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to have to see Mitch. She wanted to break the girl’s skinny legs and then beat Mitch to a pulp. She forced the images from her mind and didn’t deal with them, but in the dark of night and the solace of her room, she had a different perspective. To find Mitch and let him know he needed to fit her in. No. He needed to choose her.

  Chapter 9

  There was clearly a disconnect between Mitch and his penis. He’d spent all night talking things over with his cock, and had come to the conclusion that his sex life was at an end. After a night of tequila and looking at Aurora’s picture in the student directory—and using a sock and some Vaseline to work out his frustrations—Zee called.

  “Get your shit and come over,” was all she said. The quick double tone from Mitch’s cell indicated she’d hung up.

  He rolled over to look at the clock, the dim green glow from the numbers read 7:30 a.m. It was too early. The only other person awake in the condo would probably be Blake. At least the main bathroom was free. There had been a dance performance on Friday night and Mitch was the only person who hadn’t gone. He had been busy searching for Aurora’s picture, which had turned out to be worth its weight in gold.

  Hauling himself out of bed, Mitch narrowly missed treading on a random pink bra in the semi-darkened hallway. It wasn’t the first time someone brought a girl home, nor the first time a piece of underwear was spotted in the hallway. Thank goodness for single bedrooms.

  He stared at himself for a moment in the mirror under the über-bright lights in the bathroom. He looked like a wreck. His eyes were rimmed with red and strands of his hair were plastered together and stood in the air.

  Mitch scrubbed his hand down his face and leaned over into the sink. The cold water woke him just a little and helped him focus on getting the toothbrush to his mouth.

  Stop thinking about her, he chided silently. It would only serve to goad him more. But figuring out what was so special about Aurora was half the fun, if he was honest with himself.

  After dressing in faded jeans, a green cable knit T-shirt, brown hiki
ng boots, and a Detroit vs. Everybody emblazoned black hoodie, he headed for the door.

  Zee would yell at him for not wearing a ‘real’ coat, but it was too early to care.

  “Hey, man, ’sup?”

  Mitchell lifted his head to find Blake jogging in place in front of him. He reeked from sweat and whatever he’d done the night before. “’Sup, man.”

  “Nothing. Just getting my workout in. You should join me sometime. Stop being a lazy bum, you know?”

  Mitch looked past Blake in an effort not to punch him in the jaw. Taking a deep breath, he quickly retaliated, “Yeah, working forty hours a week instead of living off my parents is getting in the way. I’ve gotta do something about that.”

  Blake let out a loud laugh. Sounded more like a bark. “You got jokes, dude. Funny. See you around.” Before he was done speaking, he was jogging around Mitch to get into the condo.

  Blake could be a real dick sometimes. Mitch couldn’t help but wonder why he worked so hard to make people believe he was callous when everyone knew he had a good heart. It was the guy’s saving grace. And Mitch could definitely relate.

  Before he could get away, Grayson jogged up. Blake and Grayson had the same kind of regimen—early and crazy as hell. Grayson was still new to the condo and Mitch didn’t wholeheartedly trust him. He seemed to be hiding something, and Mitch would find out one day.

  “Hey, Mitch. You got a second?” he asked, mysteriously not sweating from his jog.

  “Nope,” Mitch grunted. “Heading out, as you can see, bro. I’ll hit you up when I get back.”

  “I just wanted to ask you about Hazel,” he said.

  Mitch skirted him and resisted the urge to knock him down. “Off limits, bro.”

  Mitch walked onto the sidewalk and sped up. Grayson had the good sense not to follow him. Zee was under strict orders not to date anyone in his condo. They were all whores, the lot of them. Nice girls like Zee would get trampled on.

  None of the lights on campus were on as he struck out onto the coiling lanes of campus. The air was bitterly cold, making it hard to take deep breaths. The dead leaves beneath his feet crunched with his every step.

  A warm, amber scent reached his nose. As each full moon approached, his senses increased. The next one was in two weeks, which meant he would start hearing and smelling everything.

  The scent was familiar and inviting. Mitch glanced around and came to a halt on the sidewalk, waiting to see who would emerge from the darkness. The curvy frame a quarter mile behind him was hard to miss with its jiggling curves and florescent sneakers.

  Aurora came up fast, speed-walking with headphones on. He couldn’t see her face in the low light of dawn, but he could definitely smell her heat.

  Mitch turned around and began walking, just fast enough to not look like a creeper, but slow enough for her to catch up to him.

  Fancy meeting you here. Lame.

  Hey, you look tired. Wanna rest on my lap? Shit, terrible.

  I’m surprised to see you walking so fast since you’ve been running across my mind for days. What the fuck, man?

  None of the introductory lines he rolled over in his thoughts would work. He sounded like an old man with a van. Just be yourself.

  Fuck you, self.

  Mitch reached a bench under a tree and decided to take a seat. He had no clue what to say if she asked why he was sitting alone. At the break of dawn. With nothing but a hoodie on. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was a rapist. Mitch pulled the hood off to help set a non-menacing vibe.

  She was almost in front of him. Mitch focused on the building across the street and tried not to look back in her direction. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

  “Mitch? Is that you?” she asked. Her voice was ragged from being out of breath.

  Mitch turned to face her. She glistened with sweat, which smelled fucking fabulous. Her frame was shrink-wrapped in running clothes, a pink and gray top with the breast cancer logo bold over her left breast, and gray fitted jogging pants. Wild, deluxe curls were piled on top of her head with pink earmuffs stretched across the mass of it. She wore gloves over her hands in the same colors as her outfit. She resembled one of those women’s deodorant commercials, encouraging women to sweat like men. Somehow, she pulled it off.

  “Yeah. Hi . . .” He had so much to say to her, but couldn’t make his mouth cooperate with his mind.

  Aurora stood in front of the bench and extended her right leg to the seat next to him. She kneeled over, stretching her hamstring, giving him a smile. It was the sexiest damn stretch he’d ever seen.

  “Hi. Whatcha doing out here so early?”

  “Nothing much. It got a little hot in the house. I needed some air.”

  “Oh. You live this way? Not in the dorms, huh?”

  “Nah. Me and some buddies have a condo. Over there, on the edge of campus.” Mitch leaned back and pointed at the row of brownstone condos.

  “I see. I stay in the Rack. Is it cool living off campus? I would love to, but I can’t afford it,” she said. Aurora took a seat without Mitch offering one.

  Dumb ass. “Yeah, it’s okay. Is your butt cold?” What the fuck???

  “Not yet, thank you . . .” she responded. She laughed a little instead of slapping him.

  “I just meant I don’t want interrupt your workout.”

  “Oh. Well, yeah. I guess I’ll see you around,” she said, standing up and walking in place.

  “No, no. I mean, I could walk with you.”

  “Oh,” she giggled. “I thought you were trying to get rid of me. Maybe off to see someone or something.”

  “No. There’s no one else to see.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Damn sure. C’mon, let’s get a walk in.”

  “Can you keep up?” Aurora asked before quickly stepping away.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” Mitch said and jogged to catch up. From behind, her butt was magical. She was built like she’d been manufactured. Her legs were tight, but her hips and cheeks maintained alluring natural curves. Her waist was cinched, small enough for his fingers to circle if he rode her from behind.

  Aurora made Mitch revert into a caveman, his inner beast aching to claim her.

  He caught up to her and passed her by, mostly so he didn’t have to be tortured anymore with her sexiness.

  Each of his steps equaled two of hers since he was several inches taller at 6’3. He slowed his pace, the confines of his jeans around his semi-erection a bit uncomfortable.

  “I forgot, I’m wearing jeans. I can’t race you today.”

  “That’s okay,” she nearly whispered. She was out of breath from their momentary jog. “Another time, I guess.”

  “We can keep walking. I can make sure you get back to your dorm safely. There’s lots of crazy people around.”

  “Tell me about it. I heard some guy was walking around screaming obscenities a few weeks ago.”

  “You don’t say.” Mitch’s cheeks burned red. Thankfully, he was flushed from the cold wind, so he hoped she wouldn’t notice. They continued on their path and he noticed neither of them was walking very fast. From his perspective, the reason was clear. He didn’t want the moment to end.

  Chapter 10

  Now was her chance to tell him she’d been up thinking of him all night. But the words wouldn’t come out. Relationships hurt her head. The games and shit were some of the reasons she’d never really tried one on for size. Besides, after years of being punished for evil deeds, before long, a person questioned whether they were even worthy of love. And not long after that, they give up on it entirely.

  As they walked into the front door of East Rackham dorms, she glanced behind her to see if he was still there. He was. He had the type of swagger that made a girl weak. His body was sculpted. Aurora was even jealous of his clothes because they got to rub against his skin.

  “I’m still here, Aurora,” he chided. His lips spread into a smile that nearly stopped her heart.
>
  “Just checking,” she responded.

  “I told you I’d make sure you got home safely, and I will,” he said.

  “Surely you’re aware I can take care of myself. It’s the other folks you need to worry about.” She giggled at the irony of the moment. She hadn’t needed protection from anyone in years, and now she needed it more than ever.

  “You never know. It’s been crazy around here the last year or so,” he said. He caught up to her while she waited for the elevator.

  She stole another glance, and sure enough, he was looking at her. “What is it?” she asked, self-consciously smoothing her hair.

  “Nothing. You’re just prettier in the daylight. I’ve never seen you this early.”

  By the time the elevator reached them, she was antsy. The hunger in his eyes was the last thing she wanted to deal with. He’d been bound and determined to accompany her home after their walk. It was completely unnecessary, but adorably chivalrous.

  “Well, thank you. You don’t have to say that,” she said. Stepping into the elevator, she turned quickly to the panel, hiding the mask of disbelief. Would he seriously try to make her believe she was more than a one-night stand?

  “I mean it. I have to tell you, I’ve been thinking about you. A lot. I mean, there’s no reason for it, other than I want to be around you,” he said, following her into the confined space.

  He was standing at her back. Over her shoulder, she could smell the remnants of soap and cologne, a magical combination on him.

  “Um . . . I know you’re seeing someone,” she said. It came out without her permission or consent. Once it had, she turned to see his reaction.

  “I’m not seeing anyone,” he said. When his eyes shifted to look at his shoes, she knew he was holding something back.

  “Who was the girl then, Mitch? I . . . sensed you with someone last night,” she said in a rush before she lost her nerve.