Taking the Fall

by W. Ferraro

  Allison eyes connected with Reed’s and then she looked past him to where Hunter had turned around to watch their departure. He heard the invitation and was clearly interested in the response.

  “Maybe,” Molly said putting her sunglasses on, unaware of the attention ten feet away. She grabbed Allison’s hand and dragged her through the door.

  As they made it to the car and got in, Allison asked, “What’s the pit?”

  “It’s an area up at the falls. You have to hike to it. It is a manmade hole dug for bonfires. And voilà, the name ‘the pit.’”

  How boring.

  “So, are we going to go?” Allison asked, with a pouty puppy dog lip toward Molly.

  “Wow, that must be a record for the Reed Dennison effect!” Molly exclaimed as she put the key into the ignition.

  She is almost making this too easy.

  “Oh no, not like this. I’m really done with the dating scene. I just want to hang out with you, so if you’d rather not go, that is fine.”

  “I guess we are going. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I had let a friend down when it has the potential to make her happy,” Molly answered as she pulled out of the parking spot.

  That is what I’m counting on.

  It was just about 9:30pm when Molly pulled the car into a wooded lot. She had explained again that they would need to hike for a bit, and Allison inwardly cringed but insisted she wanted to go even though Molly had given her every opportunity to back out.

  “Well, at least we can thank the unusual warm spell for the lack of snow. There is usually at least a foot or two on the ground this time of year.”

  They had followed the rocky trail toward the glowing light when they finally crested a hill. By this time, Allison was chiding to herself, he’d better be worth it.

  She looked down at a dirt-covered area about fifteen feet around. There was a gaping hole in the middle and a formation of rocks stacked around a roaring fire. Around the perimeter, there were logs where people sat. Some people had carried in lawn chairs and coolers. Beer cans were littered around and many of the participants were involved in hot and heavy make-out sessions, including Reed. One of the only people who was staring into the fire was Hunter until he noticed our arrival. He made no attempt to move but looked toward Molly with a fleeting glimpse of emotion. Conveniently, there was an open seat next to him, she mused.

  Perfect.

  As they stood on the path looking down into the seating area, Molly whispered to Allison, “Oh, I’m sorry Allison,” implying the disappointment she thought Allison would feel at finding Reed already occupied.

  “Oh, that is all right. I’m sure I will manage,” Allison replied taking the lead. Molly, however, didn’t make it very far.

  The cosmos are on my side.

  “Hey Molly, how have you been?” an awkward overweight zit faced guy said to Molly as he approached the duo, blocking Molly’s view. The ever polite one, Molly began conversing. Leaving Molly to her distractor, Allison knew exactly where she was heading.

  “Hey, is this seat taken?” Allison asked, perfecting her act of coy and shy.

  “No, feel free,” Hunter answered without making eye contact, but obviously disappointed with who was asking.

  Allison squeezed in close to Hunter on the large log, purposely aligning their thighs and shoulders. He tried to move but given the person on the other side of him was clearly sliding into second, Hunter wasn’t going to get very far.

  She sat in silence watching the glow of red and orange as it licked the large logs in a teepee formation. She tried to keep the glee from her face at the continued anguish that Hunter miserably failed to mask. He kept looking toward Molly.

  After a few silent minutes, Allison cleared her throat. “Are you enjoying Clearwater Falls?” Hunter asked quietly.

  Allison shrugged her shoulders, rubbing up against him before extending her legs out in front of her and crossing them at the ankle.

  “It seems nice, but honestly the surroundings aren’t really my current concern.”

  Hunter cocked his head to the left where Molly was still standing now surrounded by two or three local guys whom she had gone to school with, smiling every now and then.

  When Allison didn’t think he was going to say anything, he turned to her and let his blue eyes focus on her. “What is your current concern?”

  Oh God, this is just too easy!

  “Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

  Now it was time for Allison to get a taste of what had Molly so folded like a pretzel around him. Hunter looked toward Allison, and she would have sworn his eyes just smoldered. He had just a hint of a dimple on his right cheek. His smile was a bit lopsided but just as breathtaking. Allison actually felt her heart increase in beat.

  “Let’s not. Sometimes it is best to get things off your chest, even to a stranger.”

  “I don’t know. After all, she is like my best friend. But I just don’t know what else to do,” Allison whispered.

  He didn’t say anything, so she added, “I guess I should just be glad that I talked her into coming home rather than make the worst mistake of her life.”

  Allison knew she had Hunter on the line.

  “Is everything all right with Molly?” he asked, heightened with concern but managing to keep his volume down.

  “You must think I’m awful. After all, you don’t even know me and here I’m talking ill of my friend.” Allison rubbed her hands up and down her arms trying to warm them but knew the move had her sweater riding up ever so slightly and exposing her belly button ring.

  And Hunter didn’t miss it, either.

  “I don’t think anything, but you can’t say something like that and not explain.”

  “Okay, but I trust you, which is crazy since I don’t even know you, but you seem like a nice guy.” Allison looked toward Molly, who was still occupied, and then leaned in closer to Hunter. “When Molly and I first met, we really hit it off. Like instant BFFs, but then suddenly she didn’t have time for me anymore. She was with a different guy every other day, not coming back to the dorm room at night. I tried talking to her about it, but she just said she was having fun and enjoying college life. She told me she was going to some island with a couple of the guys by herself over break and I got really nervous. I begged and begged her not to, but it didn’t seem like anything would change her mind. But then a couple of nights before we came here, I assumed it was going to be a repeat of the previous week where she didn’t come back to the dorm room, when all of a sudden, the door swung open and she entered looking so haunted.” Pausing for dramatic effect she continued, “She didn’t want to talk about it, but given her appearance and the fact that she looked a little . . . rough, I could only guess. Suddenly her break plans had changed and she begged me to come home with her. Saying she needed to decompress.” Allison stopped and looked toward Molly, who was completely unaware she was being her silent accomplice by grabbing onto one of the guy’s forearms as she laughed and blew a kiss to an another. “When we heard about the bonfire, she said she couldn’t wait to go. I told her that I wasn’t really up for it, but she said she was going with or without me, so here I am, and looking at the way she is enjoying herself over there with the attention, I guess I was right.”

  Allison observed how Hunter’s head whipped around to focus on the growing number of people now centered around Molly. He interpreted it as she did seem to be flirting, with obvious enjoyment to the attention.

  Allison knew her words were taking hold of Hunter and given the way Hunter’s jaw was tensing, there was no denying that he did not like what he heard.

  “So, a new guy every night?” he asked pained.

  “Yeah, pretty much, and none of them real winners if you catch my drift.”

  “I’m suddenly not in the mood for a fire. How about you?” Hunter asked sarcastically.

  “Not really, but it looks like my ride is going to be a while.”

  “I can take you home,” Hunt
er offered as he stood. He extended his hand to help Allison up.

  His hand was strong and warm and flexed just when their hands connected.

  This may be a shutout.

  “You sure you don’t mind?”

  The smile that was gracing his face now was wide and warm, and Allison had to admit, quite sexy. She knew it wouldn’t take much to know how warm his lips really were.

  They walked toward where Molly still stood and when they reached her, she looked toward the two of them and the hurt Allison saw there was evident.

  “Allison, where are you going?”

  But before Allison could answer, Hunter did coldly, “Don’t worry about Allison, I’ll make sure she gets home. Seems you are keeping yourself busy enough.”

  Hunter reached for Allison’s hand and looked at Molly for the last time. He wanted to say something, but instead, he just shook his head and mumbled under his breath. He pulled Allison along in his wake as he headed back down the hill toward the car lot.

  Allison, perfecting her role, smiled widely, winked, and mouthed to her friend, “I’ll see you later.”

  The next few days, Molly saw little of Allison. She seemed to be spending an awful lot of time with Hunter. And enjoying every minute of it. He made a point of never looking in her direction on the few times she did see him either picking Allison up or dropping her off. It was Molly’s worst nightmare coming true and with Allison to boot.

  Molly just wanted to get the hell out of Clearwater Falls. Here her dream crashed and burned. She needed to flee.

  On the third morning, Molly woke to a thump and then a not-so-quiet curse. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she scooted up into a sitting position to see Allison bent over massaging her foot.

  “Allison? What are you doing?” She looked at the bedside clock. “It is not even 4AM.”

  Molly prayed she wasn’t just getting in from being with Hunter.

  “Praying to God my foot isn’t broken.”

  Normally, such a smartass comment would have Molly’s mouth tipping upward. But, adding in the fact that Allison wasn’t home when she finally fell asleep a couple hours ago and the fact that she knew who Allison had been with had all appreciation gone from the situation.

  Molly brushed her blond locks out of her face, and that is when she noticed Allison’s bags on the chair all packed.

  Confusion and dread filled her. “Are you going somewhere?”

  “I didn’t want to wake you so I was just going to leave you a note. I’m going to head back to Boston today.”

  “Boston? What? How?”

  The answer should be clear by one look at Allison. She looked like she was going to a photo shoot. Just like always, her silky ebony hair was perfectly styled, and she wore flawlessly applied makeup. Not to mention clothes that fit her like a second skin.

  And Molly knew. Her stomach began to churn with nausea, and she could begin to taste the bile at the back of her throat. This was worse than she could have ever imagined. And she was helpless to do anything about it.

  “I’m heading back with Hunter . . . he needs to get back to Yale early and is going to stop off at Boston University to meet with admissions for med school.” Allison turned, picking up her large bag while throwing the smaller one over her shoulder. When she turned back, she had a look of complete euphoria. “I know it sounds crazy, but Hunter and I have gotten to know each other, and I don’t know, it is probably crazy, but I think we are talking the ‘L’ word here.” Allison clutched her chest as she bit down on her lower lip before running over to Molly and sitting down on the edge of the bed, embracing her stunned friend.

  The small internal ache Molly had been nursing for days grew in intensity until it threatened to swallow her whole.

  With one final squeeze, Allison released Molly, stood, and twirled in the small room. “He is amazing and so sweet. I mean, you know guys like Hunter aren’t in every Cracker Jack box. He is gorgeous, gentle, and debonair, like one of those silver screen actors my grandmother used to swoon over. Not to mention, the way he can get my body tingling with one of those smoldering looks of his. Throw in the way my body reacts when he sweeps his tongue against mine.” She feigned embarrassment but was unable to hold her vicious and hurt filled words. “Oh, Mol, I’m sorry, you don’t want to hear all the kinky details, but let’s just say there isn’t anything I wouldn’t let him do to my body. I’ve gotten a sneak preview of his talents, and I just hope I will survive the erotic perfection of Hunter Dennison.”

  Molly thought her world was going to crumble. Her insides were screaming out their despair as her heart broke into a million pieces. Her eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Allison inquired.

  The most honest truth fell from Molly’s lips. “I’m happy for you. Hunter is one in a million.”

  With one last hug and a kiss on Molly’s cheek, Allison jumped up, grabbed her bags, and headed out the door. Just before crossing the threshold, she turned and said, “Molly, I owe falling for Hunter all to you.” Then she was gone.

  Molly was frozen in place; the tears ran down her face as if she was standing outside in a monsoon. She began to rock back and forth, trying to soothe herself from the inside out. When nothing seemed to help and the pain just got more agonizing, she slipped down into a lying position as she pushed her lips together hard to stop the excruciating moan from escaping.

  Who knows if it was minutes, hours, or even days that she lay there, but then finally, after her body was spent from the physical despair, she moved a shaking hand to inside her pillowcase and removed the well-worn photograph that never strayed from where she slept. She looked down at the multi-creased 4x6 that was years old. And the memory flooded back. It was from the night before New Year’s Eve three years earlier, a snowy and cold night. The restaurant had its usually overzealous Christmas decorations inside and out. The bright Christmas lights reflected off the snow, creating a prism effect around the windows and door.

  Hunter was getting ready to return to school in Connecticut. Molly’s mother insisted that he stop in at the restaurant before heading off so she could stock him with food; homemade meals that he could heat in his dorm microwave. When he arrived, the restaurant was fairly busy, so Florence had told Hunter to head into the kitchen and Greg would get him all set up. When he entered, he found not Greg in the kitchen but Molly.

  Stumbling over her words, she pointed to where his care package was and watched intently as he moved. He looked very James Dean-ish; with jeans and a white t-shirt under an open leather jacket. His well-worn black boots clunked across the cement floor and just the faintest sound of fabric brushing against itself could be heard as he moved across the space. He lifted the box and turned to where Molly was standing and seemed like he was about to say something.

  But then Molly’s mom walked in.

  “Molly, where is Greg? Oh, doesn’t matter. Hunter, I see you found your things.”

  “Yes, Florence, this is all too kind of you. I will have to keep them under lock and key to ensure my dorm mates don’t eat them all on me.”

  Florence laughed aloud but told him if that were the case, she would be happy to send some more to him.

  Hunter was just about to head out the door when Florence called him back.

  “Oh Hunter, will you get in a picture with Molly. I have this new camera, and I’m determined to get a picture of everyone. Somehow, you two have been the only two who I haven’t captured.”

  “Sure thing.” Hunter placed the box down again and stood next to Molly. He leaned in close, causing her to get a wonderful whiff of his cologne. And in the second before Lorraine clicked the camera, Hunter placed his arm around Molly, letting his powerful hand rest on her hip. The particular sweater she wore that night was shorter than she usually wore, but for some reason or another, she had picked it for that night. Because of that, she felt exactly how warm his hand was. She could have sworn he squeezed his fingers when
he too was surprised by the skin-to-skin contact. But then Florence said smile, and that moment of wonder and beauty was caught on a brand new 35mm camera.

  Florence then headed out of the kitchen leaving the two alone once again.

  “Molly, would you mind carrying that bag out for me?” Hunter asked as he picked up the heavy box once more and made his way to the swing door that led to the restaurant.

  Molly didn’t answer, just grabbed the bag and followed him. He held the door for her to precede him as well as the one heading to the outside. They walked in silence to his car across the street. Hunter placed the box and bag in the trunk, slammed it shut, and looked at Molly.

  There was an awkward silence between them, which had Molly further wrapping her too thin sweater around herself. Hunter stood in front of her, extremely close, looking down toward her and she could feel her body reacting. She could again smell the spice of his cologne and see the lines of his lips. What she would give to be able to feel those lips against her own?

  Hunter’s jaw tensed, and he let out a long breath, but he didn’t turn away or give her any space.

  Molly found the strength to tear her gaze away and caught the gigantic spruce tree in the town square beautifully brilliant with all its twinkling lights. She loved Christmas and to her one of the most magical and enchanting sights was a tree aglow.

  “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” she spoke, before realizing how silly she sounded.

  She didn’t dare look back toward him, afraid of the facial result of her immature statement.

  “Never,” was spoken softly and just what she needed to get her feet moving so she wouldn’t embarrass herself anymore.

  Molly began stepping backward, and when she was three feet away, she said, “I better get back in there. Drive safe, Hunter. I’ll see you around.”

  She turned and hightailed it back inside. By the time she had the courage to look out the window, all she could see was two bright taillights heading toward the large Christmas tree. Away from town, and away from her.