The Season of Falling

31. Chapter 31

Chapter thirty-one

Dean

Hank Whiting’s funeral was exactly what he would have wanted it to be. After his family members each said a few words, it was like an open mic night. Anyone was welcome to get up and share a story about the man, bonus points if it was one that made the room fill with laughter. I sat next to Kasey, an arm tight around her shoulders, and held her as she laughed and cried through it all.

A week later she acted like everything was okay, but I knew she was still hurting. Who wouldn’t be? I wanted to help, but I struggled to come up with any ideas. I was pacing in my kitchen when inspiration struck. Really it was myself from a few years ago that had been inspired, but I patted myself on the back anyway as I gathered what I needed and grabbed my keys from the table by the door.

Thirty minutes later, I stood at Kasey’s apartment waiting for her to let me in. She opened the door with a puzzled look on her face. “I thought we didn’t have any plans until tomorrow,” she said as she held it open for me.

“We didn’t. But I had an idea.” I carried my armful of stuff to the kitchen table and set it all down. This was going to be good; I just knew it.

“What’s your idea?” she asked with a little skepticism. I just smiled and pulled things out of the bags. “Seriously, what is it?” She came up beside me, and her lips parted as she saw what I was laying out on the table. “Battleship and pizza?”

I nodded enthusiastically, but the smile slipped from my face when I took in her expression. “Oh crap, was this a bad idea? We can forget it. I just thought maybe–”

“No, no.” She grabbed my arm to stop me and then turned me to face her. “This is perfect.” A single tear was sliding down her cheek, and I gently brushed it away.

“Then why are you crying?”

“I’ve been crying a lot lately, and literally anything can set me off. But this is so sweet. It’s like the time when I failed my final.” She laughed, and my chest tightened pleasantly at the sound.

“Battleship was the answer then so I thought maybe it could be the answer now, too.” I smiled at her before gently pulling her into my arms and wrapping her up tight.

“Thank you,” she whispered against my chest. “You’re the best.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her tight before stepping away and turning back to the table. “What’s our tally?” I asked.

She cleared her throat before smirking slightly. “I believe we’re 21 to 6.” I laughed as she joined me in getting things set up. “You did just recover from amnesia though, so maybe I’ll go easy on you.”

“What do you mean? This is basically a game of chance.”

“Says the guy who always loses.” Kasey laughed. “I have a strategy.”

I rolled my eyes but tucked the game under one arm and grabbed her hand with the other, pulling her into the living room and onto the couch.

“Dean, we can’t sit this close and play the game.”

“Why not?” I pleaded, giving her my best puppy dog eyes. “I’d much rather have you right here than anywhere else.”

Her smile softened, and she leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek before scooting to the other end of the couch. “No use putting off my next impressive win,” she said with a wink.

We laughed and got to work setting up the game. Once all the ships were situated, I sat back and prepared to lose. I wasn’t sure if she had an actual strategy or if she could actually see through the board to my ships, but her first move was a hit. And my first move was a miss.

“How’s work been going?” I asked, trying to distract myself from my poor playing. “Have you made much progress on that greenhouse project for the school?”

“The last few weeks have been crazy, you know. But I’ve actually started to make some good headway on it. Especially the last few days. I think I’ll have some solid plans drawn up and ready to go by the end of the week.”

“That’s great, Kase. You’re going to kill it.” I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, thinking. “I-13?” I asked hesitantly.

“Miss!” she announced. “A-2?”

I groaned. “Hit and sink.”

She threw her hands up in the air, cheering at her good fortune. “I love this game.”

“I don’t understand how I can be so bad at it,” I said with a chuckle. She just shrugged. “D-7?” I asked hopefully.

Kasey bit her lip, trying to hold in her smile. “Sorry, that’s a miss too. Oh, how have your classes been going? Do you get to go back to full time yet?”

“Not yet,” I said, inserting the white peg into the board. “They decided to have me wait until January when the classes switch over. It’s easier that way. But I’m going to start going in all day anyway to prepare and get stuff ready. Which will be good, I’ve kind of been getting a little stir crazy the last few weeks.”

Kasey nodded, her chin in her hands as she focused on the board in front of her. “That makes sense. I’m glad you get to go back soon though.” She glanced up and gave me a small smile before her eyes were back on the game. “H-9?”

“Nope, miss.” I laughed at the furrows that appeared between her eyebrows. We continued the game, talking and laughing as we went and only stopping halfway through to put a pizza in the oven. And just as expected, Kasey won by a long shot.

“22 to 6 now,” she said with a shrug and a grin that I swear made my heart stop for a second.

“Maybe I should give up on this game.” I groaned dramatically and sunk back into the couch cushions.

“You won’t. We have way too much fun with it. Plus you keep bringing it out when I’m sad. I highly doubt that I’ll never be sad again. Therefore, we’ll play again. Now come on.” She climbed to her feet. “Pizza should be almost done.” She reached out for my hands, and I let her pull me up and toward the kitchen.

Before she could start grabbing plates and cups, I grabbed her around the waist and tugged her back to me. “Let me handle that. You just hang out.”

“I can help,” she insisted.

“I know you can, but I came over here to help you out.” I guided her over to the island and she squealed as I lifted her without warning and settled her on the countertop. “I’ve got it. You just sit here and look pretty.”

She crossed her arms and scowled playfully at me. “I’m more than just a pretty face, Dean.”

“Oh, I know. You are perfectly capable of doing anything you set your mind to. And I love that about you. But I don’t mind your pretty face, either.” I winked and started to walk over to the oven, but before I could, Kasey grabbed a fistful of my shirt and tugged me back.

“You think I have a pretty face?” she teased.

I stepped between her legs, my hands settling on her waist, and smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me even closer.

“I’m pretty fond of your face too,” she said with a lazy smile on her lips.

I found I couldn’t resist and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth. I felt her smile grow against my lips before she was kissing me back.

Heat spread throughout my body as Kasey tilted her head to deepen the kiss. One of my hands stayed at her waist while I brought the other one up to her neck, pulling her as close as I could get her. She sighed and relaxed against me. Her fingers played with the hair at the base of my neck and her mouth moved against mine like we’d been doing this all our lives.

I pulled back after a minute, and she smiled sweetly. “I really think we should do that more often.”

I laughed and leaned forward again, kissing the hollow just below her ear. “I have no objections to that.” I continued to kiss down her neck. When I reached her collarbone, the timer on the stove started to go off, causing us both to startle. I grinned. “But maybe we need some fuel first?”

Kasey stared at me for a moment, a look of tenderness on her face. She reached over and cupped my jaw, pressing her thumb against the dimple by the side of my mouth. “I love when you smile big enough for your dimples to show. It’s my favorite smile of yours.” She moved her thumb and leaned forward to press a light kiss where her thumb had been. “But the timer is getting a little annoying so I guess let’s eat.”

I took a step back as she hopped down from the counter. And despite my insistence, she got the plates and cups while I took the pizza out and sliced it up. Kasey smiled at me as she set the table, and my heart did a little flip. I couldn’t believe that this beautiful, amazing woman was mine. That she loved and cared about me. I probably had stars in my eyes, but I didn’t even care. Despite the fears that I still had about the future and the ways this could go wrong, I was determined to see where it could go. I was done letting the what if’s get in the way of my future. Our future.

“I changed my mind,” I called to Kasey. “I actually don’t want to do this.”

She came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. “Yes, you do. You’re just scared. And I don’t blame you one bit. But you told me not to let you chicken out, so I’m not gonna let you.” After one more tight squeeze, she let go and stepped away. “You can do this.”

I swallowed and tried to stop my hands from shaking. I hadn’t ridden a bike since the day of my accident, and Kasey was right. I was scared. But I didn’t want to let fear get in the way of living life, so I gritted my teeth and took the last step toward the bike.

We were in a mostly empty community center parking lot, and the air was quickly becoming too cold for outdoor activities like this. I took a deep breath and kicked my leg over the bike. I could do this. There were no moving cars to crash into, and I was just riding to the end of the lot and back.

I thought I heard Kasey chanting encouragement under her breath, but I tried to focus on the task ahead as I settled onto the seat. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to be afraid of this anymore. I placed my right foot on the pedal and pushed forward. I felt shaky at first and thought I would topple over, but I forced myself to keep my eyes forward. Kasey trotted along beside me, having moved on to shouting her encouragement.

I slowly picked up speed. The shakiness turned to surety, and then I was flying across the parking lot. I laughed as the chilly air nipped at my face and hands. I felt the fear and anxiety drain away, leaving only exhilaration. What they say is true. It really was just like riding a bike.

Kasey was whooping and hollering from where she’d stopped halfway across the lot. I rode around the bottom and made my way back to her.

“You did it!” she called. “You did it!”

I was laughing and panting when I rolled to a stop next to her. I immediately dropped the bike and rushed to pull her into my arms.

“You were amazing,” she whispered right before I claimed her mouth in a kiss.