The Unholy Trinity II

Chapter Six

“Are you gonna bring me these in a size seven or not?”        

“I’ll check and see if we have them,” he said, though he still wore that stupid grin as he started toward the stock room.    

Ellen came to stand beside her. “Who is that cutie?”            

Fallon wrinkled her nose. “His name is Julian Robledo, and he’s the biggest asshole in the world.”           

“Too bad.”     

It took just a few minutes for Julian to return with the shoes she wanted. He lifted the lid on the box and began pulling the wad of paper from inside one of the shoes.          

“I can do that,” Fallon said.   

“It’s cool. It’s my job,” he said and winked at her. “It’s worth it for you though.” 

“Nothing’s changed, Julian,” Fallon snarled as she took a step toward him.          

He was so much taller than she was that Fallon had to tilt her head back to glare at him. Instead of looking intimidated by her best attempt at a menacing stare, he widened that grin. As much as Fallon hated to admit it, he was super cute. That didn’t mean she wanted anything to do with him or she’d forgotten what he’d done.

“I’m still the same person I was last year,” Fallon continued. “Stay away from me, or I’ll send Dexter after you.”  

At the mention of Griffin’s real name, Julian’s grin faded and he took a small step back. “Did you want to try these on or not?”  

“Not,” Fallon said and turned to Ellen. “I think I’ll find my shoes somewhere else.”         

Ellen followed when Fallon stormed out of the store. “What was that all about?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Maybe you could simplify it over a soda at the food court?”         

“Only if it’s a diet soda,” Fallon agreed, and Ellen smiled at her.    

The smells of the food court made Fallon’s mouth water. Despite how hard she’d worked to get healthy and look better, it was hard not to fall back into the trap of using food as an emotional crutch. The only thing stopping her was the way Julian just looked at her. It wasn’t just him. Ever since she’d slimmed down, guys had been noticing her in ways they hadn’t before. Now they didn’t sneer at her when she passed them by. Their eyes lit up and they smiled at her. Some of them even talked to her, and it wasn’t to make fun of her. It was attention she still didn’t know how to handle. Only one guy ever looked at her that way before, and she didn’t have to lose a bunch of weight for him to do it.          

With their Diet Cokes in hand, they scoured the food court for an empty table. Fallon swept her eyes around the room before they came to rest on something that made her heart stop beating for a moment. A group of guys was gathered around one of the larger tables. Griffin sat in the center of his admirers laughing with them about something. Fallon was staring, but she couldn’t help it. It had been so long since she’d seen him that she’d forgotten how much she missed him. Every ounce of restraint she had went into keeping her from running into his arms. Suddenly he spotted her staring at him, and his eyes grew bigger than she’d ever seen them before.         

“Is that Griffin?” Ellen asked, and Fallon just nodded.        

Fallon felt rooted to her spot on the floor as she watched him extricate himself from his friends and walk toward her. He was standing in front of her before she was ready for it.