Fear of Falling

she had run straight to me. And I was hell-bent on making it so she never felt the need to run again.

“You’re nervous.”
    I looked at Angel lounging on my bed like the princess she claimed to be and rolled my eyes. “You think?”
    “Mmm hmm,” she remarked, her eyes glued to a gossip magazine. It was a good thing too; she couldn’t see me flipping her off.
    “Maybe this is a mistake. I said I wouldn’t get involved with coworkers again. I need to call and cancel. I should cancel, right? Oh, holy fuck, what am I doing?” I rambled, wringing my hands in front of me. The room shifted before my eyes, throwing off my equilibrium. A panic attack was on the horizon.
    “Calm down and breathe, Kam,” she gently admonished, tossing her magazine to the side. “It’ll be fine. Blaine is a gentleman. You’ll be fine.”
    “She still freaking out?” Dom asked as he entered my bedroom. He flopped down next to Angel.
    “I am not freaking out,” I insisted, crossing my arms in front of me. “And don’t think I’m speaking to you again. First, you totally blow up my spot last week at my job, and now you’re having secret pow-wows with Blaine? Not cool, dude.”
    Dom let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I explained and apologized for last week, Kam. I just…I don’t know. Got caught up in stupid guy talk. I’m not used to being around other people outside of you two. For once, I wasn’t caught in a huge estrogen fest and I lost my head. Shit, you know I’m sorry.”
    “That doesn’t explain your little talk with Blaine earlier,” Angel chimed in, earning a hard glare from Dom that screamed, “Mind your own damn business.”
    “Just go into this with an open mind,” Dom said, successfully changing the subject. He knew he couldn’t win with us. “Don’t feel like you have to rush into anything.”
    “Ok,” I nodded, smoothing my jean skirt over my hips. “How do I look?”
    “He said dress comfortably,” Dom remarked, taking in my skirt, sheer, flouncy top and flats.
    “This is comfortable! It’s hot as a witch’s tit outside!”
    “Oh hell,” Dom shook his head. “Angel is rubbing off on you.”
    “Damn right!” Angel exclaimed.
    As we laughed off the tension, a buzz from the intercom caused the nerves to return with a vengeance. Angel flitted to the door, giving Blaine clearance to come up. I felt like I would break out into hives.
    “Damn, girl,” Dom chuckled, climbing to his feet. “You act like he’s going to steal your virtue or something!” He crooked an elbow out for me to lace my arm through. “Come on, you’ll be fine, Kam. You deserve… this.”
    “This?”
    “The normal dating thing. You deserve to be swept off your feet. The flowers and candy. You deserve to be happy, Kam.”
    I looked up at my best friend, the man who had been closer to me than family. The only man I had ever truly trusted. “You too, Dom,” I whispered, my eyes shining with unshed tears. “You deserve that, too.”
    “Eh,” he shrugged with a grin. “One day. But no time soon. Too many chicks out there with low self-esteem and even lower morals.”
    I gave him a light punch with my other hand and shook my head. “Oh Dirty Dom, what am I gonna do with you?”
    “I can think of a few things, but right now, you’ve got a guy waiting to take you out on a date. And if you don’t get out there soon, I’m sure Angel will start spilling stories of drunken girl’s nights involving tequila and dildos.”
    My eyes grew wide with shock and alarm at the sound of Blaine’s deep laugh from the foyer. Yeah, Angel would totally give him an earful.
    On shaky legs, I let Dom lead me out to the living room where Blaine stood with Angel, his back facing us. As if sensing our approach, he turned and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of him. Even though he wore a simple short-sleeved button up and jeans, his good looks still managed to disarm me. He was a rare, captivating work of sculpted art.
    “Hey,” Blaine breathed, as we were just inches from each other.
    I unhooked my arm from Dom’s and folded my hands in front of me, unsure of what to do with them. Part of me wanted to stretch on my tiptoes and give him a peck on the cheek, which is what I would usually do while going through the motions of a “date.” But this was unlike any of those times because Blaine was different from any man I had ever known. And the way I felt about him was just as foreign to