Author's Note

Hi Everyone! Not too much of a cliffhanger in that last chapter huh? Yeah, I know I suck! Thank you for the awesome reviews, ya'll rock my skull! I'm happy to see that people are still interested in my stories, what more could an author want…besides her own book deal? But alas I'll keep doing this until I release my own personal fiction book. I wonder how many people would actually buy it. Oh well, good health and happiness to each of you!

Xoxo-

McFadden-

Chapter 4: And We All Fall Down

Abby laid there, flat on her stomach, with her eyes clenched shut cursing away in her mind. She heard his wobbly misplaced footsteps hop closer and closer then come to a stop. King was now at the door. Holding her breath, she waited.

"Abby? Are you okay?"

What a pathetic sight she made. Looking up she saw King, cheeks flushed and staring at her with a furrowed brow. How embarrassing is this! All she could offer up was a measly response.

"Yeah."

She wasn't sure who was worse off. King being caught in his compromising situation, or her, sprawled out in front of his bedroom door. To her surprise, he just bent down, unsteadily, next to her offering a helping hand that Abby wasn't sure she wanted to touch.

"Well come on then. We don't need the both of us down for the count now, do we? With all your training in balance Whistler, it amazes me that you can still manage to trip over air."

She breathed a huge sigh of relief. He didn't catch me! Abby felt like doing a victory dance but thought better of it.She pushed herself off the floor causing the water bottle to come out of her pocket and roll towards King. One of his hands held onto her arm while the other picked it up. Abby also brandished the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had somehow managed to come out undamaged and gave that to him also. After much difficulty of getting everything in the hall straightened out, Abby relentlessly order King to lie down. Once he settled on the bed, Abby turned to leave again.

"C'mon Abby, stay and keep me company. You know I'll try my best to hobble down those stairs in a few minutes anyway if you don't."

He was doing it, King was using his teddy bear charm on her and as pathetic as it was, she was actually buying it. She looked at him and huffed. Closing the door, she walked back and sat on the edge of the bed, reliving what had happened there moments before. This caused to her shift uncomfortably. Observing him, Abby took time to notice a spark in his eyes. That usually meant one of two things…he was about to lay on the thick sarcasm, or he was genuinely happy. For her sake, she hoped it was the latter. Nonetheless, she shook her head at him and spoke.

"Why couldn't I get a normal partner?"

King just lavished her with a big, goofy smile.

"…Because without me, there'd be a whole lot less of lovin'."

Abby gave him a condescending look but realized grudgingly, that he was right. The expression on his face just made her laugh. King began to consume his sandwich quickly, smacking in order to annoy her. Abby wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I spend way too much time with you…"

He shook his head in disagreement as he topped off the last bite and swigged down half the bottle of water.

"I think not, Dear Whistler. Now, what do you say we cuddle and spoon?"

King pat the free side of his bed for her to climb in and lay down beside him but Abby just stared at him, trying not to crack a smile.

"I'm not that crazy, nor am I stupid enough to get into that bed with you."

He pouted, and still she wouldn't budge.

"C'mon, I'll paint your toenails!"

Abby threw him a sidelong glance and couldn't suppress the tiny laugh that escaped her throat. To show her that he was being completely serious, he leaned over and retrieved a small phial of nail polish from his bedside drawer. Abby needed to do a double take. He actually had nail polish? Okay, now she really didn't want to know.

"I hope you don't mind black, but I save my slut-red for my more personal dates…"

King then unhooked one of her legs from its Indian style position and straightened it out to begin his artistry. Abby sat still half in shock that he was actually painting her toenails and half because she didn't want to get black lacquer all over her foot. After a moment of silence between them, King decided to perk things up a bit he cleared his throat and began chatting with her in a fake girly voice.

"So….Like what's up with you and that sexy beast you're always walking around with? He's really hot."

Abby shook her head, giggling, and decided to play along.

"I don't know, I 'm more for the shy, un-abrasive type. He's just a big brute with a lot of muscle."

King scoffs and rolls his eyes, pretending to toss his imaginary long hair over his shoulder.

"Girl, I would so fuck him. Y'all should hook up."

Boy was he digging himself into a deep hole. Keeping an eye on her toes, she was presently surprised to find that King had the ability to retain it inside the lines. She found this whole situation more amusing by the second, so she continued to push his buttons.

"Nah…I think Caulder's more my type."

King's mouth gaped open in disbelief. His whole body went slack for a moment and he forgot about the girly façade he was trying to keep. Instead, his deep voice returned in a full whine, making him look utterly pitiful and juvenile.

"But Abby, you can hardly understand what he's saying half the time! And let's face it, even though he tries, nobody can pull off a beard like I can"

She reluctantly shook her head in agreement.

"You're right; I have to give credit where credit is due. King, no one will ever be able to top your facial grooming skills."

He beamed at her and screwed the cap back onto the nail polish, signaling that he was done. Abby admired her freshly painted toes by wiggling them back and forth. King tried to tickle the soles of her feet, but to no avail. He forgot that she wasn't sensitive there. Momentarily, his hand grazed up the side of her calf, feeling how impossibly smooth it was and he nearly shivered in delight. His imagination began to run wild. It had been so very long since he had a nice pair of legs wrapped around him and he was thinking of how orgasmic it would feel to be in the clutches of this particular pair. Yeah…Whistler had nice legs indeed.

"Umm King… Do you mind?"

Snapping out of his fantasy, King realized he was stroking her calve absentmindedly and he partner was staring at him completely confused and highly uncomfortable.

Sorry Abby, it s been a while for me ya know…"

He waggled his eyebrows at her and smiled while showing the tip of his tongue. She jerked her leg away from him, horrified, while he just chuckled at her. She stood up quickly and berated him with her eyes.

I'm going to go back downstairs. I have a lot of work to do and I think Dash may be back with the new car."

King pouted playfully, knowing that she was just trying to leave the room.

"Love em' and leave em huh?"

Abby let her head tilt back and she sighed at his dramatics. King pushed himself off of the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her his best 'bedroom eyes.'

"Come back if you get lonely."

God, he has no morals! She just headed towards the doorway until his voice unexpectedly stopped her again.

"Oh and Whistler…"

She turned around and raised an expectant brow. King leaned casually against the doorframe, one crutch under his arm, with a smirk set pretentiously on his face

"The next time you want a show…just knock and I'll be sure to give you a private one."

He winked at her and hobbled back to the bed. Abby was shocked. He had caught her! And the little scoundrel was proud of himself too. With her cheeks hot with shame, she turned and wordlessly walked out of the room.