Tonight We Fall

By Pippa Glencoe, Alexandra Gearing and Elektra Knight

Three stories, two best friends, one night.

A single night can change everything, even for people who have known—and loved—each other for years. Whether it's the childhood friend you don't speak to anymore, the colleague you always wait for at the coffee machine, or the friend who's always supported you in a thousand little ways, one moment… one word, one look, one encounter on a cold, lonely night… can turn everything you thought you knew on its head.

Because maybe your best friend is that person. The person. Your person.

...And maybe they have been all along.

Follow our friends and find out exactly what a difference one night can make.

Tonight We Fall is a charity anthology, with all proceeds from its sales benefiting Beyond Blue (Australia), RAINN (U.S.), and The Trevor Project (U.S.).

Tonight We Fall includes the following stories:

 

A Love for the Ages by Alexandra Gearing

 

When she arrives at her best friend's house, Janie expects to find Luke's birthday party in full swing. It is a big milestone, after all. Instead, she finds him sitting in a quiet house, and definitely not in any mood to celebrate. Janie is determined to brighten his night, but as unresolved feelings and secrets emerge between the two friends, it becomes clear that things between them are different than what either of them had ever expected—or dared to hope. An age gap romance.

State of the Art by Elektra Knight

 

Lex has cultivated the nail-and-bail method to an art. But when a night with his family blows up in his face, meaningless sex simply doesn't cut it. No, the only company he craves is his best friend, Everett. But as the night goes on, it becomes clear that there are unresolved issues between them, and Lex is forced to face exactly what Everett means to him.

Basic Training by Pippa Glencoe

 

The last person Riley expects to run into when she's out to dinner with her family is her estranged best friend, Evan. But there he is, in all his glory, home from basic training for Christmas. Suddenly, Riley has one chance to make things right between them before he's gone again… this time, maybe forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pippa Glencoe
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201079604

Pippa Glencoe

Pippa Glencoe is a writer, editor, and recovering wedding photographer. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, she now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, daughter, and “ferocious” pit bull, who tries every single day to murder her with kisses. When she isn’t writing, she’s dreaming about it. And when she isn’t dreaming, she’s scheming. 

In the Pines is her first novel.

Book preview

Tonight We FallTitle Page

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Tonight We Fall 

Anthology copyright © 2021 by Alexandra Gearing, Elektra Knight, and Pippa Glencoe

A Love for the Ages copyright © 2021 by Alexandra Gearing

State of the Art copyright © 2021 by Elektra Knight

Basic Training copyright © 2021 by Pippa Glencoe

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. 

First edition December 2021

Cover Design by Kari March (Kari March Designs)

www.karimarch.com

Illustration copyright © Andrea Quijada 

www.instagram.com/andretries

Contents

Introduction

A Love for the Ages

Alexandra Gearing

State of the Art

Elektra Knight

Basic Training

Pippa Glencoe

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Also by Pippa Glencoe

To you, our friends—new, old, near, far, past, and present

Introduction

Tonight We Fall is a celebration of friendship.

As writers, it was a labor of love among three longtime friends embarking on a journey of self-discovery and collaboration together. By supporting each other through the process of writing and independently publishing a book, we were able to create a place where we could be free to be ourselves and where we could dare to believe in the worth of our voices and vision. After all, friendship is, in all its forms, a powerful, transformative love. It is the love of a true friend that elevates us and makes us better and braver people and, in our case, better and braver writers. 

We hope our anthology of friends who fall in love puts a smile on your face and that you feel some of the love that we share for each other radiate from its pages.

Thank you for reading and for your support of Beyond Blue, RAINN, and The Trevor Project. 

A Love for the Ages

Alexandra Gearing

Happy birthday, old man! Janie says with a jubilant grin.

The screen door swings open, and her best friend’s broad and towering figure stands quietly, shadowed by the dim porch light. His gaze meets hers with a tight-lipped smile, and she’s surprised to see him wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and his ratty old soccer jersey with his last name Rhodes printed across the front.

The party invitation said to dress casually, but she didn’t expect it to be this laid-back.

Sorry I’m late, she says, smoothing back a few loose strands of her brown hair. I just finished work, so I didn’t have time to go home and change.

Did everything go okay?

Yeah. I dropped off all the deliveries as scheduled. No thanks to Mr. Jerk Boss.

He raises his brow and moves aside to let her through. I don’t know how you can put up with that demanding asshole every day.

He has his moments, she says, stepping over the threshold. She’s immediately greeted with a welcome rise in temperature and shrugs out of her favorite coat that has seen better days, hanging it on her usual hook by the front door.

Her best friend’s house has always been a sanctuary. A second home where she could be herself and not have to worry about her latest family drama. A place where the two of them spend most of their weekends together, either watching old comedy movies from the 80s and 90s or baking up a storm while catching up on the latest gossip floating around their small-town of Leafside.

Janie takes the lead and heads towards the open plan living area, hoping to get a drink. But it’s then she takes notice of the unexpected silence engulfing the house. There’s no music, no laughter, no animated conversations between guests—there’s nothing. In fact, the whole place is dim and eerily quiet, except for the sound of wood crackling in the corner fireplace. Her friend’s heavy footsteps come up behind her, adding to the strange ambience.

Luke. What happened to the party? It’s only nine thirty. Did people leave already?

I cancelled it, he says with a shrug. I just had dinner with my sister and her boyfriend. They left not that long ago.

Hang on, she says, looking around and wondering if there’s been a mistake. Your sister was throwing you a birthday party. She told me about it a few weeks ago.

I told her this morning that I changed my mind and wasn’t in the mood for a party. She said she would let everybody know. You didn’t get a text?

She gives him a ludicrous look. You know I rarely check my phone. She would have had better luck skywriting the message to me.

Luke snorts and walks past her to sit down on the huge sunken lounge that takes up half the living room.

I don’t understand… it’s a birthday milestone. We should be celebrating. She sits down next to him and runs a hand over the soft fabric of the lounge cushion. She’s always been envious of this gorgeous piece of furniture. Anytime you lay down, it’s like your body is safely floating amongst the clouds, making it almost impossible to leave. On the nights it’s too late to drive home, Luke often argues with her to stay and sleep on the lounge. It’s only on those rare occasions that she happily gives in and lets him have his way.

Janie, it’s not a big deal. It’s just another day, he says and turns to meet her gaze, but his small smile doesn’t reach his eyes. After a moment, he leans towards the coffee table and picks up a tall bottle with no label and takes a sizeable swig of the liquid inside. He swallows with a grimace.

Her eyes widen. Luke’s not a heavy drinker, and she knows he hates the taste of hard liquor, preferring to stick to beer, so she doesn’t know why he’s drinking something that smells so pungent and assaulting to the senses.

Leaning back, she takes in his appearance more closely. Something is going on and she berates herself for not noticing it sooner. They’ve been friends for three years, and she knows this type of behaviour is out of character for him; he’s never been one to dress in sweats, drink hard liquor, and mope around like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. Normally he’s so easygoing and confident, radiating a warmth that can brighten anyone’s day. It’s one thing Janie loves about him, because no matter how much her mother drives her crazy or how far she can get stuck in the dark and depressing recesses of her own mind, he’s always able to dig her out, place her on solid ground, and draw her back to the light.

What’s going on?

Nothing. Everything’s fine, he says, waving away her concern. I just told Emily I’d prefer a quiet family dinner at home.

Janie purses her lips. Hmm, and let me guess, you made your own birthday dinner?

Even under the orange hue and dancing shadows bobbing around the room, Luke’s cheeks turn noticeably pink, and he looks down, determined to avoid her disapproving gaze. I prefer my cooking, anyway. The only thing my younger sister can make is grilled cheese sandwiches and microwave noodles. And don’t even get me started on her boyfriend. He doesn’t even know how to make toast without burning it.

Janie’s not convinced of his explanation, but she doesn’t want to start an argument. At least not today, on his birthday. Okay, well, if that’s all it is, then.

It is and I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me, he says and reaches out to grasp her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She feels an instant spark ignite in the centre of her palm, but she ignores it. This is not the first time her body has experienced a visceral reaction to him whenever he innocently offers her affection. And it won’t be the last.

I’m glad you still came over, he says, and his mouth curls into the first genuine smile of the night.

Where else would I be? she laughs, pulling her hand away to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She tilts her head towards the bottle. A quarter percent has gone. Where did you get the liquor from? It smells like it should be illegal.

That would be a birthday present from Nick, or according to my sister, my future brother-in-law.

"What? But they’ve only been dating for five months!"

That’s what I said, amongst other things, but she kindly reminded me I’m her older brother, not her father, and that I need to butt out of her life.

Janie winces. That’s not fair. You raised her on your own since she was twelve years old.

Yeah, I won’t lie. What she said hurt. But deep down, I know she’s right. I’m not her father and she’s a grown woman, and I need to stop acting like an overprotective big brother and let her get on with her life. Even if that means making mistakes with that idiot.

What does Nick do again? I’ve only met him a few times.

You’re looking at his career, Luke says, shaking the bottle in his hands. Apparently, he makes his own moonshine and then sells it on the black market. But shh, don’t tell anyone, he deadpans.

Janie snorts and leans forward to take a whiff. Immediately, she starts to cough. Oh, my god. That’s terrible. How can you drink that?

He smirks. I killed all my tastebuds by the time I was twenty-two.

Ugh. It smells like poison. I’m surprised it hasn’t stripped your insides out and made your eyes bleed.

Well, if that happens, it will fit well with my mood.

She watches him put the bottle down. I’m sorry you’re not enjoying your birthday. But maybe my present will cheer you up.

She reaches for her handbag that’s sitting by her feet and digs through it until she finds a small plain-looking envelope. It had taken weeks to figure out what to get him for his birthday, as he’s always so thoughtful. Last year he had bought her a vintage leather watch with an old-world map on the face. It looked almost identical to the one her father had when she was a little girl. After he died, she had kept it in her jewellery box for safekeeping, until her mother stole it and pawned it off so her boyfriend of the month could pay off his drug dealer. Still devastated, she had told Luke one night over pizza and cheap beer. She couldn’t believe he had remembered. Besides her father, no one has ever cared for her that much. So, the pressure was on to find the perfect gift to celebrate her best friend’s fortieth birthday.

Alright, pass it over. What did you get me?

She hands it over with a grin.

Well, it’s not the pony I asked for, he teases.

Just open it.

He rips open the envelope and pulls out a colorful handmade card. A folded-up piece of paper falls to the floor, but he doesn’t notice because his eyes are fixated on the drawing in front of him. The picture is of an elderly man who appears to be Luke, sitting in a rocking chair with an orange cat curled up in his lap.

Janie giggles in amusement. Did I capture you okay? It took me a while to get the pepper color hair right. Which I think you’ll totally rock, by the way. She turns her head to study his reaction, and what she sees is not what she was expecting.

Luke–

It’s funny. But he’s not laughing. Instead, he looks like she’s kicked him.

Luke, I… I meant nothing by it. You were only joking the other day about your age and how you’ll need to invest in a rocking chair soon, so I thought I’d draw it.

I know. I’m sorry, just ignore me, he says, dropping the drawing onto the coffee table. It’s a great picture; you’re so talented.

Janie watches on as he stares down at the ground, putting his head in his hands.

FUCK!

She jumps, startled by his outburst. Okay, what’s going on with you? And don’t say you’re fine.

Luke lifts his head, exhaling a large puff of air. You’ll think it’s stupid.

No, I won’t.

They sit for a few moments, him staring into space and contemplating. The sound of firewood crackling does nothing to soothe her anxiety, and when she thinks he won’t open up, he speaks, his voice coming out hoarse and broken. "I hate that I’m forty."

His confession surprises her, as he’s never seemed worried about getting older. So she’s not sure what to say and instead makes light of the situation. Rhodes, is this you having a midlife crisis? Should I worry you’re going to go out tomorrow and buy a Ferrari and cruise around with some blonde in a bikini?

He scoffs and rubs his eyes. "I’m being serious. Look at me. I’m a forty-year-old man who’s achieved nothing! Not to mention, I have to wear a guard for my fucked-up knee every time the weather