All seems like it’s finally going right with the world. When my mom learned Jared was still couch surfing, she invited him to move in here, and he did. Of course, he talked it out with Landon first, and they seemed to make their peace when they finally came to a mutual understanding. They both want me to be happy. It doesn’t mean they don’t still give each other shit all the time, but at least it’s in good fun now.
By default, Carson is here all the time, too, since he and Jared got together. It only took two months of awkward tension before Carson finally worked up the courage to ask Jared out. They’d both had their hearts broken before, but looking at them now, I know they’re going to make it. They both got into San Diego State, and this summer, they’ll be leaving Black Mountain behind for the sunny state of California.
Meanwhile, Courtney has been over at my house every day for the last week, claiming she needs bestie time. I suspect it has more to do with the fact that Theo’s son, Miles, is finally home. After his honorable discharge from the military, he moved back in too. Now, Court is over here on a near-constant basis, staring at him as though he’s the main course at dinner.
“Would you quit drooling over him?” Jared steals the licorice dangling from her mouth and takes a bite for himself. “You’ve got saucers for eyes.”
“Oh, god,” she whines. “I can’t help it. Have you seen those abs?”
Miles glances over at her with a smirk. He’s wearing earbuds while he powers through his daily push-ups, but clearly, he can still hear through them. Court nearly faints. I’ve never seen her so tangled up in knots. Honestly, I think Miles will totally go for her, but I have a feeling he’s waiting until she graduates. Until then, I suspect we can all look forward to more of these awkward interactions.
My phone chirps, and sticky warmth floods my chest when I check it.* * *Landon: Come to the pool house.Me: You are so bossy.Landon: Be naked.Me: In your dreams, sailor.Landon: You’re always in my dreams.* * *“Ugh, you guys are going to give me a sugar coma.” Courtney rolls her eyes as I leap off the couch with a grin.
But I don’t care. I’m going to see Landon.
I throw on my boots and trudge across the crunchy lawn. It’s cold outside today, and it will give me the perfect excuse to wrap myself up in his warm body when I get to the pool house. My teeth are still chattering when I fling open the door and burst inside with a gust of cool air behind me.
“Brrr…” My mouth falls open.
There he is, in all his glory. Landon Blackwood’s magnificent body draped in a crisp white shirt and black trousers. It doesn’t matter if he’s in his football uniform or jeans and a hoodie. He always looks as hot as a billboard model in Times Square. But he knows I’m a sucker for him in these rule-the-empire outfits. It’s so not fair.
When he sees me, he smirks and lifts a white poster board, gripping it between his palms. There’s a message written in that artistic scrawl I’d recognize anywhere.
I hate everyone else.
Go to prom with me?A laugh bursts from my lips, and I’m already nodding a resounding yes as I kick off my boots and make a beeline toward him. He tosses the sign aside just in time to catch me, hoisting me up so I can squeeze his hips between my thighs.
“So this is what you’ve been up to all day?” I pepper his warm cheeks with cold-lipped kisses.
“Not just this,” he murmurs.
I follow his gaze to the two shoeboxes on the floor next to the gray lounger. It’s his favorite piece of furniture, I think. We’ve broken it in many times since he’s claimed me as his own.
“What are those?” I ask.
His response is to carry me to the lounger. He gives me one last lingering kiss, digging his palms into my ass and thrusting his hips against me before he sets me down. I’m miffed when he reaches down to adjust himself, clearly having no intention of giving me the package I really want.
He kneels in front of me, reaching for my left foot, frowning when he feels how cold it is. After he warms it up in his palms, he opens the first box, revealing the most beautiful pair of shimmering red heels I’ve ever seen. They are expensive and rare. Something I know because I added them to my Pinterest board when I was looking at ideas for prom. Landon must have been doing some research too, but that’s no surprise. He doesn’t half-ass anything.
He slips the heel onto my foot and glances up at me. “Yeah, I don’t know if I thought this through. Every guy at BMA is going to be staring at your legs in these.”