“Oh, my God, Landon. They haven’t even touched it.”
“Scary, right? After I left for Cali, my mother was devastated. It was as if preserving this room was the only thing keeping me alive, keeping me as her son. It actually makes me sad.”
“It shows how much they really love you.”
I wandered over to a picture collage on the wall that featured, among other things, wallet-sized photos of high school friends and a couple of prom pictures. I leaned in closer to examine one of them. Landon looked so clean-cut in his vest and bowtie. My…how things had changed.
I ran my finger along one of the photos. “You and Kelsie.”
“I forgot about these. I should’ve taken them down.”
“It’s okay. I’m not the jealous monster I was when we first met. At least, I’m trying not to be. But I do envy her for getting to go to the prom with you. I never went to prom at all, let alone with Landon Roderick.”
He stood behind me, placing his hand on my shoulders as I continued gazing at his high school memories. “You wouldn’t have wanted me then. I was on the cusp of a self-destructive implosion. I look at that naïve kid now, and it’s like looking at a stranger. He had a lot to learn and a lot of fucking up to do before he became me. The man I am today is who you belong with.”
I turned around to face him. “I’m so lucky that I found you when I did. I suppose maybe if I hadn’t moved, something might have happened between us or worse, I would’ve had to watch you with Kelsie. Either way, I would’ve lost you to California. That was inevitable.”
“It’s funny how the things that we once looked at as tragic are exactly what needed to happen, in retrospect.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that we wouldn’t be together right now if I hadn’t left, if my father hadn’t made that rash decision to pack up and move.”
“Crazy, right?” His hands slid down my back as he squeezed my ass and grunted. “I can’t wait to fuck you in my old bed later.”
“There’s something really naughty about that.”
“I will tell you this…the boy in that picture would’ve died of a heart attack if he’d ever known then that he would be bringing a girl with tits and ass as obscenely gorgeous as yours back to this room someday.”
“And he certainly would’ve had a heart attack if he knew those tits and ass belonged to Rana Banana.”
“Without a freaking doubt.”
He lowered his face to my breasts and licked through the fabric of my dress, circling his tongue over my nipple and leaving a wet spot that made me yearn for more.
After Landon reluctantly stopped, he said, “Alright…I can’t get too carried away yet. We haven’t finished the tour.” He put his hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go look around a little more.”
On our way into the living room, I accidentally bumped into a small end table, causing a vase to fall and shatter to the ground.
“Shit, Landon! Your mother’s going to kill me.”
“Nah. She won’t care. She doesn’t even live here anymore.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Landon’s face turned red. “Welcome home, Rana.”
“Huh?”
“This is our house now. I bought it from them.”
My eyes practically bugged out of my head. “You…what?”
“My parents had been thinking about retiring down in Florida for a while. They finally decided to go for it.”
“I didn’t think your parents were old enough to retire. How did I not know about any of this?”
“They were in their early forties when they adopted me, so yeah, it’s time. They plan to spend half the year down there and then summers back up here. They got a small apartment down the road to hold onto for when they come back. They just left yesterday for Naples. This house was too much upkeep for them, and they were looking to unload it anyway. So, I jumped on the opportunity, told them I was interested in buying it. You didn’t know any of this because I wanted to surprise you. Clearly, it worked. You look shocked.”
Looking around, I stammered, “I…I am.”
“I figured it’s still close enough to your dad and Lilith. I would’ve never bitten the bullet on it otherwise. They left all their furniture and stuff behind, but of course you can decorate it to your own taste.”
“Are you sure we can afford to live here?”
“They own it outright, so they’re not in any rush for the money, but I insisted on giving them a down payment, which I’ve already done. They gave me a good deal, though. The mortgage is not that much more than what we pay in rent. We set up a monthly payment plan, so they’re not getting screwed. It’s a good feeling to know that we’re not dealing with a bank. We wouldn’t lose the house if the truck ever went under. I wouldn’t want to ever put us in that kind of a position.”