Page 38 of Only With You

“I told them I’d take you home. You don’t want to be here, and you told Gabby you weren’t sure you wanted to go to the party,” he explains.

That’s all he has to say for it to somehow make sense. I had no desire to go, but was only going for the girls.

“Now, let’s go, or I’m leaving you.”

11

JULIANNA

“Bloody hell.”Landon sucks in a breath, tipping his head back before angling it down to look at me. “I will drop you on your arse if you don’t stop.”

I dramatically gasp. “And here I thought you cared about me.”

“I don’t care half a fuck about you.”

I halt in my step. “You saidhalf, so that means there’s another half of you that does care about me. Oh my gosh, things are finally looking up. Landon Taylor cares half a fuck aboutme!” I laugh uncontrollably but stop when everything starts to spin and I stumble on my feet.

My heels scrape against the asphalt, and just when I think I’m going to fall on my ass, strong hands ground me and lift me up.

I blink a few times, hoping it’ll somehow help my double vision, but it does the opposite. And I think I’m hallucinating now, because Landon’s carrying me. One arm underneath my legs and the other at my back.

“What are you doing?” I flail my feet and make my body heavy, but he doesn’t stop or set me down.

He continues walking, his hands holding me firmly. “We’ll never make it up the stairs with you stumbling like that. So, for fuck’s sake, stop being difficult and let me help.”

If I had any strength left in me, I’d continue fighting him, but my energy is dwindling down by the second. I can feel the adrenaline of the alcohol wearing off, and now I’m feeling fatigued.

“Fine.” I yawn, lacing my arms around his shoulder and resting my head on it. “You know, you’re really quiet.”

“I wish you were, too,” he snipes.

“You’re so…” I lose my train of thought. My eyes flutter and another yawn tumbles out of my mouth. I contemplate finishing my thought, but my eyes grow heavy.

“We’re here.” His gruff words startle me, but I don’t fully wake until he drops me on something soft but firm.

I groan, taking in my surroundings, and realize we’re in my bedroom, and Landon’s standing in front of me, towering over me.

A slight smirk tugs on his lips and I think I see the indent on his cheek, but I’m not too sure. “You’re welcome.”

“You’re welcome? You threw me on the bed.”

He stares at me with indifference and shrugs lazily. “The landing was soft. Could’ve been worse, so you’re welcome.”

I contemplate whether he’s worth an argument, but a wave of dizziness traps me. Closing my eyes, I rest my elbows on my knees, cover my face with my palms, and wait until everything stops spinning.

As I do, I hear the soft pad of his footsteps walking away and when I take a peek, he’s gone.

“Oh, thank God,” I murmur, letting myself fall back on my bed, relishing the cool duvet under me.

“No, it’s‘Thank you, Landon.’”

I tense at his voice and peel my eyes open. Once again, he’s towering over me, but this time, he holds a water bottle.

“Here, you need to stay hydrated.” He uncaps the bottle and holds it out for me to take.

If this had been any other guy, I wouldn’t have touched the water, much less considered drinking it. But since that night, despite our differences, I do trust him.

He may be an asshole, but I can say with all certainty, he’s the kind of guy you can leave with your drink lying around and know it’ll be okay.

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