Page 44 of Landon & Shay: Part One

“What?” She snickered. “No, he’s not. Why would you say that?”

“Well, I’ve seen him bullying people. I’ve seen the way he talks down to them and judges them. I mean, he couldn’t even remember your name for the longest. I just want you to be careful, that’s all. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She tensed up completely, and I felt her energy shift. “What the hell, Shay? Why can’t you just be happy for me? You know these kinds of things don’t happen for me often.”

“I think you can do better, that’s all.”

“Well, history is telling me a different story. I can’t believe this is the way you’re acting, after all the times I had your back no matter what, especially with your new situation.”

“What situation?”

“Landon. If you want to talk about jerks, don’t you think you should start with him? And you’re the one falling for him.”

I huffed. “I’m not falling for Landon.”

“Yes, you are. I see the way you look at him in the hallways. You have no poker face.”

“Okay, but this has nothing to do with Reggie. I don’t think you know enough about him to be interested in dating him.”

“And what do you know about Landon other than the fact that he’s treated you like crap since elementary school?” she shot back, growing defensive.

I tossed my hands up. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. I’m being too protective.”

“Yeah, well, don’t. I know what I’m doing, and I’m happy, so don’t try to rain on my parade,” she scolded me, before turning away and walking off.

Later that afternoon, I saw Reggie all cuddled up with a sophomore girl.

Tracey was so far out of that jerk’s league, it was shocking, but she didn’t know it, which made the situation that much worse.

12

Landon

“How’s makingShay fall in love with you going, Land?” Raine asked as she lay on a pineapple-shaped floatie in my swimming pool. Raine had been Hank’s girlfriend for the past forever years, and she sometimes crashed my hangout days with the guys because she swore sunbathing at my house was the best. My pool got the best angles of the sunlight, she claimed, even though the sun didn’t actually come into the pool area—glass walls and all.

Whatever.

I didn’t mind Raine crashing guy time, because she was pretty much one of the guys, anyway. We even had a group nickname: The Fantastic Four (+Raine). She and Hank were glued to each other, and if it had been anyone else, I would’ve called their clinginess disgusting, but with them, it seemed more like a destiny thing.

I’d never seen two people more meant to be together. They were the kind of thing corny romantic comedies were modeled after.

“I don’t have to make Shay fall in love with me. I just have to get her to sleep with me, and she’ll think she’s in love,” I said, sitting back and reading one of the comic books Eric had brought with him. He’d recently gotten into collecting them because his dad had given him some as a birthday gift the year before, and ever since, it was his new favorite pastime. I figured it was because it gave him and his father something to bond over. I didn’t blame him for wanting that connection with his dad.

It was the same reason I drove down to Chicago to sift through paperwork for my dad’s law firm. It was my pathetic attempt to feel close to the guy who was a professional at keeping his distance. Driving to his firm was my attempt to close that gap between us.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, Landon, but you do,” Eric agreed. “Shay isn’t one to just sleep with someone without emotions attached to it. Emotion should be her middle name, actually.”

“I don’t know how to make people fall in love with me.” As far as I was concerned, I had been deemed unlovable a long time ago.

“Just let your walls down, Beast,” Raine shot my way. “And then Beauty will let you in. Open yourself up to her.”

Open myself up to Shay?

Doubtful.

I hardly opened myself up to Ham, and he couldn’t break my heart or tell my secrets even if he wanted to. Dogs were loyal even to jerks who didn’t deserve their devotion.

“Nah, not my style,” I told her. I looked over to Eric. “How did you get her to fall for you?”

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