Page 81 of Landon & Shay: Part Two

He sat it down on the table, and Matt turned to look my way. “So, let’s say a customer walks into the store, and you’re having a bad day. Say there’s an iced latte in front of you. What do you do with said iced latte?”

My stomach dropped and my face heated up as Matt and the employee both began laughing at me. I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes as they laughed straight in my face, as if I weren’t a human anymore, yet just a stupid meme that was giving them a kick that afternoon.

I gathered my things, and stood to my feet, without offering them another word. When I made it to my car, I sat inside and drove away.

As I drove, I let the tears began to fall.

At least there was no paparazzi around to capture my pain this time around.

Landon was in town for a few more days, and when I texted him to see if I could come over to forget about my so-called-life for a while, he’d invited me over. In the past, when I felt any form of anxiety, I’d go for a run to help me relax. Yet, there was nothing better than having Landon undress me, and roam his hands all over my body. Each time he thrusted into me my mind went elsewhere, far away from my current problems. I lost myself in him, the same way he’d used to lose himself in me when we were younger.

An eye for an eye.

Weeks passed with our arrangement. He’d find himself in the neighborhood much more than he should’ve, but I didn’t argue it. If he was going to fly into town for a random fling, then I was all about it.

Each kiss felt like comfort, each orgasm rocked my world, and each day I kept reminding myself that it was strictly physical. I wouldn’t become attached to him again like I used to be.

It was purely sex.

It was really great, mind-blowing, make you curl your toes, kind of sex. But still, just sex.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Even if that small corner of my naïve heart wanted it to be something more.

26

Shay

“Doyou think we can take a break from talking about character arcs to talk about something different, Shay?” Karla asked, breaking me away from our current lesson plan. We’d been going on and on about what makes a character stand out in a manuscript, and ways to make each character realistic. A few of Karla’s characters were a little too perfect, so we were working to break them down.

Even heroes had their own set of flaws.

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“Well.” Her cheeks heated up and she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s kind about boys.”

“Ohh.” I swooned. “Tell me more.”

“There’s this boy at school named Brian. He’s so hot. Like, so hot. He used to be my best friend, but after the accident, we’d stopped talking for a while. Recently he started talking to me again, and I want to tell him I like him, but I don’t know how to do it. Plus, I doubt he’ll like me back in that way. He’s pretty popular still, and I’m…well…not.”

I smiled at her as she sat there with rosy cheeks from her nerves. “On a scale of one to ten, how much do you like him?”

“Like a hundred.” She giggled. It was so nice seeing this side of Karla. A side that wasn’t so serious and heavy. A normal teenage crush.

“And he’s nice to you?”

“Oh yeah. He’s pretty much the only person at school who makes me not feel invisible.”

“That’s important. You want to be with a person who sees you and loves what he sees.”

“The other day, a few kids were bullying me, and Brian heard about it. Later that day, I found a piece of candy in my locker with a note that said, ‘I’m sorry people are dicks. Here’s a Snickers.’” She grinned cheek to cheek. “I knew it was from Brian, too. He’s nice like that.”

I smiled, thinking back to my high school days when I used to find gifts in my locker. Banana Laffy Taffys.

A flurry of butterflies shot through my stomach from the memory, but I did my best to push them away and focus solely on Karla’s situation. “Well, here’s the thing, Karla. Sometimes in life, you have to take a leap of faith. If you want to tell this boy you like him, then don’t be afraid to do so. Be brave and put yourself out there. If he isn’t interested that’s his loss. You’re a diamond, and he’d be lucky enough to get close to watch you shine.”

She lowered her head and combed her hair behind her ear. When she looked up to me, she was smiling and showcasing her beautiful scars. “Thanks, Shay.”

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