Page 101 of Fear of Love
How had two months already passed? How had I fallen for him so quickly? The answers came before I even asked the questions. I fell for Landon long before ever admitting it to myself.
By the time I pulled up to Josie’s building, I was on the verge of crying. The elevator ride felt like it took ages as I blinked away the tears. My chest felt like it was caving in under the weight of it all.
The moment Josie opened her door, I lost the battle of keeping my emotions in.
“I messed up, Jo,” I cried, tears falling down my face.
“Oh, Lyd.” She tugged me through the door and into a hug. I was beyond caring how pathetic I looked as I clung to Josie.
“Oh, sweetie.” I felt two more sets of hands rubbing my back. I didn’t have to look to know Tasha and Mila were here as well. I wasn’t surprised. Josie probably texted them an SOS after I said I was coming. The first red flag was probably me leaving work at two o’clock in the afternoon.
“I’ll get us some wine,” Tasha said before heading for the kitchen while Josie, Mila, and I made our way into the living room. Wyatt stood off to the side, eyes darting between us like he wasn’t sure what to do.
I would have laughed at his expression if I didn’t see the similarities he shared with his brother. Instead, it just made fresh tears roll down my cheeks.
Josie shot him a look. “Babe, it’s girl time.”
“I’m just gonna…” He jerked his thumb toward the door. Within seconds, he had his jacket and keys in hand before he left. Once he was gone, I took a seat on the couch, Mila taking my purse and putting it off to the side.
“Want to tell us what happened?” Mila asked softly, rubbing my back as I used my left hand to wipe my face. Tasha appeared with four empty wine glasses in hand, a full bottle tucked under her arm.
They all crowded around me, offering silent support. They handed me a glass and filled it while I tried to decide where to start. There was so much to say but all I could think about was them hating me for keeping it from them.
“Lydia,” Josie prodded gently.
The words slipped out. “I’m in love with Landon.”
All three of them were silent. Their eyes wide but not looking as surprised as I thought they would. I waited for them to say something.
“That’s…” Mila started, only to pause.
“Okay…” Tasha gave a small nod, also not sure what to say.
“Want to start from the beginning?” Josie offered, looking confused as to why I was so upset.
“For the past two months, Landon and I have been hanging out.”
“Hanging out as in…” Tasha prodded.
“Hooking up,” I said quietly. I wanted for them to show their upset, or at least be surprised, but instead, they seemed… happy?
“Why aren’t you guys freaking out?” I questioned, looking at each of them. They really weren’t surprised?
“Oh, hun.” Mila squeezed my knee. “You guys aren’t as sly as you think. At the hockey game, you two were basically eye fucking each other. Landon barely looked away from you.”
“And at the after party, both youandLandon suddenly disappeared. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” Tasha sent me a sympathetic look.
I shouldn’t have been surprised they figured it out. I mean, we had a whole group chat-Bang Bet Club-dedicated to betting on Tasha and Trevor, so of course they were onto me. Every time I made up an excuse, they knew I was lying and with Landon.
“Why aren’t you guys mad?”
“Why would we be?” Josie looked at me with raised eyebrows. “We’ve been waiting for you two to get together for two years now.”
“You’ve both had this love-hate relationship going since you met,” Tasha pointed out.
“Is that why you’re upset? Because you didn’t tell us?” Mila asked.
“No. I mean, it’s part of it.” My gaze went back to my untouched wine, tears once again pricking my eyes. “I think I lost him.”
