Page 27 of Until Landon
“Go shit in your hat!” Ronnie hollers back.
The sight of the Podesta house doesn’t bring back the dark mood I was in last time. Actually, being on the property makes me feel happy. Safe. Not just from freaky strangers, but safe in the bigger sense of the word. A person recognizes comfort when it surfaces.
I pull up and park, the front door opens, and Biscuit and Barney come running out. Inmates escaping a maximum prison with treats and tummy rubs. Their barks greet me and as soon as the car door opens they start reporting the news. Biscuit whines while Barney barks. The small dog’s one good eye is blinking furiously. I almost hear him sayingYou wouldn’t believe what’s been going on!
“Hello sweet babies! Oh it’s alright!”
I pet their shiny coats and give kisses. Landon walks out on the porch, looks to the heavens, and presses palms together in prayer. All parties involved vie for my attention.
I climb the stairs and offer a sympathetic smile.
“So it’s all going great, I take it.”
“Let’s just call it what it is. Dad is having a hard time and so am I. Even the dogs are thrown.”
“Oh, no. It will get better, I know it will.”
He takes me in a hug, but it is the man who needs it. Whatever way it is offered, is not to be missed. We linger in the moment. Then he whispers in my ear.
“Save me.”
That wasn’t a plea for help. There was tenderness between the words. It was intimate. Did he notice the planet moved? His breath on my ear was an aftershock. We part, but eyes stay locked.
“I’ll try.”
That is the titillating response I come up with. He grins, as if I had said something brilliant. A few beats later, he opens the screen door and pushes the dogs inside. Much to their displeasure. He takes my hands in his and reverts to the initial topic.
“I’m sorry to be bitching so much, but my father’s driving me crazy. Not because he’s demanding. It’s the attitude. And the dark mood isn’t like him. I have the bar, and these friggin dogs. There’s the property. Not to mention my own job and …”
I stop the rant with a kiss. Don’t know why, but it seemed like a good idea. He was the one who asked to be saved. It broke the cycle of his anxiety. And it holds. The anxious expression completely changes to pleasure. Taking my face in his strong hands he brings me close. We hover before the altar of desire.
Now it’s my turn to be schooled. Our lips come together in a kiss. Soft. At first barely touching lips. Daring each other’s desire to get what it wants. Then the moment when we take it all. There’s a storm inside that’s raging and I ride the wind.
When we part, his eyes say things I didn’t know I was waiting to hear. Are mine as easy to read? In this moment, there is a shift in my perception of the world. The green of the leaves seems brighter and the fluffy clouds are so close I could touch them. What is real?
CHAPTERSEVEN
Landon
The taste of her gets my pulse racing. A heart attack of another sort. Neither of us breaks the spell or makes a move. Faces inches apart, her lips still hold my gaze. Until I notice the rise and fall of her chest. It is hard to ignore. I settle on the eyes, and all I want is another kiss. No, I want more.
“Landon!Yourdog just pissed in the kitchen!”
My father’s report on Barney’s bladder problem bursts the bubble and aggravates my good mood.
“We better go inside,” I say, hoping for a rebuttal.
None comes. Thekissielooks as stunned as thekisser. I open the door and she passes in front of me. But as she does, a hand reaches back and touches mine.Zing.It is a pretty innocent gesture, but my cock becomes suddenly attentive. He interprets everything as a call to arms.
“Hi, Ronnie.”
“Hi.”
“I don’t have to ask what you’ve been up to.”
She goes to the couch and touches the shoulder of my father who holds court. The old TV tray next to him holds everything he might need. Glasses, water, cell phone. His left hand lands atop Kim’s, but eyes are on me.
“There’s piss over there by the island somewhere. I saw him lift his leg. And Biscuit may have stepped in it.”
