Page 12 of The Secrets We Keep

“Damnit!” I yell as I hit my steering wheel. My car has been acting up lately. It’s nothing fancy, a Toyota Corolla. I leased it when I first ran to this city. I’m currently pulled off on the side of the road and by looking at the dash, my car is overheating… again. I call Landon, but it goes to voicemail.

“Hey babe, it’s me, listen I’m broke down again. I probably won’t make it home for dinner. Call me when you get this.”

I hang up frustrated. It’s going to take forever for the tow company to arrive. I call the tow company and give them my location. Yup, just as I figured about an hour before someone can come. I sit back and close my eyes. I start to have visions of that night. I try to think of Landon, but Chet takes over. His nasty hands, hot breath. It’s suffocating me.

“No Chet, stop please!”

As he continues his assault I hear the faint sound of ringing.

“Chet please stop!” More ringing in the distance... “Chet no!” I jerk awake suddenly and realize the ringing from my dream was my phone. I pick it up to see 2 missed calls and texts from Landon. I decide to give myself a minute to calm my breathing before calling him back. He answers on the first ring.

“Evie! Are you okay? Where are you stranded at?” Landon sounds panicked.

“It’s fine. Tow company is on the way. I’ll just be a while.”

“Okay, but you need to take the car in. Maybe it is time for an upgrade or something.” Landon suggests.

“That sounds like a good idea actually. I think I deserve something more.”

“You do babe. Do you want me to come car shopping with you?”

“Would you? You don’t mind? I hate going alone, salesmen can be vicious.”

Landon chuckles. “Of course I’ll go. Tomorrow we’ll try to plan a day to go.”

What a relief, car shopping is something I dread. I did it alone and ended up with a less than stellar deal on my lease. “Sounds good. I’ll call you when the tow company arrives.”

We say our goodbyes and I wait. And wait.

Finally nearly 2 hours later the tow company arrives and I’m headed for home.

It’s late when I finally make it to Landon’s. All I want is food, a shower, and bed. In that order. Landon greets me at the door as if he’s been keeping watch.

“Babe.” He pulls me in and wraps his strong arms around me. He smells so good and it awakens something in me. Maybe a little play between the sheets before bed I think to myself.

“I need food.”

“It’s ready and waiting.” Landon says as he closes the door.

Dinner was good. But the shower is better. I let the hot water wash down my back to help relax my muscles, letting it wash away the stress of the day. I could stand under the stream for hours, however it would put off sleep. I turn the dial off, grab a towel and dry off. When I come out of the bathroom, Landon is already in bed, sheets turned down. I love that he’s waiting for me. Did I just say the L word? Do I love him? Can I love him? I shake the thoughts and grab one of his shirts to put on. I climb into bed and turn towards him.

“Thank you for cleaning up so I could shower.”

“No problem.”

He kisses me on the nose and tells me to sleep. I close my eyes but find my hands roaming his chest, daring myself to reach lower. I make it to his joggers and snake my hand inside.

“Evie,” he says roughly.

I don’t say a word just keep moving my hand until it finds his cock. He’s hard. I never realized how thick he was. Of course I’ve never really stared at it because well, this is all new to me. I make a mental note to check this bad boy out next chance I get.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh…” I reply as I place a kiss on his lips. I start to move my hand and his comes down over mine.

“Have you ever done this before?”

“No.” I whisper. This is kind of embarrassing and I’m thankful the room is dark so he can’t see how flushed my face is.

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