“But I’m sure you’re probably wondering…” When I lost my words, he completed my thought.
“Wondering where your nose is?” He chuckled. “I think it’s pretty obvious what happened there.”
“Yeah. I know it’s obvious. I just meant you might be wondering why I—”
“No, actually, I’m not. I’m too damn happy to see you right now to care about anything else. And you need a hot shower and some food in you. Let’s go inside. Leave your anxiety at the door. I’ll take good care of you.” Taking my hand, he led me toward the entrance.
“Aren’t I supposed to be taking care of you?” I asked as I followed him inside.
“No. The doctors said I’m going to be fine. I just need to take Advil and to be careful not to get into any more accidents involving my skull for a while, since the concussion made it vulnerable. So, no crazy shit for a few weeks, and you’ll have to refrain from throwing anything at me while you’re here. I’ll try not to provoke you.” He winked.
“I’m so thankful you’re okay.”
“Me, too—especially now that you’re here. It would’ve sucked to have missed this.” He gestured around. “Anyway, welcome to my humble abode. It’s not fancy, but that’s what you get in exchange for living near the beach.”
Landon’s place was nice. It was small but with an open floor plan and a decent view of the water.
When he brought me into his bedroom, he was showing me the view from his window, but all I could do was stare at him when he wasn’t looking. He suddenly turned to me and seemed to catch me gawking. I must have turned red or something because he could apparently sense my nerves.
“Relax. I don’t bite.” He approached and placed his hands on my shoulders, and I felt it in my core. “It’s just me. Don’t be nervous.”
That’s the problem. It’s you, Landon. And I don’t trust myself.
Was I nervous? Sure. But it certainly wasn’t because I was scared he’d try anything. If anything, I was caught off guard by how much my body wanted to succumb to every desire within it at the moment, especially when he touched me; how much I became intoxicated by his smell; how much I wanted to run my tongue along his full bottom lip. But it was evident that Landon was being careful. He was taking things slowly.
“I feel safe here. My nerves aren’t about any kind of apprehension. It’s more of a nervous excitement, one I’m not used to feeling.”
“Well, good, then.” He grinned. “You like breakfast for dinner?”
“Yes.”
Nudging his head, he said, “Follow me.”
“It’s practically morning anyway,” I said, taking his hand as he led me to the kitchen.
Landon ended up making us a delicious batch of cinnamon French toast before setting me up with a hot shower.
It intrigued me that Landon had high-end Anna Sui shower gel in his bathroom. That made me wonder if a woman had given it to him, or if she’d left it here. I tried to shake the idea out of my mind.
When I finished bathing, I wrapped myself in a towel and peeked out of the bathroom.
“Do you have something I can wear?”
He yelled from the living room, “I left some clothes on the floor outside the door. Those will have to do for now. Tomorrow we’ll go out and buy you some stuff.”
Sure enough, there was a pile of items folded on the ground right by my feet.
“Thank you,” I hollered, picking them up.
Returning to the steam-filled bathroom, I put on the black, vintage Def Leppard T-shirt and baggy, black drawstring shorts. The shirt was roomy, so I decided to tie the bottom into a knot just above my navel to make it appear more feminine.
After I ventured out of the bathroom, I found Landon in his room. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking out the sliding glass door that led to his balcony.
“I feel homeless,” I said.
“Well, you’d be the most beautiful homeless person I’ve ever seen, then.” He glanced down to my stomach, noticing that I’d rolled up my shirt. He stared at my bellybutton. “You have a navel ring. I didn’t notice it earlier.”
“My skirt was covering it before.”
“I love it.”
Landon walked toward me. The sexual tension in the air was thick as he brushed his fingertip against my belly ring. I couldn’t even describe what that one little touch was doing to my body.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I got it pierced around the time I started dancing.” Landon wore one small, black stud in his right earlobe, and I’d noticed earlier that his tongue was also pierced. Finding the latter extremely sexy, I said, “I love your tongue ring. Is that your only piercing besides your ear?”
He cocked a grin and rubbed his chin, looking uncertain of whether to answer my question. “No. I have another.”
“Where?”
The smile on his face said it all. “Not some place I can show you right now.”
I suddenly felt hot. “Oh.”
He lifted his brow, looking amused at my slightly embarrassed reaction. “You asked.”
“I did.”
He grabbed my hair playfully, apparently finding my embarrassment cute.
“Do you happen to have a hairbrush?” I asked.
Scratching his head, he said, “Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
He returned with one and caught me off guard when instead of handing it over, he walked behind me and began to brush through my wet hair. I closed my eyes and cherished the feeling of his warm body at my back, his hands tugging at my long locks while he gently ran the brush through my strands. And of course—as anyone with a pulse would be—I was still thinking about his pierced cock.
“I don’t remember your hair being this dark when we were kids,” he said. “It’s so black…gorgeous.”
“Yeah. It’s natural—at least I can say that for some things, right?”
He ignored my attempt at self-ridicule, not dignifying it with a response.
I felt his soothing words against my neck. “How long can you stay?”
Answering honestly, I said, “I don’t know.”
He stopped brushing and ran his hand down the length of my hair, stopping just short of my ass. His touch was electrifying.
“Was your job okay with you leaving to come here?”
“I have no clue. I just told them I had a family emergency and left.”
“You’d better call them tomorrow for peace of mind, but just know if for any reason they give you trouble, I’ve got your back. I’ll make sure you can pay your rent.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“You couldn’t even afford the plane ticket to get here. It’s clear you need that job. And if you sacrificed it to come see me, then I’m gonna make damn well sure you’re taken care of.”
Not knowing what else to say, I simply whispered, “Thank you.”
Landon walked over to his dresser. There was a bunch of elastics tied together in a giant ball. He took one off and placed it in his mouth, pulling it between his teeth. That was oddly sexy for some reason.
He came up behind me again and gathered my hair into a low ponytail, fastening the band around it. His hand lingered before he let go. My body craved the return of his touch. Having his hands on me was quickly becoming my favorite thing.
I turned around to face him. Our eyes locked for several seconds. It was a little unnerving how badly I wanted him to touch me again. But he didn’t.
“You take my bed,” he finally said. “Tomorrow we’ll have breakfast on the beach. Then, we can have that talk.”
“You don’t have to work tomorrow?”
“Mel’s taking care of the truck. I’m officially on sick leave for as long as you’re here.”
“Can you do that?”
“I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want.” He headed toward the door. “I’m gonna let you get some sleep. It’s morning already in Michigan.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be hitting the hay soon, too.”
> “Okay. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Rana.” He tapped on the door twice then disappeared.
As I lay in Landon’s bed, swimming in his intoxicating, masculine smell, I realized I was listening to the actual sounds of the ocean. No machine…the real deal.
Lately when I couldn’t sleep back home, I would venture over to my closet and read one of Landon’s old notes. Tonight, I walked over to his window instead. I looked down.
Landon was standing outside, smoking a cigarette. I admired his gorgeous stature and the way his ass molded perfectly into his black cargo pants. This scene wasn’t exactly the way I’d pictured it from afar. In my imagination, the water was a bit closer when in actuality, I could see it in the distance. But this was pretty darn cool.
It hit me: my greatest fantasy—being in California with Landon—had become a reality. It was scary and exciting at the same time, particularly because I had no clue what tomorrow would bring.
SPLIT
A delicious aroma filled the air as I stretched my arms out. It wasn’t a dream after all. I was still really here in California with Landon.
The bright sunlight poured into his bedroom window, and I smiled, once again cognizant of the fact that this was indeed really happening.
Landon didn’t see me standing behind him as he cooked at the stove. A fresh pot of coffee was brewing on the counter. The toaster dinged. Island in the Sun by Weezer was playing on his phone, and he whistled as he multi-tasked.
He was wearing a baseball cap backwards, had no shirt on, and his underwear was peeking through the tops of his jeans. I took a moment to just marvel at the contours of his muscular back. My nipples hardened against his T-shirt that I was still wearing.
I cleared my throat, so he’d know I was there.
He turned around, spatula in hand. “Hey! How’d you sleep?”
“Like a baby once I finally dozed off.”
“Good.” He grabbed a mug and poured me some coffee. “How do you take it?”
Even a simple question like that sent my aroused mind into a tizzy.
“How do you take it?” Why did everything sound seductive all of a sudden?
“Just cream.”
“Milk okay? I’ll buy some cream later now that I know you like it.”
“Milk is great.”
My fingers brushed against his as he handed me the steaming mug. Even that little bit of contact sent chills through me.
“Thank you.”
His eyes lingered on mine before he walked away and returned to the counter. Landon seemed a bit on edge, and I couldn’t figure out why. Insecurity was creeping in, trying to have me convinced that his slightly off behavior had something to do with disappointment in me.
He spoke with his back turned to me. “I’m just gonna wrap these breakfast burritos while they’re warm, and we’ll take them down to the beach.”
There was a slight morning chill in the air as we quietly strolled down toward the water. Landon had poured more coffee into two tumblers, and we carried the foil-wrapped burritos.
We picked a spot and sat down next to each other on the thin, fleece blanket he’d brought. Surrounded by seagulls and eating in silence, we gazed out toward the ocean.
When we finished breakfast, Landon took my leftover foil and threw it in a bag he’d brought for garbage. With no food left to distract us, I turned to him and asked the question that had been bugging me.
“Are you okay?”
He took my hand and looped his fingers through mine. “I’m really good, yeah.”
“You’re being very quiet. I was just wondering what was on your mind.”
“I do have a lot on my mind—namely you. To be honest, I’m finding…I’m not really sure how to act around you.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked out toward the water to gather his thoughts then said, “I’m still adjusting to you being here in the flesh. I think I wasn’t as prepared for it as I thought I’d be. I don’t know how to handle my attraction to you, because I feel like…it might make you uncomfortable. So, I’m trying to hold back from letting it show, and I don’t really know how to do that. Because what I’m feeling…it’s pretty intense. You’re stunning. I want to just stare at you, but I know you have a major hang-up about your looks. To be perfectly honest, I want to do more than just stare at you. But I know if I fuck this up, you’ll run right back to Michigan before I even have a chance to spend any time with you.”
I hated that I’d made him feel like he needed to walk on eggshells around me. The truth was, I’d been petrified to show him what I’d done. But now that I was actually here, that didn’t matter as much anymore.
“I was ashamed to show you what I’d done to my face and body.”
“Why? It’s not like they messed up. You’re fucking perfect.”
“I know. They did a great job. Tiny, pinned-up nose. Perfectly round breasts. Shayla and I always had the same big, green eyes but everything else was different. I basically made it so that I look just like my mother, and I haven’t stopped beating myself up about it. There was nothing wrong with me before, Landon. But I somehow believed there was, that she left because I wasn’t good enough, that I needed to look more like her to be worth something in life. I can’t bear to look at myself sometimes.”
“The money your grandparents gave you…now it makes sense. You used it for the plastic surgery.”
“Yep. They gave me money for school, and I ran away with it as soon as I turned eighteen. Went to see a doctor in Detroit and got my nose and boobs done. Laser hair removal, too. I stayed in a cheap motel for months. What kind of a person takes their grandparents’ money and does that?”
“Someone who’s disillusioned and lost. But you were young. I’m sure they’ve forgiven you now.”
“They have, but I don’t think they should’ve.”
“We’ve all made mistakes, Rana. You have to forgive yourself. You have to accept what you did. You also have to accept that people are going to look at you and find you fucking beautiful, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Own it.”
“I’ve been terrified about showing you, because I knew the way you would look at me.”
“Would it make you feel better if I lied and told you I didn’t want you, that I thought you were hideous?”
“No. I do like that you’re attracted to me. The reality is, it makes me feel great and terrible at the same time.”
He looked up at the sky then back at me. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful, okay? I remember your face from back then like it was yesterday, and I will never forget it. You fascinated me, because I remember feeling like you looked different than most girls but not in a bad way. I loved your big nose and those bushy brows. But I love this nose, too. I love both your faces. That’s probably because I would love any package you came in.”
The chill from the ocean had nothing on the warmth I was feeling inside of me in that moment. His words had truly touched me. No one had ever made me feel so beautiful inside and out.
“I’ve always thought you were beautiful, too, Landon. And I’m really happy to be here with you.”
He gently rubbed his thumb along mine. “Please, stay a little while.”
There was no way I could leave him right now.
I nodded. “Okay.”
With renewed energy, he pulled me up off of the sand. “Let’s take you shopping.”
We spent the rest of the morning out getting me necessities like underwear, a bra, and a few outfits.
Somehow, all of this time, we’d never discussed what kind of car he had. So, I was surprised to find that despite his modest apartment, Landon drove a really nice slate-colored Range Rover Sport. When I asked him how he could have afforded it, he explained that he’d been saving up for years. Also, the lunch truck did pretty well. He’d taken out a loan to start his business and was able to pay that off within two years. Now, the food truck revenue covered his car payment and other bill
s while also allowing him to employ Melanie and put a little extra away.
In the afternoon, Landon insisted on taking me to a small boutique in Venice Beach that sold beach-casual clothing. He wanted me to pick out something cute to wear in case we went to this rooftop bar some of his friends would be hanging out at later.
I’d gone into the dressing room to try on a blue romper I’d selected. As was typical, it was snug around my ass and boobs while the waist fit perfectly. I wanted to get his opinion. After all, he was paying for it.
When I stepped out to the area where he was sitting, Landon was scrolling through his phone. He looked up when he noticed me, and his eyes lit up.
“You look really gorgeous in that.”
“You like it better than the last one?”
“I love it. Get it. Get them all.”
Just as I’d turned around to head back to the dressing room, my phone slipped out of my hands. When I bent down fast to grab it, the unthinkable happened.
The unthinkable.
The material over my ass split. At least, that’s what it sounded and felt like.
Oh, no.
Stay calm.
Maybe he didn’t notice.
The next thing I knew, Landon came up behind me, covering my body with his as he quickly ushered me to the dressing room.
Once inside, we stared at each other for a brief moment before simultaneously breaking out into hysterical laughter.
I wiped my eyes. “I can’t even look. How bad is it?”
“Bad is not how I would describe getting to see your ass for a split second—pun intended.”
“Thanks for coming to my rescue. I think I went into shock and just froze. Definitely didn’t want to be on display for all the store to see.”
He winked. “I’ve got you covered.”
“Literally.”
In the close confines of the small dressing room, there was no way to escape the sexual energy in the air. Our faces were close, and I was certain he was going to finally kiss me. My heart was pounding like crazy.
His eyes fell to my lips. “I’ll let you get dressed.” Then, he turned away.
Nothing.
Wow.