Page 14 of If the Summer Lasted Forever
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I set a single finger over Landon’s lips, alerting him to be quiet, and then I take his hand and creep from the bale, farther into the darkened corner.
There’s more straw here, stacked up three high, but next to the wall, there’s a gap with just enough room for two people to sit in reasonable comfort.
Gia’s whispered voice fills the hayloft, and then Thomas’s joins her. I tense, and the warm, languid feeling fades and is replaced with dead, impartial irritation.
“He’s doing it on purpose to get a rise out of you,” Landon whispers, his lips next to my ear so Gia and Thomas won’t overhear.
Then he wraps his arms around my middle and tugs my back against his chest, holding me tightly.
The move is comforting. The spark between us has faded to a companionable simmer.
“Ignore them. We’ll sneak out as soon as we can. ”
I close my eyes and lean into him, trying to pretend we’re alone again.
Suddenly, the music comes to an abrupt stop. I hear several raised voices, one of which I’m positive is Misty’s.
“What’s going on out there?” I hear Gia ask Thomas. He’s just answering when the overhead lights flip on, washing the barn in a harsh fluorescent glow.
I shrink further into our straw-bale-surrounded cubby. Beside me, Landon does the same. We’re mostly hidden, even in the light, but we don’t dare move.
The old ladder creaks and groans as Misty climbs up it, muttering under her breath.
“Gia,” she says, her voice hard. I can almost picture her with her hands on her hips and a hard scowl on her softly wrinkled face. “Just what do you think the two of you are doing up here in the dark?”
Gia, obviously nervous, lets out a sharp giggle.
“Go on,” Misty says. “Party’s over.”
Landon and I stay still and hidden as the three leave the hayloft. Their footsteps echo as they walk across the wooden floor below, and then it’s silent.
“We should probably get going too,” Landon says, inadvertently whispering the words across the back of my neck.
I shiver. “Yeah.”
He stands and helps me to my feet. We manage to sneak from the barn without anyone noticing and slip into Landon’s Suburban just as the last few stragglers are leaving.
Landon’s quiet, but so am I.
I wonder if some part of him feels guilty for kissing me.
Maybe he feels like he cheated on the girl he’s not with anymore.
Part of me feels guilty as well, but not because of Thomas.
No—it’s not that. It’s because I can feel my convictions slipping away.
My protective walls are crumbling, letting Landon in.
And as good as it feels right now, it’s dangerous.
When you care, you open yourself up to pain.
Most of the time, I think it’s better to keep your distance.
It might be lonely, but at least it’s safe.
Landon parks next to my Jeep and turns off the key. He stares out the front window and drums his fingers over the wheel a few times before he turns to me. Like him, I’m still in my seat, not wanting to leave…but not sure I should stay.
He doesn’t say anything. He just sits there, studying me with his eyebrows slightly drawn together and his lips pressed into a thin line. And, oh, those lips.
I need to say something, diffuse the situation. The air feels so charged, I’m surprised it’s not sizzling.
Looking away, I unclip my seatbelt. “Well, I think that went all right, all things considered.”
“It did,” he agrees.
I give him a big, flirty smile. “And I suppose we’ve concluded we don’t necessarily need to practice…our…um…”
A smirk plays at the corner of Landon’s mouth as I flounder to finish the sentence.
“Chemistry?” he offers, his expression perfectly serious except for a hint of a devilish smile.
“Yeah. That.”
Unable to stand the tension any longer, I open my door and step into the night.
Landon does the same, and just as I’m softly shutting the door, he rounds the front and steps into my space.
“But it might have been a fluke,” he says in an impartial voice that makes it seem as if our daydream-inducing kiss was nothing more than a science experiment.
I impulsively step back. “What?”
He cocks his head to the side. “The chemistry.”
My mouth goes dry.
“We should probably test it again—just to be sure.” He takes another step in.
I find myself nodding. Yes, test it. Of course we must.
He shifts like he’s going to pull me into his arms. “We’ll have to try it again soon, just to be sure.” His voice is a velvet caress, and I feel myself slipping.
Just when I think soon might mean now , he steps back. “Night, Lacey.”
I blink several times and then stand a bit straighter. “Right…night. You too.”
He follows me as I turn to walk to the back porch. I set my hand on the doorknob, reluctant to leave just yet. Landon waits until I open the door before he jogs down the steps. “See you tomorrow. Maybe we can grab a pizza? I still haven’t tried the place in town.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a bit dazed.
Standing halfway inside the door, I watch him drive around the front of the house and don’t go inside until the crunch of the gravel fades.
“How was your date?” Mom asks when I step into the living room. She and Uncle Mark are on the couch, watching a movie.
Not a date. We might have held hands, kissed, and ended the night with him walking me to the door…but it wasn’t a date.
Mark pauses the movie so I can answer. He and Mom turn their eyes on me, both too attentive. I know they’re trying to show interest in my life, but it’s awkward.
“It was fine.” I sit on the arm of the chair next to the couch.
“You’re home early.”
“The party got a little wild, and Misty shut it down.”
Mom narrows her eyes. “How wild?”
“I didn’t drink or do drugs if that’s what you’re asking.”
Appeased, she nods.
“Good job, kiddo,” Uncle Mark says and then offers to restart the movie so we all can watch.
I decline and start for my bedroom, but before I’m out the door, Mom says, “You’re okay, right? You had fun with Landon?”
My heart twinges because I’m more than okay, and I had a little too much fun.
I like Landon. Like, really like him.
Which is probably bad.