Page 54 of Protected Promise

“I’m only teasing, gorgeous. What would you like?”

She surprised me further by directing me to a fast food joint we passed en route between campus and the hotel, and then truly shocked me when she ordered a forty piece chicken nuggets and a large fry. I doubled the order.

She didn’t even wait until we got back to the room. As soon as I handed her the food she dug into the fries.

“Mmm. Is there anything greater than fresh hot salty fries?”

Her moan stirred me, making it uncomfortable to drive. I couldn’t get us back to that hotel fast enough.

Kaitlyn

Chapter 15

My anxiety was spiking from being alone with Landon. My mind was flooded with old memories and fears. I knew I was just overthinking things, but I didn’t know how to stop the downward spiral into darkness.

I had been excited and ready right up until the door had shut, locking us in the small confines of the hotel room and then Landon had excused himself and gone to the bathroom. That short span of time completely alone had been my undoing.

“Kaitlyn, what’s wrong?” Landon asked when he came out of the bathroom.

He ran to my side and started talking in a soothing tone as he rubbed my back.

“Just breathe, baby. I’m here. You’re safe.”

His touch helped a lot. My body shivered and started to relax involuntarily.

“In and out. Just breathe. That’s my girl.”

It was a while before I could really speak.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“To do that?”

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Tobi’s prone to panic attacks. I’ve been talking her down my whole life. Wanna tell me what triggered it?”

I shook my head.

“Was it being alone with me?”

I hung my head in shame, neither confirming nor denying his suspicions. Instead of getting mad, he just pulled me closer to him and held me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Don’t be,” he said sweetly. “We have a lifetime to figure this all out.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“I know. But when you’re ready.”

I didn’t know how to express to him just how much that meant to me. It was so stupid. We’d just had sex the night before. I prayed this nightmare wouldn’t haunt me forever.

“How about a movie?” he suggested.

“Okay, what do you want to watch?”

“I’m easy to please. I just like movies.”