Magnolia Lake

by Emily Paige Skeen

  He looked confused, eying all his party guests. “Oh.” He snorted. “The short brunette?”

  I nodded.

  “That’s my little cousin,” he said. “Her family just moved to town. Mom made me invite her so she could make some friends.”

  It was ridiculous, but I felt relieved. “Your little cousin? How old is she?”

  “Fourteen goin’ on twenty.” He chuckled. “She looks older because she wears so much makeup.”

  “Hey, I know how it is. I remember being that age and wantin’ to look grown-up.”

  Our conversation was cut short by the sound of the front door of the house closing. “I wonder who that is,” Landon remarked. “Everybody I invited’s already here. Better go see.”

  “Sure.”

  He stood and walked across the deck and through the French doors. “Be right back,” he called over his shoulder.

  Leaning back in my lounge chair, I observed the party. Most people were in the pool, but some had gone inside to dig into the snacks. Everybody seemed so content and happy that I couldn’t help but share in their enjoyment. At some point—I wasn’t sure exactly when—the sun had gone down. Must be around nine o’clock.

  During Georgia summers, even in early September, the days seemed to last forever. That’s what I loved about the South: warm summer evenings with a light breeze blowing through your hair, crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and a sky so clear you could see stars for miles and miles. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Even through the strong chlorine smell from the pool, I could catch the faint scent of honeysuckle and freshly cut grass. It was the most comfortable I’d felt in days.

  Suddenly, the sound of arguing interrupted my moment of peace. Landon’s angry words soared through the open patio door. “You got some nerve showin’ up here!” All activity in the pool stopped, and people looked around with confused expressions.

  “Come on, Landon! Just let me make an appearance.”

  My stomach twisted into knots, a thousand tiny fists pounding against my chest. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

  “I didn’t invite you, Lacy,” Landon spat. “You’re not welcome in my house after that stunt you pulled with Jeff.”

  “What? Why do you care? I thought you’d be happy with me for breaking up the perfect couple. Don’t you have some obsessive crush on Cora?”

  Landon lowered his voice enough that I couldn’t hear his response, but I was outraged. Did she really think it would be okay to come to this party? What was her motive? There was no doubt in my mind that she had one.

  I hadn’t seen her outside of school since her betrayal. She’d avoided me in the halls and had apparently dropped off the cheerleading squad. I decided I needed to give her a piece of my mind, and now was the perfect opportunity.

  I glanced at Val and Kayla, who were both frozen in place and staring wide-eyed at me. As soon as I so much as shifted my weight to stand, they were by my side.

  Kayla’s eyes scanned my face, searching for a sign of my reaction. “Where’re you goin’, Cora?”

  “What’re you gonna do? Are you goin’ in there?” Val asked, a hint of panic rising in her voice.

  “I can’t just sit out here, y’all. How would that look? She knows I’m here, and she’ll probably figure out that I know she’s here. I’m not gonna stand by and let Landon take Lacy on by himself. She obviously needs to be put in her place.” Even I was surprised by how calm I sounded. I spoke as if there was no question of what I should do, as if it was no big deal.

  Val nodded, lifting her chin. “Let’s go, then. We’ve got your back.”

  “Definitely,” Kayla added, even though I could tell by her face that she wasn’t as confident as Valerie. Kayla was somewhat soft-spoken and characteristically avoided confrontation.

  I nodded in response, and we stalked purposefully across the deck, through the patio door, and into the living room. Landon’s back was to us, but he turned as we approached. Lacy put one hand on her hip, but I noticed her snobby façade was a little shaken, probably because there were four of us and only one of her.

  We stopped just a few feet in front of her, me next to Landon with the girls falling into place on my other side. I linked my arm through his for emotional support, but I was sure she made her own conclusion about the gesture.

  “Landon’s right, Lacy.” My words dripped with disdain. “You really shouldn’t be here. First of all, you weren’t invited.” I shook my head. “Now that’s just rude, and I know your mama taught you better than that.”

  “Cut it out, Cora. I have just as much right to be here as you do.” She smirked. “After all, it’s a party. More my scene than yours.”

  My anger built up more and more by the second, but I was determined not to let it show. “Bless your heart!” I exclaimed, all sarcasm unleashed. “You really think you have a right to be here? Well, nobody wants you here. Especially not Landon. And since he’s the host and this is his house, I think that definitely takes away any ‘right’ you think you have in this situation.”

  Lacy blinked. She wasn’t accustomed to people standing up to her, and she certainly wasn’t used to being kicked out of a party. “And what situation is that? I don’t think this little get-together is the real issue here. Why don’t you just admit you’re mad because Jeff dumped you for me?” She grinned in triumph while I struggled to keep myself from choking her.

  Valerie chimed in then. “Shut up, Lacy! Seriously, nobody wants to be around you. And for your information, Jeff didn’t break up with Cora. She broke up with him…after she found you with your tongue in his mouth! Ya know, it takes a pretty bitter person to go after her friend’s guy.”

  Lacy took a step back. She obviously wasn’t expecting any lip from Val. Maybe she thought her actions only affected me, that our friends were neutral. “Kayla, do you feel this way, too?”

  “Of course I do,” Kayla replied, her tone softer and a little sad compared to Valerie’s. “What you did was wrong, Lacy. Cora was your friend. How could you hurt her like that?”

  Lacy huffed. “Whatever. I’m outa here. This party’s lame anyway.” She turned to leave, ignoring Kayla’s question.

  “Lacy, wait.” I unlatched my arm from Landon’s and took a step closer to her. “I will never forgive you, and neither will my friends. After all, they’re my friends. Not yours. And I don’t mean just Valerie and Kayla. I’m talkin’ about all the girls on the squad, too. I’m their captain, Lacy. They respect me. You, on the other hand, lost any respect they might’ve had for you the second you stabbed me in the back. So just in case you had any intentions of ever rejoinin’ us, I’d think twice if I were you.”

  I paused for effect, my blood boiling. “Oh, and have fun with Jeff. I saw him gettin’ friendly with some pretty little sophomore yesterday. Don’t think he won’t do the same thing to you that he did to me. Once a cheater, always a cheater.” I turned my back on her to face my loyal companions. Together, the girls and I walked back to the pool while Landon gave Lacy one last warning.

  “Don’t ever come around here again. And don’t even think about messin’ with Cora. I suggest you leave now,” he said.

  “Fine, I’m leavin’.” She stomped toward the front door, slamming it on her way out. A few seconds later, we heard her car crank and her tires peel out of the driveway.

  Plopping down on the same lounge chair Landon and I had shared earlier, I heaved a sigh of relief, emotionally exhausted.

  “She has some nerve,” Val remarked.

  I leaned against the cool plastic and rested my head on the back of the bright blue chair. “I know. I’m just glad it’s over and I made it through without cryin’ or screamin’. Or chokin’ her.”

  “You were awesome!” Kayla laughed. “I had no idea you had it in you. You’re always so nice to everybody.” She and Val sat down by my feet at the end of the chaise.

  I shrugged. “Everybody has a limit, and she hit mine the minute she decided to go after Jeff.�
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  Landon had made it back out to the pool deck and stood by the chaise. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I guess,” I looked at him, shaking my head. “I can’t believe she showed up here. But thanks for stickin’ up for me, Landon. It was really great what you did.”

  “It was nothin’,” he said. “What else could I have done?”

  “Well, you could’ve let her come out here and ruin my night. Most guys would just let it happen, try not to get involved.”

  He pinned me with an intense stare. “I’m not most guys. You should know that.” he replied in an almost-whisper. In that moment, it was like he and I were the only ones there. Everything else disappeared as I studied him.

  I hadn’t noticed before, but his body was exquisite. Not buff like Jeff’s, but toned and defined. I decided “chiseled” was the appropriate word. I couldn’t keep my eyes off his shirtless chest as the moonlight shone on his slightly damp skin. He picked up a lounge chair and moved it so that he could sit next to me. His triceps bulged slightly with the effort.

  Kayla cleared her throat, breaking my train of thought. I was relieved. It frightened me to wonder where that train could have been headed. “Um, I’m thirsty. Val, come with me to get some tea?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Valerie glancing back and forth between Landon and me as we sat staring at each other. I gave a slight, indecipherable shake of my head to clear my thoughts and then turned my attention to the girls.

  “Yeah, sure. I’m parched,” Val said. With that, they stood and hurried off to the kitchen, whispering and giggling the whole way.

  My eyes scanned the area around us. The kids who were still in the pool started getting out, drying off, and heading inside. There was suddenly a light chill in the air, nothing unbearable, but too cold for swimming.

  Landon stood up, and I assumed he was ready to go inside. I started to stand, too, but he put a hand on my shoulder. “I was wonderin’ if we could talk for a minute, Cora.”

  “Sure.” I tried to ignore the butterflies invading my stomach. I had a strong feeling that I wasn’t ready for what he had to say. He moved from his chair to the end of mine and took my hand in his.

  I opened my mouth to object, but he spoke first. “Please promise me you won’t say anything ‘til I’m done.” He rubbed his thumb back and forth over my hand, the same way he had the day he’d found me sobbing on the side of the road.

  “Landon, I don’t think—”

  “Just promise,” he interrupted.

  I closed my eyes and swallowed, leaning my head back on the hard plastic of the chaise again. “Okay. I promise.”

  I felt his fingers brush softly across my cheekbone and my eyes flew open. He’d said he wanted to talk, but now he just stared into my eyes, inching his face closer and closer to mine. My pulse quickened as his intentions suddenly hit me with the force of a million bricks. He was going to kiss me. Oh, no, I thought. Oh, no, no, no, no!

  Then our lips met. My head spun. I had no idea if I’d leaned into the kiss or not. He brushed his lips softly against mine once, then again with a little more force. He lingered the second time, and our mouths began moving in a perfect rhythm together. They created their own pulse, their own music.

  Thoughts screamed in my head. This can’t happen. I have to stop this! I broke free, pushing him gently away, and gasped.

  Landon opened his eyes and leaned back with a dazed expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I swallowed. “We can’t do this, Landon,” I said. “This is not good.”

  His face fell and he let go of my hand. “It wasn’t good? I mean, I know I’m not Jeff, but I thought it was pretty nice. You never used to complain and I—”

  “Landon!” I interrupted. “That’s not what I meant. We just…we can’t do this,” I repeated. “You’re one of my best friends. I don’t wanna mess that up. This would ruin everything. You mean so much to me as a friend, and I wanna keep it that way. You’ve been great this whole time with all the Jeff drama, and I want you to know I really appreciate it. But you and I both know we’re better off leavin’ out all the romantic stuff…” I hesitated, waiting for his reaction.

  When he didn’t respond, I continued rambling. “Besides that, well…what Jeff did really took a toll on me and…I guess I’m still not completely over it. There’s a huge hole in my heart that hasn’t started healin’ yet. I don’t wanna use you as a rebound, Landon. You’re too special for that. I need to spend this time focusin’ on myself, not gettin’ physical with a guy.”

  Landon looked at the ground, then back up at me, frowning. “Do you think that’s what this is about? The physical stuff?”

  I shrugged. “Isn’t it? Hasn’t it always been about that? We were great friends who decided to become great friends who occasionally made out. Right?” I asked matter-of-factly.

  What I found in his response confused me. His face hardened and his lips pursed into a tight line. “I guess so,” he said through gritted teeth, and then he stood and turned away from me.

  I jumped to my feet and caught his arm. “Landon, what? I didn’t mean anything bad…we both agreed we’re better as friends. Don’t think that I didn’t like being your girlfriend, because I did. I just thought…well, you’re the one who first decided we should go back to just bein’ friends.”

  He faced me, sighing. “I can’t believe you don’t see…after all this time…”

  I frowned, studying him. He was making no sense tonight. “I don’t see what?”

  “Nothin’, Cora,” he spat. “Sorry I brought it up. And I’m sorry about the kiss. I should’ve known better. It was wrong of me to try that so soon after you and Jeff broke up, anyway.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not mad. But what did you mean, I don’t see? What don’t I see, Landon?”

  He inhaled, obviously trying to calm himself. Then he smiled and ruffled my hair to show that the storm clouds had passed. “Don’t worry about it. Really, it’s nothin’. Guess I was just caught up in the moment, and you look so gorgeous tonight. You’re right, though. We were really just good friends that liked to make out sometimes. I was only tryin’ to refresh my memory.” He laughed. “Sorry again. Still friends?”

  I smiled back at him, glad he was no longer angry but still confused about what had just happened. “Of course, Landon. Forever.”

  Chapter Five

  I didn’t tell anybody about the kiss, not even Valerie. I needed time to sort the whole mess out. I kept remembering Landon’s words about me “not seeing” something. And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what he meant.

  I lay in bed the next few nights replaying the scene leading up to the kiss—avoiding the actual kiss as much as possible—and the conversation after it. Had I missed something he’d said? Maybe I’d misinterpreted his words or misread his expressions.

  Once I finally decided the scene playing out in my mind was exactly the way the incident had happened, I began thinking back on when Landon and I had dated. That was a little harder, since it’d been over two years. Still, I tried to remember every detail, every conversation. I especially wanted to recall our break-up. I thought about that moment a lot, but no matter how I tried to imagine it, I always came up with the same end result: Landon telling me we weren’t right together and there was no spark between us.

  I pondered this over and over. Night after night, I tossed and turned, trying my best to grasp the thing I couldn’t see. He was the one who ended things between us, and then he kisses me and gets mad when I turn him down? What on earth?

  Over the next few weeks, my life began to take on a new normal. I developed a new routine, trying my best to forget about the kiss and about Jeff. Afternoons were spent at cheerleading practice or hanging out with Landon, Valerie, Kayla, Troy, and Mike. When there was no game or other school function, we goofed off at the city park, which was walking distance from Davis High.

  I didn’t have much homework since I’d picked a light class load. Alth
ough Mama had been unhappy with my decision to take it easy, I needed a break from the advanced classes I’d taken my whole life. I wanted to have fun and cherish my last year of high school without struggling to keep up with my grades. And it had worked out. So far this year, I hardly needed to crack open a book.

  Most of my Saturdays were spent with Landon. We hung out in a shed his parents had built on the edge of the woods behind his house. He was working on building a miniature wooden boat for his younger brother’s birthday, so I watched him work and acted as his assistant, handing him tools when he asked for them and bugging him with questions.

  We talked about everything—almost. We never mentioned the pool-party kiss or the resulting conversation. I was relieved that we’d finally slipped back into our old friendship routine and that things were back to the way they used to be with us.

  The months flew by before I even had a chance to realize it. Christmas and New Year’s Eve were difficult, since I’d spent the last couple of holiday seasons with Jeff. But, somehow, I survived. I spent Christmas with my family, and Landon threw another party at his house for New Year’s. Then in February, Val and I had a no-boys-allowed Valentine’s Day dinner. Later that month, I got my acceptance letter to a liberal arts school in New York, where I was planning to study fashion design. All in all, things were looking up and my future seemed bright again.

  And then it was March.

  On the third Friday of the month—a teacher workday, so there was no school—something unexpected happened. I was tanning by the pool in the backyard when I heard the doorbell ring. My parents weren’t home, so I left my temporary paradise and entered the house through the open back door. Peeking through the living room window, I nearly gasped out loud. Standing right outside my house was a tall, gorgeous stranger.