I glanced up to see Landon smiling at me. I owed him big time, and he knew it. I had no idea why he was helping me escape my prison sentence, but I truly appreciated it.
The rest of the day seemed to drag by now that I had something to look forward to. I went out a little bit early to finish my chores, and then I hurried to the house, so I could shower and change. After I showered, I blow-dried and straightened my hair, and then I applied my usual makeup. I hadn’t bothered with my hair or makeup since I’d arrived here, so it felt good to look like a girl again.
I walked back to my room and pulled on my favorite pair of Converse shoes, black skinny jeans, and a band T-shirt. God, it feels so good to be me again. I started digging through my purse to find my wallet. I sighed when I saw how much money was inside. Hopefully, New Martinsville had a clothing store for broke people like me.
I glanced at the clock in my room before walking down the stairs. Landon had told me that he’d pick me up outside right at six. I had a few minutes to wait, so I walked into the kitchen to talk to Gram.
She glanced up and smiled when she saw me. “Hey, sweetie. You look great.”
“Thanks. I feel a lot better. I feel like me again.”
“You’re always you, regardless of what you wear or how you do your hair.” My grandma smiled at me. “I have something for you.”
I raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she walked to her purse. My eyes widened when I saw her pull out a wad of cash.
“Take this with you, and get what you need.” She grinned at me. “And have some fun while you’re out. Get something to eat, watch a movie, whatever you want. You’ve been doing great here, and we’re both proud of you even if Caleb won’t admit it.”
“Thanks, Gram. I’ll bring back what I don’t use, I promise.” I took the cash and shoved it into my purse.
“Don’t even worry about it. Go enjoy yourself with Landon. Just make sure you’re home before your grandfather wakes up.”
I laughed. “I doubt Landon and I will be pulling an all-nighter.”
It was Gram’s turn to raise her eyebrows, but she said nothing else. I had no idea what that look was supposed to mean, and I didn’t think I really wanted to know. I walked out of the kitchen and out the door. I saw Landon sitting in a really big silver truck. I wasn’t even sure how the hell I was going to get in it.
I opened the door to see him grinning at me. “Hey.”
“Hey. Need help?” he asked as he watched me eyeball the seat.
“Nah, I’ve got it.” I grabbed the door handle and the seat as I scrambled up into the truck. “Good Lord, this thing is huge.”
Landon laughed. “My mom and dad bought it for me a couple of years ago. I saved up until I could afford a lift kit, and then my friend Johnny and I put it on.”
I shook my head. “You’re a strange one, Cowboy.”
“Nah. It’s a guy thing. We all like big toys with powerful engines.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say.”
We were both silent as he started the truck and drove away from the house. I still felt awkward about the other day, and I didn’t want him to bring it up.
“Where do you want to go first?” Landon asked as he pulled out onto the main road.
“Um…wherever I can get some clothes for cheap. Gram gave me some cash so that we could get something to eat or whatever while we’re out, too.”
“Cool. There’s this awesome Mexican place if you want to eat there.”
“Mexican sounds pretty good right about now.”
“Great. We’ll stop by Walmart, so you can get some clothes, and then we can go to this small shoe store that sells really sturdy boots.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
We were almost to New Martinsville before either of us spoke again. I was too busy trying not to get sick from the winding roads.
“Why are you being so quiet?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just tired.”
It was the truth—kind of. I also was trying to avoid conversation in hopes that things wouldn’t get awkward again.
“Whatever. Even when you’re tired, you never shut up.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Are you trying to tell me that I talk too much?”
“Nah. If you talked too much, I’d just put duct tape over your mouth.”
“At least you’re honest,” I grumbled.
“Seriously though, are you sure nothing is wrong?”
“I’m sure,” I said as we pulled into the Walmart parking lot.
I opened the door and jumped down as soon as he parked.
God, this truck needs to come with a ladder for short people like me.
Landon was right behind me as I weaved around people in the parking lot. Once we were inside, I grabbed a shopping cart and started walking toward the clothes.
I glanced back to see that Landon was still following me. “You can go shop or whatever it is guys do in stores.”
“I don’t need anything.”
“Well, go look.”
He laughed. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I am.” I needed to get a few sports bras, and I did not want him around when I was looking through them.
“Not going to happen. My luck, you’ll run out the front door and hitchhike all the way home.”
“I’m not going to run off, I swear. Please just go.”
“Nope.”
“Ugh. Fine, whatever.” He can just stand in the bra section with me and look like an ass. See if I care.
I ignored him as I started searching for new jeans. I found a few pairs and threw them in the cart, not bothering to try them on. I headed for the shirts next and found a few tank tops and T-shirts to wear. The whole time, Landon stayed right with me.
I didn’t look back at him as I walked over to the bras. I needed a few sports bras to wear while I was working. My boobs were always in the way when I was trying to do my chores. I walked through the first aisle, ignoring the pretty bras, and headed straight for the sports bras. I stopped in front of them and started looking for my size. I found a couple and pulled them off the rack. Turning to Landon, I grinned. I wanted to embarrass him.
“Which color do you like?” I asked, pretending to care what he said.
The smile slipped from my face when I saw his expression. His eyes darkened as he stared at me, and I stood there, frozen.
“I like them all.” His voice was gruff as he looked away from me.
I turned and threw them in the cart, refusing to look back at him. Landon needed to take my advice and stay far away from me. Nothing could come of us, and he needed to realize that. I hurried to the front of the store and got in line. It seemed like forever before it was finally my turn to check out. As soon as the lady finished ringing me up, I paid and all but ran from the store and Landon, which was stupid since he had to unlock the truck.
I tapped my foot impatiently until he finally caught up and unlocked the door for me. I ignored him as he helped me throw my bags in the backseat. After pushing my cart to the cart drop-off, I walked back to the truck.
Landon was waiting on the passenger side. “I figured you might need some help getting in since you’re vertically challenged and all.”
He grinned at me, and I relaxed when I saw his eyes were no longer darkened.
“Thanks.” I smiled. “And really? Vertically challenged? Like I haven’t heard that one before.”
My heart stopped when he grabbed my bottom and helped me climb into the truck. His hand lingered there until I was up on the seat. I had no idea what to think about him touching me like that or the way it made my body tingle.
Landon closed my door and walked to his side of the truck. I stayed silent as he got in and backed out of the parking spot.
“The boot place is right down the road. We’ll get you a pair and then grab some food. I’m starving.”
He seemed to be ignoring what had just happened, so I decided I would do the same.
I rolled my eyes at myself. I was being ridiculous. Landon had helped me, and I was turning something innocent into something that wasn’t. I needed to get over myself.
It only took a few minutes to get to the shoe store. I let Landon lead the way as we walked inside. He took me straight to an aisle of work boots.
“I’d get something steel-toed, just in case. You never know what we’re going to get into.”
I nodded as I grabbed a pair and tried them on. They felt heavy, but they were a lot better than those stupid rubber boots I’d been wearing every day. I shoved them back in the box and walked to the front of the store. The cashier gave me a strange look, but she said nothing as she rang me up. I couldn’t blame her. I stuck out like crazy around here. Apparently, no one in West Virginia had ever heard of hair dye or piercings.
The Mexican restaurant was packed when we arrived. After waiting a few minutes for a table, the hostess led us back to a booth. I picked up the menu and started looking through it. Our waitress appeared a few seconds later.
“Landon! I haven’t seen you in a while!” she said as she gave him the brightest smile I’d ever seen. If she kept smiling like that, I might need sunglasses.
“Hey, Shelly. How have you been?” His voice was polite, but I could tell that he was annoyed.
“I’m good. Just working and stuff. I tried calling you a few times, but you never called me back.”
I smirked at him over my menu. He’d ignored her, and now, he had to pretend to be nice. The nice guy in him wouldn’t let him do anything else.
“Sorry. I’ve just been busy lately.”
I didn’t miss the look he gave me.
Shelly glanced over at me. “Who’s this?”
I almost laughed at the jealousy in her voice. “I’m City.”
Landon snorted but said nothing.
“City?” Shelly asked. “That’s an…interesting name.”
“Landon picked it out.”
I watched as she tried to hide her confusion. I really shouldn’t get this much enjoyment out of tormenting Landon’s friend or whatever she is, but I am.
“Can I get a sweet tea?” Landon finally asked.
“Um…yeah, sure.” She turned to me. “What do you want?”
“Coke is fine.”
“Great. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your drinks.” She walked away, glancing at Landon over her shoulder as she went.
“Shoot me now,” Landon said.
“Old girlfriend?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She wishes. I’ve tried to be nice about it, but she won’t leave me alone.”
“So, tell her that. Don’t torture the poor girl.”
“I know. I just don’t want to hurt her feelings. I was hoping she’d take the hint when I didn’t call her back.”
“She likes you, so that means that she will only see what she wants to see. You’ve got to be blunt.”
“I don’t know.”
“Trust me on this. I’m a girl. I know how our brains work.”
“You seem to know what you want out of a relationship. Are you sure it’s everything you’re thinking it is? Or are you like Shelly?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused by the sudden change in topic.
“You said girls see what they want unless the guy spells it out for them. Is that how you are? Are you seeing things differently than your boyfriend?”
“I…” I started but stopped. I had no clue how to respond to that. “Fuck off, Landon.”
He smirked. “I didn’t mean to piss you off. I just wondered if you’d thought about that.”
“I know exactly where I stand when it comes to Joel and my relationship with him.”
At least, I’d thought so until I came here. After a week of silence from him, I was starting to wonder though. Surely, he’d read my messages, so I didn’t know why he wasn’t responding.
“Then, why does it look like I just kicked you in the stomach?” Landon asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Tell me something.”
“Okay…”
“What were you like before you got with him? Did you look like this? Were you such a hard-ass?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been with Joel for a while. I’ve spent most of that time growing up and realizing who I want to be. Did I look or act like this before him? No, but that doesn’t mean he made me do it.”
“Were you selling drugs before him? Or using them?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was using them?”
“Using and selling go hand in hand. We both know it.”
“I don’t use anything heavy. And no, I didn’t sell or use before him.”
“I didn’t think so. Just think about what you just said—you’ve changed everything about yourself since you got with him.”
“Look, Joel is a good guy. Does he have faults? Sure. We all do. But I love him, faults and all. He takes care of me, and he makes me feel loved.”
This conversation was going in a direction that I didn’t even want to think about.
“Are you guys ready to order?” Shelly asked as she appeared beside us.
I could have kissed her for interrupting us.
Landon and I both placed our orders, and Shelly left. I stared at the table, unable to look him in the eye.
How dare he try to put doubt in my mind.
I barely knew him, and he had no right to screw with my emotions like this. I was still me. I’d never changed who I was.
“Look, City, I’m really sorry if I upset you. I didn’t mean to, I swear. I just…I like you. I think you’re a good person under all the attitude. I don’t want you to screw up your whole life for a drug dealer who might possibly be using you.”
“You don’t even know me, Landon.”
“But I’d like to. Every time I try to talk to you, you shut me out. You’re allowed to have guy friends, Lexi.”
“I do have guy friends. Maybe I just don’t want to be friends with you.”
He sighed. “Look, let’s just pretend the past fifteen minutes didn’t happen, okay?”
“Fine by me.”
The only problem was that I couldn’t ignore the fact that Landon had been right—at least on part of what he’d said. I’d changed myself when I started hanging around Joel. It scared me to think that I might not be who I’d thought I was and that maybe my relationship with Joel wasn’t what I’d thought it was either.
I was afraid that the rest of our dinner would be awkward, but it wasn’t. Landon wouldn’t let things stay awkward. After he picked on me for a few minutes, I finally relaxed and started joking with him. Landon was easy to talk to when things didn’t get too deep.
I almost choked on my drink when I realized that I considered Landon a friend. I couldn’t remember the last friend I’d made who wasn’t friends with Joel first. Regardless of the way my thoughts were spinning, I knew I liked Landon. There was just something about him that wouldn’t let me ignore him.
“Do you want to go home? Or should we do something else?” Landon asked when we were walking to his truck.
“Do you really have to ask that?”
“Good point. What do you want to do?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Gram said there was a movie theater here. We could watch a movie or something.”
“I haven’t been to the movies in months. Sounds like a plan.”
The theater was located in a plaza only a few minutes away from the restaurant. I hadn’t expected a huge theater like we had back home, and I didn’t get one.
“What do you want to watch?” Landon asked as we stared at the movie listings.
“Um…let’s watch the zombie one.”
He laughed. “Why did I even ask? Of course the emo chick wants to watch people get eaten.”
I stuck my tongue out as we walked to the counter to buy our tickets. Landon tried to pay for both of us, but I refused. I didn’t want him to think
of this as a date. Both of us passed on the popcorn since we’d already eaten, but we did grab drinks.
The theater was as small on the inside as I’d expected, but it was clean. We walked to our theater and climbed to the top row of seats. I was surprised to see that only a few other people were here.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“This is how it usually is. We’re not a big city.”
“Oh.”
I sipped my drink as the lights dimmed, and the previews started playing. With only a few other people, the theater felt intimate. I didn’t like that feeling. I shook my head and turned my attention away from the fact that Landon was only inches away from me in the dark room as I looked back to the screen. I needed to stop worrying about Landon.
I relaxed back into my seat as the previews disappeared, and the movie started. I loved zombie movies, and I couldn’t wait to spend the next two hours of my life watching zombies eat people.
Ten minutes later, I was cowering in my seat. Dear God, I hadn’t expected this when I decided to watch this movie. The effects were amazing, and it seemed like someone was dying every two seconds.
“You okay?” Landon whispered in my ear.
I jumped—again. “Yeah, I’m great,” I mumbled, unwilling to admit that I was terrified.
“Sure you are. Come here.” He raised the armrest between us and pulled me tight against him.
My body went rigid at the contact. “I’m fine.”
“Relax, okay? I’m not going to try to do dirty things to you in the back of a movie theater.” He paused for a second. “Unless you want me to.”
“Shut up and watch the movie.”
I could feel his body shaking with laughter, but I ignored it. I was too busy over-processing the fact that he had his arm around me with his body tight against mine.
I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t let any guy, except for Joel, touch me.
“Please relax. You’re like a board,” Landon whispered into my ear again.
I shivered as I felt his breath tickle my ear, but I forced my body to relax. Landon settled back into his seat and pulled me tighter against him. Again. I tried to pay attention to the movie playing in front of me, but all I could focus on was the way his body felt against mine and how good he smelled.
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