For a second, I thought I had screwed up. I looked over at him and he looked quite interested, so I kept going. Slowly, I lifted my eyes to Landon's. He looked impressed with my singing and my lyrics. I felt flattered by his admiration, but something clicked in me. As he rested his head on his hand and hung on every word I sang, I realized that I was starting to fall for him. And he appeared to be doing the same with me. We had been the best of friends forever and I had never felt this way before. Maybe it was because we were older, maybe it was the last couple of days we spent together. Either way-I loved it. But what was I going to do about Preston?
Christmas Eve was tomorrow, meaning Landon was going to be spending Christmas with our family. I wondered what kind of fight went on at his place before that was decided on. I'm sure his family wanted him to go, too, but he hated flying. He had a bad experience with turbulence when he was younger and now he refused to fly anywhere.
"I wrote another nice song for my step-grandmother, Carolyn," I said. Grandpa Phillip had remarried a year after I was born, but she died of cancer two years ago. Everyone loved her, especially Dad, and we were devastated when she passed away.
"May I hear it?" Landon asked.
I hesitated; only my family had heard this song before. But now that Landon was becoming almost like family, I decided I would sing it for him.
"You actually wrote that?" Landon asked when I was finished.
"Yeah," I said, smiling, but somewhat embarrassed. "I honestly couldn't think of anything else."
"It's a nice song, Riley," Landon said. "So, it's the night before Christmas Eve. What do you want to do, then?"
I thought about a crazy idea I had, then smiled. A few minutes later we were tangled up on the living room floor and I reached over and spun the little arrow.
"I can't believe you talked me into playing Twister." Landon was surprised at himself.
"I can't believe it was so easy," I said, grinning. "Come on, your turn." I knew how competitive he was, so there was no way he was going to give up and let me win, even at such a ridiculously childish game. I watched him spin the arrow then try to reach around my arms to get to the circle he was looking for.
He may have been competitive, but his balance sucked! Landon wound up falling down, but since we were so tangled, he brought me down, too, right on top of him.
"Looks like I win!" I shouted, smiling at him.
"I don't know-second place seems to have a pretty nice reward," Landon said, provocatively.
"Landon," I said with a warning tone.
"What? I'm so-"
Without thinking, I leaned down and kissed him before he could say anything else. Damn his flirtation! Landon groaned and buried his hand in my hair gently. His tongue brushed my lips and I willingly opened them to the invasion. This wasn't fun to do with Preston, but with Landon-it was a whole other level of fun.
The hand that wasn't in my hair was running down my side and along the waistband of my pants. I only half focused on it, as it slid up under my shirt and found its way to my bra. I rolled onto my back now while Landon pulled away and launched an attack on my neck, causing a moan to escape my lips. My eyes closed and I allowed myself to enjoy the sensations stirring in my crotch. I made no attempt to stop him as his hand slid under my panties and brushed over the lips of my vagina. I bit my lip and nodded. He rubbed my clit, causing my vagina to become gushing wet.
"God, Riles, if we don't stop now, I won't be able to control myself," Landon said, lifting his head up slowly to look at me as I opened my eyes. "I would love to keep going, but I don't want to put you in that kind of position."
I looked at him lovingly and kissed him softly. We stood up and he excused himself to go to the bathroom. I felt somewhat sexually incomplete and my crotch was still stirring, but decided to go into the kitchen and work on dinner.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MY BACK HIT the bed and I was able to breathe for a second before Landon's lips recaptured mine. I moaned and worked on the buttons of his shirt. Damn him for dressing nicely for the party! I finally got his shirt off him and ran my hands over his taut chest and stomach.
I guess I should probably explain how we got into this position.
Well, it was Christmas Eve after dinner and we were at my uncle's house with a bunch of family friends. Aunt Shauna had phoned us and asked if we wanted to come over, since we were at home not really doing anything special. Bridgette was permitted to have her friends over for a little while, too. I was talking and laughing with Bridgette, Faith and Alice, while Landon was talking with a few guys across the room. Landon and I kept looking at each other with loving glances. The chemistry between us was obvious, or it was to our friends, at least.
"You are acting like a love struck boy band fan," Bridgette remarked. "Are you rekindling that crush from four years ago?"
"Umm, no, I think I might be past that."
"What about Preston?" Bridgette asked. I shook my head. Bridgette figured I didn't want to talk about it, so she changed the subject. It wasn't long before we went down to the rec room, turned on the music and started dancing. Landon and I didn't stay much longer after that because I don't think either of us actually wanted to. We snuck away from the rest of the group and I told my parents that I had a headache, so Landon was taking me home. Mom had given me a look as if she knew what was going on.
So, here we were on my bed, Landon down to his pants and me in my bra and skirt. He pulled away from kissing me and I tilted my head, giving him the chance to lean down and kiss my neck. I could feel one of his hands massaging my thigh, but my main focus was on his mouth, which was slowly working its way down my body. I hadn't even noticed until then that he had somehow managed to get my bra off and now...
God! All coherent thoughts were gone. That was one skilled tongue he had!
"Do you really wanna do this?" Landon asked. I looked at him for a long minute before I nodded.
"Mom made me go on the pill on my birthday," I said.
Landon nodded and kissed me again. I managed to wiggle my way out of my skirt and panties, while he removed his pants and boxers.
"This is gonna be a bit painful, Riley," Landon whispered.
Well, gosh, I knew that. I watched his face as he looked down, putting his smooth cock into me. I gasped when he penetrated me. I knew it was going to hurt, but I didn't think it would be like this. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt Landon press kisses all over my face. I began to move as the pain dulled, and he took that as his cue to start moving as well.
Once we got over that first hurdle, God, it was enjoyable. I could tell that Landon was holding back, probably out of fear of causing me further pain. He looked pretty concentrated and cautious. I decided that the slow pace he had wasn't working for me, so I moaned and wiggled and the pace increased. At that moment, sex was quickly becoming one of my favorite things. I wrapped my arms around Landon's neck and kissed him again.
Soon I lost track of time with the rhythms and motions of my first true sexual experience. After about half an hour, I could sense us falling asleep together, but I knew I'd wake up alone soon.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I jumped as Noah and Landon shouted at me.
My eyes flew open and I looked down at myself, hidden by a blanket. I could see straps from the tank top I wear to bed. Sitting up and casually glancing under the blanket, I could see my blue pajama pants with snowflakes. "Could you guys be any louder?" I asked.
"Mom told us to wake you up," Noah said. I looked at the clock. It was after ten. "Usually you're awake by now. You better get dressed because Grandpa's coming over."
I nodded and Noah left. Landon sat on the bed next to me.
"Well, I was here when you woke up, just not in the usual way," he said. I giggled. "At least I got you relatively clothed before I snuck back into Noah's room just before your parents got home."
"Wow, good timing!" I tilted my head as I looked at him carefully. He seemed to contemplating something. I leaned forward and kisse
d him softly. "I have to get dressed."
"Okay," Landon said, grinning.
"You can't be in here when I do it," I said.
"Oh fine, ruin my fun!" Landon complained. He kissed me again, got up and left the room.
I got dressed in a green tank top-in the spirit of Christmas-and a pair of jeans. I contemplated what was going on between Landon and me now. I went downstairs as I heard mom talking with Grandpa Phil.
"So how are things?" Grandpa asked.
"Everything seems good, thank God," Mom said. I bounded down the stairs and launched myself at Grandpa. He laughed and hugged me.
"Why, hello there, Riley," Grandpa greeted me. "I didn't think I'd ever receive this kind of greeting again. You're practically a woman now."
"It's been a few months since we last saw you," I reminded him. Grandpa Phil had been vacationing in the Caribbean with some friends, including a new lady friend, Janice.
"Hello, Landon. It's good to see you again," said Grandpa when he saw Landon arrive in the room.
"Hello, Sir," Landon said while going over to lounge on the couch with Noah. Both were sitting so very lazily, but their thumbs were moving quickly over the buttons on the controllers they held.
"Boys," Mom said, "I walked in on Andy and Orion in that same position so many years ago."
"You played video games as soon as your father taught you how to hold the controller properly," Grandpa related. I laughed. "There are photos somewhere."
"Hey, Dad," my dad said, coming into the room. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you, too, son. I know that Christmas is not the best time, but if you have a minute, there's something I need to talk to the two of you about."
"Okay, you three stay here," Mom said. I raised an eyebrow as Dad, Mom and Grandpa went up the stairs to my parents' room.
"Come join us, Riley," Noah said. I shrugged and sat with them on the couch, picking up another controller.
Meanwhile, upstairs:
"Have you two heard anything about Frank?" Phillip asked.
"No," Madison said. "We should have, shouldn't we?"
"Maybe he got transferred somewhere and they didn't bother to tell us," Orion said.
"They would have told us," Madison said. "We're on top of their list when it comes to him."
"Madison, I know you've lived here forever, but don't you think it might be safer if you folks moved?" Phillip asked.
Madison replied, "Noah's moving out soon. I don't want to have him pack everything, move into a different house and then pack all over again to move somewhere else."
"Dad, I think that he will leave us alone now that the cops have arrested him and he faces charges," reasoned Orion.
"And maybe he's still watching you folks," Phillip said. "I know you're trying to look on the bright side of all of this, Orion, but let's face it-the guy is psychotic."
"I know," Orion said.
"If I were you, I would hire a private detective to keep an eye on your family. Don't want another scene where Frank barges in unannounced and scares one of the kids to death. Right now, he's probably out on bail before his trial. Now is the time for action. Once he's been sentenced, you will be able to rest easy for a while," suggested Phillip. "I'll tell you what-I will call my old friend, Wayne Pearson, the retired police detective. He will know who to approach regarding security. We'll try to put something in place before Frank comes knocking on the door or shows up at the school."
Madison and Orion agreed, grateful for his input and concern.
CHAPTER FOURTY
Riley:
I HADN'T TALKED with Landon since he left my place after Christmas. I spent the rest of the holidays with the girls and Lorne, playing around with different song ideas while still trying to figure out my final song for the school play. I couldn't believe I still hadn't come up with a good enough song. I even went through my band's songs, but nothing fit. I was coming close to looking through all my parents' songs to see if they had come up with something I could use.
School was back in session, rehearsals for the play were in full swing and we were even starting to practice in our costumes.
One afternoon, Landon and I were in our own corner, where I was trying to help him with a song that he had to sing solo. I was mouthing the words along with him, holding the script to my chest to keep Landon from trying to peek at them.
After Landon finished singing, I told him, "See-I knew you had it memorized!"
I smiled at him and was about to begin talking about our adventures over Christmas break, had Preston not come up next to me and put an arm around my shoulders.
"Hey, babe," he said. He was pretending to still be my boyfriend when he, I and the whole world knew it was no longer so.
I politely went along with the ruse in order to avoid a scene, but it seemed kind of comical.
"What are you two up to?" Preston asked.
I couldn't help noticing that both guys were looking at each other with an odd look, as if Preston were almost daring Landon to say something, but Landon wasn't about to do it because he didn't feel threatened by Preston's presence.
"Do you want to go out for dinner?" Preston asked, looking at me finally.
"Uh sure, after practice, right?" I asked. Preston nodded.
I reasoned that I should go out with him and tell him the truth about mine and Landon's relationship. There was no use prolonging the inevitable. I phoned my mother to let her know that I wouldn't be home for dinner.
"Hello?" Mom answered.
"Hi, Mom. I'm going out for dinner tonight," I said.
"With Landon?" Mom asked.
"No," I said. Lately, whenever I mentioned something that could resemble a date, Mom would ask if it's with Landon. "I'm going out with Preston."
"Oh, really? Well, have fun then and be careful," Mom advised.
"Okay, see you later," I said. I hung up and headed back inside to the auditorium.
"Riley, how's our grand finale song coming along?" Mrs. Wilson asked.
"Um, it's starting to come along well," I said.
"Good," Mrs. Wilson said. "Are you going to keep it a secret for now?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I'm going to do. I want it to be a surprise."
"Very well, then," Mrs. Wilson said.
Since it was the last song, I could easily do that. There wasn't anything after it which would be affected by the song. I had until opening night to come up with a song and perfect it, since it would only be me singing it.
After practice, Preston and I went out to an Italian restaurant for dinner. We talked about little things that I couldn't find any relevance in. I was planning to tell him about my feelings for Landon, but lost my nerve. Preston and I had no real problems with each other, we just weren't in love and we hardly saw each other anymore, so maybe we didn't need the big breakup scene. I hated that kind of drama anyway. I guess I was hoping that Preston and I could just remain friends, while Landon and I continued to see each other.
I came home to my parents arguing-they were doing that a lot, lately. I made a lot of noise as I entered the house and they stopped and looked at me.
"How was dinner?" Mom asked.
"Good," I said. "Is Noah home?"
"Yeah, he's up in his room," Dad said.
I nodded and went upstairs. I knocked a couple times on his door and then walked into Noah's room. He was lying on his back in bed, holding a Game Boy above his head.
"What's up, sis?" Noah asked, not even bothering to look.
I rolled my eyes and made my way through maze of clothes on his.
"How do you know which stuff is clean?" I asked.
"I just do. It's a guy thing," Noah answered.
"Obviously," I said, pushing his legs over before sitting on the bed. "Do you know why Mom and Dad have been arguing so much since Christmas?"
"Nope," Noah said.
"I heard them say something about telling us something. You think they're hiding something from us?"
"Yeah, I know," I said. "But I wonder what it is they're arguing about now."
"Yeah," Noah agreed. We looked at the door as we heard Dad's voice rise. "I do have some good news for you, though."
"What's that?" I asked.
"No more Charlotte."
"Really? That's great! What made you wise up?"
"Caught her making out with some guy on the track team."
"Maybe you should join Lorne and Nathan on the other side of the fence," I joked, giggling.
"Hardy-har-har...no way!" Noah said. "Get real, Riley!"
"He's not going to come after them!" Dad yelled.
I flinched when I heard him shout at Mom. Noah shot off the bed and went to the door. He opened it a bit and motioned me over. I slid under him. It was my usual position when spying on our parents.
"Well, he wouldn't be able to find us if you had agreed to move!" Dad said. "See, now you don't have anything to say. You, Andy and I have all been through so much shit in this house, yet you're the one who refuses to leave and you know we do what you want. Why won't you leave? You've lived in this house for thirty-eight years. Isn't that long enough?"
"I have my reasons," Mom said. There was nothing for a while and I looked up at Noah.
"She's not coming back," Dad said. "Is that what this is? Waiting for your mom because you think she's missing this house and will move back?
"Do not start," Mom said, threateningly.
"Fairy tales don't always come true, Madison," Dad said after a while.
"Look in a mirror and tell me what you are then," Mom said. Noah closed the door quickly as we saw mom coming towards the stairs. We went back to the bed and he resumed playing with his Game Boy. Mom didn't come to the room to give us any kind of talk that she usually did when she figured we had heard her and dad yelling at each other. Noah and I looked at each other as we heard our parents' bedroom door slam.
If I Never Knew You Trilogy Bundle Page 20