Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87653 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I scrape my hands over my head, feeling like I’m in some alternate universe because this isn’t happening right now.
“I’m not lying when I say there was nothing going on between the two of us until this summer.”
“Okay, honey,” Mom says, but I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
“Breakfast?” Dad asks. “I’m starving.”
“We’re waiting on Ricky,” I tell them. “He’s not going to believe this.”
Chapter 36
Rick
I’m sure if someone took a long look at me right now, they’d think I have the flu. My skin is hot and red, flushed and sweaty. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing because Khloe and Dustin Andrews are sitting across from Landon and me in a booth at The Brew & Chew.
“We have to come back tomorrow,” Khloe says as she cuts into her fluffy stack of pancakes. “Ruth is making chicken and dumplings.”
I nod my agreement, unsure if it’s an invite or if she’s only talking to fill the silence at the table.
“Listen,” she says, her fork clanking as she drops it to her plate.
Good manners dictate I look up while she’s speaking, and for the first time in my life, it’s hard to look her in the eye.
“We’re very aware of what happens between two people when they’re in love. When Dustin and I first got together, we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves.”
“Mom,” Landon snaps. “Please don’t.”
She shushes him, while letting her eyes drift between the two of us. I have to look away, her scrutiny just a little too much to handle. I make the mistake of looking at Dustin who from outward appearances seems extremely amused by what’s going on right now.
“I want to apologize to both of you again for barging into the room, but honestly, the door should’ve been locked.”
I nod in agreement. “That was my fault. Last night, I was… distracted.”
Dustin chuckles before taking a huge bite of fried eggs.
My face heats further.
Landon explained on the walk to Ruth’s that his parents have been working under the assumption that the two of us have been dating in secret since high school. I nearly stumbled and fell on the ground when he told me that.
I can’t wrap my head around it, and that’s a struggle in and of itself because Landon was right earlier. I know his parents very well, and not once growing up have I ever heard a disparaging word or insult about someone’s sexuality. There are gay members in Cerberus. It’s not considered taboo there, but that doesn’t always calm all fears when making such confessions. Being okay with someone else doesn’t always lend the same grace to someone’s own child.
“Well, like I said. We’ll never make the same mistake again. You two deserve your privacy,” Khloe says before dropping the subject and moving on to the next one. “How’s practice been?”
“I know you have to be excited about scouts coming,” Dustin says between massive bites of food.
You’d think the man hasn’t been allowed to eat in days with the speed he’s emptying his plate.
Landon doesn’t immediately respond, and fear swims in my gut, my head telling me that any point, the tide is going to shift and he’s going to say it’s all a joke, and haha, he can’t believe his parents fell for a lie as ludicrous as the two of us being in a relationship.
He doesn’t say that. What he says instead is ten times worse.
“I’m not declaring for the draft. After graduation, I’m planning to go into the Marine Corps.”
This is the only part of the conversation that has the power to make Dustin stop eating. A wide smile spreads across his face, the dot of egg yolk on his bottom lip ignored.
Khloe looks almost as happy, but I can see the tinge of worry already building in her eyes.
I feel nauseous, my stomach turning flips, and I spend the rest of breakfast silent and unable to finish my meal.
Landon reaches for my thigh under the table, but I excuse myself to the restroom.
He doesn’t follow me, and I don’t know if I’m grateful or resentful.
I knew he would put distance between the two of us, but I just didn’t think it would be this substantial. I expected a few more rounds of two steps forward and one step back, but the fucking Marine Corps?
Dustin pays for our meals, and the conversation about enlistment carries on all the way back to campus. Khloe and Dustin tell us goodbye with the promise of meeting up later for dinner. I know they can feel the tension between the two of us and are giving us a chance to talk.
I want to hug both their necks and thank them for being such amazing people because I get the distinct feeling that I won’t be seeing them for a while.
Landon is hot on my trail as we make our way back into the dorm room, a wide smile on his face when he closes and locks the door.