Tommy sat up, and I suddenly felt ten times dirtier. I was lying in bed, probably already soaked, and there was a guy on my couch. Meanwhile, I still hadn’t even decided if it was possible to cheat on a guy you kind of sort of had a contractual relationship with—a guy you also had a very good reason to cut out of your life for good.
“Oh, hey,” I said. “Looks like you found a wheelbarrow, after all.”
He smiled. It was a kind smile. From looking at his face, I thought I could see it all as plain as day. The difference between a guy like Tommy and a guy like Landon was simple: the Tommys of the world were the ones who’d remember your birthday and take you to nice Italian restaurants for Valentine’s day. They’d take selfies with you and post them on social media with cute captions, like, “Can’t believe she’s mine!”. Tommy was probably the kind of guy I could have been perfectly happy with. But it felt like I could see all that unroll out into infinity just from a glance at his smile. It was clear. Obvious, even.
Then there was Landon. I wasn’t even sure if I could say he was like the Landons of the world, because I suspected he was one of a kind. The future with him might as well have been a closed door. Hell, there was probably smoke billowing out from under the door, too. Maybe even an ominous, red glow. If there were any social media captions from Landon, they’d probably be weird and kinky, like, “This one is mine.”
I grinned a little at the thought. Landon did have quite the possessive streak. Normally, that would’ve put me off. Oddly enough, I found I had enjoyed when I could see him getting jealous of me. I needed to stop thinking of him in the present tense. Somebody who could lie about something like that could lie about all sorts of things.
A smart person would’ve pursued Tommy a hundred times out of a hundred. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to know how everything was going to play out. I wasn’t ready to sign up for that—for white picket fences, kids, and flour-coated aprons. It didn’t mean I was going to forgive Landon, but just because Landon had screwed up, it also didn’t mean I had to rebound into the first guy who showed up.
“Actually,” Tommy said. “I’m not sure how much you remember, but your sister and I just kind of half-carried you back here. I have to say, I’ve never heard a sloppy drunk person sing so well, though. I mean, you butchered the words to “The Eye of the Tiger” and “Macho Man,” but it was all perfectly in pitch.”
“BS,” I said. “I know those songs like the back of my hand. I’d never screw up the lyrics.”
We both smiled, and there it was again. I could feel how easy it would be. I just had to keep being myself—to let things play out like they wanted to. He was an attractive guy who was interested in me. He had a respectable job. He was nice. He didn’t glare at me like he’d just hopped off the elevator from hell a few minutes ago. And he didn’t make me squirm with need every time he popped into my head.
I heard Bree outside my door. Tommy and I turned toward the sound, listening intently. She sounded a little scared.
“...not a good idea. Uh, Audria! A little help!”
Somebody tried the handle of my door. Then there were three loud bangs. “Andi?” A deep voice called. “Open the fucking door.”
My eyes went wide. I knew that voice. It was the same voice that had told me to strip out of my clothes. To touch myself.
Without thinking, I threw the covers over my head.
“Andi?” Tommy asked quietly. “Who is that?”
“Shh!” I hissed. “Hide!”
“What the hell?” he asked. “I’m not going to hide.”
I heard him walking across the room. Then the door opened.
“Who are you?” Landon demanded.
“Tommy. What do you want?”
“I want you to get out of my fucking way so I can find Andi.”
There was an uncomfortable pause.
“I can see you under the blanket, Andi,” Landon said.
I slid the blanket down and gave a sheepish little wave. When I saw the look on Landon’s face, I realized being buried in the covers of my bed while Tommy was in my room sent the wrong message.
Landon looked like a bull who had seen red. His focus turned to Tommy, and he started advancing with murder in his eyes.22LandonHe was a relatively big guy, but I was pissed enough that it didn’t matter. I lifted him by his shirt and slammed him into the nearest wall. I’d pulled my hand back to punch him when something small latched onto my bicep. I looked back and saw Andi tugging on my arm with both her hands. Even as pissed as I was, I didn’t fail to notice that she was fully dressed, and judging by the wrinkles in her clothes, she hadn’t changed since last night.