Cha-Cha turned out to be just as involved in the whole Valentina face-off, with Landon's younger sister having overheard Valentina telling her friends about how Charlotte had been desperately throwing herself at Landon for years.
"She was saying just so many awful things about you," Landon's baby sister griped. "I had to tell Landon and the others because I knew you would never do anything about it even if I told you the truth."
"Now, do you get it?" Landon asked Charlotte an hour later, and it was just the two of them in the living room. Everyone else had already left, and Cha-Cha had also headed up to her bedroom, saying blithely that playing the third wheel had never been her thing.
"We were all doing it for you."
"Hmph."
"We couldn't just stand aside and do nothing."
"You could've done something without making it seem like we were going out."
But Landon only shrugged. "I don't mind people thinking you're my girl."
Oh Lord, please, please do save me from this jerk!
Charlotte never knew whether to feel good or bad every time Landon seemed to flirt with her like this. She knew he only did so with her, but...what good would flirting do if it never went anywhere?
Landon looked at her questioningly. "Do you mind, though?"
Charlotte was still trying to think of the best way to answer him when something caught her eye. There was a half-open travel brochure on the coffee table, and it had Mt. Fuji on the cover. "Who's going to Japan?" She was already bending down as she spoke, and something fell off as she reached for it.
Her eyes widened when she realized what it was, and she could only stare as Landon retrieved his plane ticket and placed it back on the coffee table.
"You're going to Japan?"
"This summer."
"Why have you never told me about it?" Charlotte asked. "I wanna go, too—-"
"It's not that kind of trip."
"I don't care. You know it's always been my dream to—-"
"I'm going there for training."
Charlotte was confused. "Training? Are you thinking of working there after college?"
Landon appeared reluctant to speak, and Charlotte started feeling apprehensive. "Land?"
"I signed up for a summer crash course on judo and kendo."
"Oh."
Her excitement over a prospective trip to Japan fizzled out in an instant, and Charlotte slowly sat down.
A moment later, she felt the couch dip as Landon occupied the space next to her. "Charles?"
"Stop calling me that," she said absently. "How many times do I have to tell you that my name is Charlotte, not Charles?"
"And how many times must I tell you in return—-" Landon's tone was mocking. "I'll only call you Charlotte when we're in bed."
Her heart skipped a beat even as she automatically sucker-punched him in the guts.
"Damn, Charles. That hurt." Landon raised his shirt to check his washboard abs for bruises, and Charlotte temporarily forgot her worries as she struggled not to stare. Oh...wow.
"Have you been training with Manny Pacquiao or something?"
Charlotte finally managed to drag her gaze off Landon's rock-hard muscles and cleared her throat. "Manny who?"
Landon grunted. "Never mind. I should've known you'd be naturally gifted in pugilism as well."
Charlotte frowned. Was that a compliment or not?
"It's just too bad the only thing you're hopeless at is being cute and girly—-"
Since that was definitely not a compliment, Charlotte quickly rolled up the brochure in her hand and used it to swat the back of his head. Hard.
"Ow."
Charlotte was unaffected. It would take more than a paper whack to really cause him pain, especially when considering all the time Logan had spent preparing himself physically...for what he wanted to do in the future.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"You'll regret asking that," she told him.
"Then forget I asked," he said right away.
"Too late!" And she cut to the chase right after, asking, "Are you really serious about enlisting next year?" She saw Landon's handsome face turn expressionless, but Charlotte couldn't help pressing on. "You really won't go to college?"
A few more moments passed before Landon finally answered her.
"Do you know you only have to be seventeen to enlist?"
Charlotte shook her head.
"I did. But I chose not to," he said quietly, "because I wanted to spend this last year with you."
Her heart pounded, but she refused to let it get to her. "Can't we both go to college first—-"
"I want to serve, Charles."
Her shoulders drooped. "I know." He had been saying that since they were kids, like he had been born knowing he was meant to serve like his Uncle Billy did.
"It's my destiny."
The words should've sounded fake. No high school kid should've been able to utter something like that and sound credible. But because it was Landon, the words didn't just sound real. They felt real, too, with the way it made her imagine all the terrifying things that could happen to him, when - and not if - he finally became what he wanted to be.