Charlotte's body buckled against his.
"Come for me, Charlotte."
Oh God.
Landon's kiss swallowed her cry as Charlotte's very first orgasm took over her body.
It was almost half past ten by the time Landon walked her up to her door, but just as she was about to tell him good night, he suddenly pulled her close and conquered her mouth with another kiss.
Charlotte's entire body melted against his, and she happily wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. Everything between them still felt like a dream, and she had a feeling it would always be so.
Another eternity seemed to have passed before Landon finally pulled away, and Charlotte still felt a little dazed as she looked up at him. Was this truly happening? Were they really not just friends now? But what if he realized he had made a mistake? What if he wanted things back to the way they were—-
Landon suddenly pinched her cheeks. "You're overthinking things again."
"I can't help it."
"If you need something to mentally chew on, then think of this." Landon gently traced her lips. "I love you, Charles."
Oh Lord, thank You for giving this jerk to me.
Landon raised a brow at her. "Aren't you supposed to say something back?"
"Uh..."
"Charles."
"Give me a day, okay? Or two. I'm just not the type."
"If you can't say 'I love you', how about a blowjob instead?"
Charlotte was relieved. A blowjob was so much easier than saying those three little words, but just as she was about to say yes—-
"I was joking."
Charlotte turned red, and Landon grinned.
"You—-"
But Landon had already hauled her back into his arms and was now threatening to squeeze the breath out of her with his bear hug. "How can I be this lucky? Who would've thought my Charles would turn out to be a dirty little angel?"
Charlotte tried shoving him off, but Landon was now cupping her face again. "You're so damn cute, Charles. How the hell am I going to ever let you go?"
"Uh...you don't?"
Landon's arms went around her again, and Charlotte's toes curled when she felt him kiss the top of her head.
"Jesus. Even your zero flirting skills are too damn cute."
Charlotte wondered if she should feel insulted or complimented. Was she that bad at flirting? But...wasn't he also saying that he loved her so much he didn't care about it?
"I'm almost starting to regret I'm going away for the summer."
Then don't go, she wished she could blurt out. Stay with me, go to college with me, and be a normal guy who just wants to have a stable job and a family. She wished she could say all of those words, but she also knew she didn't really mean them. She loved Landon as he was, and she would always love him, no matter what.
"I've made up my mind." Landon pulled back and tipped her chin up to meet her gaze. "I'm not going to Japan any longer."
Charlotte was stunned. "What? Why?" She looked at him searchingly. "If this is because of me—-"
"I want my first trip there to be with you."
Charlotte mentally squealed.
Landon looked at her knowingly. "That made you fall in love with me just a bit more, didn't it?"
"Shut up."
But Landon only chuckled, and Charlotte decided to change the subject before she ended up betraying herself further. "I don't get it. Rather than canceling, why can't I just go there with you now?"
"Because I want our first trip there to be special."
Charlotte was genuinely bemused. "And it won't be special if we go there this summer?"
"I think we're too young right now to appreciate all the things we could do there."
It was just so like Landon to go all philosophical out of the blue, and Charlotte's heart skipped another beat. This was one of the things she loved the most about Landon. Most high school boys would think it lame to say anything serious, but Landon was different. Landon always spoke what was on his mind, and he never cared a whit about what people would think because of it.
"If we don't go this summer," Charlotte began, "then do you have a certain date in mind—-"
"How about twenty years from now?"
Charlotte was incredulous. He wanted them to wait for two decades to pass before they could go to Japan? Seriously?
"I'd be thirty-seven then, and you'd be thirty-six. That's the perfect age, I think—-"
"No, it's not," Charlotte protested. "Don't you think it's too old?"
"Only because your mental age right now is already thirty-six, so by then you'd be sixty-seven—-"
She made a face. "Very funny."
"It's not, though." Landon's tone was solemn. "I just have a gift for making my Charles smile—-"
"Yuck!"
"And yet she blushes while saying it."
"No, I wasn't—-"
"My Charles is just too damn cute!"
It was nice that he thought so, but did he really have to pinch her cheeks every time he did?