“Yours,” Landon replies, stretching as we walk.“My roommate’s been on a… let’s say, ‘hot streak’ lately, and he’s probably got someone over.”
I chuckle.“I get it.Honestly, I’m just grateful Fox has stopped bringing his hookups around as much as he used to.”
“A miracle, I’m sure.But if I’d known you’d be working all day, I might have reconsidered waiting.”He sighs, then glances over at me.“Can I crash at yours?”
“Of course.I doubt Fox will even be around; Sundays are practically his dedicated party nights,” I reply.
“Are we taking a cab or an Uber, or are you planning to walk home?”Landon asks, arching a brow at me.
“We can take the bus,” I shrug.“I don’t have a lot of spare change on me right now.”I sigh, feeling the familiar pang of stretching every dollar.I can’t wait for my next paycheck—I’ve been calling home way too often lately, and I don’t love it.
Landon rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone, likely to request an Uber.
“Where’s your car, by the way?”I ask as we stand on the sidewalk near Gio’s Burger, leaning against the wall of the closed furniture store.
“Back on campus.Andrew drove me here,” he says.
“Oh, so what’s up with you and Andrew?”I ask, giving him a teasing nudge.
“We’re really gonna talk about Andrew now?”Landon counters, eyebrows raised.“You’re the one who was flirting non-stop with that really good-looking brunette at the diner.”He grins as he pockets his phone.
“What?He’s just a friend,” I say, brushing it off, though my cheeks betray me.
“Right.A friend who just happens to be incredibly cute,” Landon teases.
I bite my lip, glancing at the cars passing down the street.“I’m just surprised you’ve got a guy like Andrew interested.He’s a little older and pretty solid.Who knew you were into, you know, the ‘daddy’ kink?”I tease, ducking as Landon stifles a laugh and lightly punches my arm.
“Shut up,” he says with a smirk.“I don’t care about age.There was this guy I dated last year—he was thirty and… well, kind of a mess,” Landon laughs, shaking his head.
I raise my eyebrows.“Seriously?You?”
“I know, right?You’d think I’d have better taste,” he jokes, then sighs.I can tell he’s got a few stories there.
Landon sighs again, tucking his hands into his pockets.“It’s…different with Andrew.I’ve been with guys before, but Andrew’s good.It’s not just…physical.He actually listens.We talk.”
It’s funny; Landon doesn’t seem like the type to date around much.He’s got this charm, sure—handsome, funny, and straightforward.He’s a reader, a thinker.He’s not a guy you’d peg for a new relationship every month.But there’s more to him than what’s on the surface, and I guess that’s something I forget sometimes.
“Now, what are you thinking, Professor?Judging me for being too free with my body, huh?”Landon smirks, raising an eyebrow.
“Shut up,” I say, huffing.“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to; your face said it for you.”He laughs, then sighs.“In high school, I dated this guy who was my first love.He was a senior, closeted, and my first boyfriend.He’d sneak around to kiss me, maybe make out once or twice, but he’d act like he barely knew me in front of his friends.It was like he was ashamed to be seen with me.Then he started dating this girl—beautiful, popular, and his ‘perfect cover’—so no one would think he was seeing this ‘gay kid’ in secret.”
“That’s awful, Landon,” I say, feeling the weight of what he went through.
“Yeah.I told him if he couldn’t be open about us, then it wouldn’t work.He chose her.Said he couldn’t ‘be gay’ for me, and I was heartbroken.Hurt like hell.”
“Was he the one who took your… you know… on prom night?”I ask, hesitating.
Landon chuckles, shaking his head.“Nah, we never went that far—just kissing, really.But after he graduated and left town, I just couldn’t find it in me to get close to someone else.Left me behind with a broken heart.”
He looks down at his hands.“I want to date someone, you know?Someone who wants more than just a fling, someone who wants to actually connect.I want someone who sees me, wants me, for more than just a one-night thing.That’s hard to find in college.”
I sigh.“And Andrew?”
“He’s great,” Landon says, looking up with a small smile.“We’re getting there.It’s a process, but we’re getting somewhere.”
“That’s great, Lan.You deserve that,” I say, sincerely.
