Since you can never have too many friends.
Landon doesn’t say anything more on the topic, which, fortunately, switches to something I’m happy to discuss. While he cooks dinner, I continue cuddling Whiskey and sharing my teaching tips.
At one point, I walk over to the bookshelf against the wall and study the photos on it. Most of them are of different outdoor locations—some I recognize from the US, others from South America. In each of them, Landon is with a group of men, all wearing backpacks.
I pick one up and study it. “You’ve hiked Machu Picchu?” I can’t keep the excitement out of my voice at the thought that he’s been there. We have that in common.
“I have.”
“I love hiking, and that’s one location I’ve been lucky to visit. Along with the Grand Canyon.” I nod at the bookshelf. He’s also been there.
“Do you hike often?”
“I try to go as often as I can during the spring and summer. I love getting lost in nature and forgetting all my problems waiting for me at home.”
“I feel the same way. There’s something about hoisting on a backpack and hiking.”
I return the picture frame to the bookshelf. Part of me wants to tell him that if he’s ever looking for a hiking partner…
But I don’t let the thought go too far. As much as I would love to go hiking with someone as passionate about it as I am, we’ve only known each other for a few days.
That doesn’t, though, stop us from spending the next hour talking about the different locations we’ve been to and comparing notes.
After dinner,we’re putting the dishes away in the dishwasher when Landon asks, “When are you talking to Tabitha?”
“Tomorrow night. There’s a PTA meeting then.”
Although after what Ava and Kiera told me, I don’t have a good feeling about that plan. I have no idea how I’m going to convince Tabitha to throw in her support for the Christmas show.
“What time’s the meeting?”
I tell him.
“I’ll be there.”
“Ahh, so Kiera convinced you to go shirtless for the cause after all?” Score one for my best friend.
He laughs, the sound deep and delicious. Like a warm hug on a chilly fall morning. “No, but I figure the more support you have behind the idea, the better your chances of her approving it.”
“And if that fails, you’ll go with Plan B?”I gesture at his upper body with a wave of my hand.
“How about this…if I remove my shirt for the cause, you agree to go out with me for our second date.”
“First date.”
His mouth tugs to one side. “So, you’re agreeing to go out with me?”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. If it comes down to you removing your shirt to encourage Tabitha to agree to the Christmas show, I’ll go on a date with you.”
The next evening,Landon, Kiera, and I head to the gym, where the PTA meeting is being held. The three of us stuck around after the bell rung, prepping for tomorrow.
Tabitha is talking to a fellow PTA mother when we enter the gym. She’s looking as elegant as always: blonde hair pulled back in a sleek bun, a camel-colored pencil skirt skimming her slim body, her white blouse no doubt from a high-end designer.
I, on the other hand, look as far from elegant as you can get. My pale-pink knit top has a red paint splotch on it from the Thanksgiving art project we were working on in class today. One of my students accidentally sent his paintbrush sailing across the room, and it hit my boob.
And no amount of dabbing it with a wet paper towel would remove it.
Quite the contrary.
