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I had an hour to waste, and I looked around my room. My mother would be shocked if I took the hour to actually clean the space. Taking the stairs to the main floor, I grabbed a few trash bags, cleaning spray, and a roll of paper towels. If I was cleaning, I was going all the way. Back downstairs, I threw all my clothes and everything else on the floor on the bed. By the time I was done, I could barely see the bear. I moved quickly, throwing away things I should have thrown away a long time ago, wondering why I’d even packed them. I moved to my walls as well. I couldn’t believe my mother had left everything here intact.
Forty-five minutes later, I was a little sweaty, but the space looked and smelled a lot cleaner. I didn’t have time for another shower, so I pulled my hair into a messy bun and reapplied deodorant. I grabbed another shirt but kept the jeans the same. Checking everything over in the mirror, I didn’t look half the hot mess that I felt like. I left my parents a note and locked the door behind me.
Throwing my bag in the passenger seat, I started the car and pointed it toward town. My heart sunk a little as I thought about the drive from Landon’s to my house this morning. I hoped I would get the chance to fix things. The trip to town didn’t take long. We’d agreed to meet at Sergio’s for a quick bite to eat. As I pulled in, I could have sworn Landon’s truck was pulling out. If it was him, I was glad the universe had aligned for us to just miss each other.
There were a few customers scattered throughout the restaurant, but Mina wasn’t there yet. The hostess met me at the door, and I followed her to a booth near the back. Sergio’s was definitely high on the list of things I’d missed when I moved. Throughout my childhood, my family and I had met here every single Friday night for dinner. It didn’t seem like the weekend had started until we were eating Sergio's pizza. I’d tried to find something like it in DC, but nothing ever matched the richness of Sergio’s.
The bell at the door dinged, and I looked up to see Mina walking in. I waved, and she pointed me out to the hostess. As she sat down, we ordered drinks and food.
“I was surprised to hear from you so soon. Did you guys have a good time last night?”
“We did. It was nice to have you there. I felt better knowing someone else.”
“I take it you and Landon’s relationship is fairly new? Is that why he chose Ashford?”
I sighed. I’d forgotten about our fake relationship. Did I come clean or go with the flow?
“We’re not technically dating. He just answered that way on impulse.”
“You’re not? That was one hell of a kiss I witnessed for not dating.” She smiled in a teasing way. I hadn’t realized she’d seen us kissing.
“You saw that, did you? That was our first kiss, which happened before we even had an official date, and now I don’t know that we ever will.”
“Okay, start from the beginning because from what I saw, there’s some serious chemistry there.”
“My mother called a couple of weeks ago and mentioned Landon had moved to town. She’s a huge fan and thought I would like to know since we were both writers.”
“But you’re a reporter. Isn’t that different?”
“Thank you! Yes. But she told Landon I was a writer too, so he asked for me to reach out. He thought I might be able to help with his writer’s block.”
“Kind of the same reason he reached out to Malia?”
“Exactly. When I called him to set the story straight, he asked me to go to the bonfire. I admit I was curious about him on a personal level as well. He’s handsome as hell, and I wanted to spend time with him.”
“So, you said yes, but did you tell him about the reporter part?”
“I did, but I glazed over it. It was in the truck on the way to the bonfire. When Malia mentioned it again, I was worried he might question it more, but he didn’t, and then one thing led to another, and well… when I woke up this morning, he’d make breakfast.”
Her eyes lit up, nodding her head in appreciation. “Wow. Okay.”
“I came clean about my hope to interview him in between bites of bacon and pancakes.”
“Out of curiosity, does he always cook?”
“Not the point, Mina. But yes. Apparently, he started watching Chopped after the accident and loves challenging himself every now and then. Anyway, I should have told him before I even agreed to go to the bonfire with him. When he found out, he asked if that was the reason I’d slept with him.”
