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I tried not to cringe when Landon’s arm went around the back of my chair, and that’s how I knew I was truly pissed. I usually didn’t mind in the slightest when he did that, but now I just wanted to throw his arm off of my chair. He already had my coffee; he didn’t need my space, too.
Everyone’s conversation droned on until a new voice caught my attention.
“Landon! Hey!” I looked up from staring a hole into the table to see a beautiful brunette who looked vaguely familiar. She put her hand on Landon’s shoulder since he was sitting at the end of the table. Her eyes glanced in my direction, landing on the arm around my seat. Before her gaze could move away, Landon stood, pulling her into a hug.
“Hey, Tiffany!”
And I remembered exactly who she was, then.
10
Landon
IguessedIcouldn’tbe too surprised to see Tiffany here since this was where I’d run into her on Monday morning as well. But I was so tied into my group of friends that I never expected anyone to interrupt. The moment I saw her look in Belle’s direction, I stood up, pulling my arm away from Belle’s seat. I could practically feel the tension that Belle held the whole time we’d been there, and I didn’t want to feel anymore from Tiffany.
“You come here on Wednesdays, too?” She asked, her arm remaining on me, sliding from my shoulder to my bicep. I don’t know if she thought I wouldn’t notice, but I felt the light squeeze that she gave my muscle and tried not to be too proud of what I knew she felt there.
“Every Wednesday! This is our group,” I said, pivoting to introduce her to my friends. “Andrew, Leslie, Cooper, Mandy, and Belle. You remember Belle, obviously.”
“Yes, of course!” She exclaimed, moving around me with open arms. I watched as Belle awkwardly stood to give Tiffany a hug. I gulped. “It’s been so long! I can’t believe you’re still on the island!”
“Yep! I’ll always be an island girl.” Belle patted Tiffany’s back before moving away from the hug.
“I completely understand why! I love living here!” Tiffany turned to the rest of the table. “So nice to meet all of you!”
The group returned the sentiment before Tiffany finally walked back to me, where I was still standing.
“Can you walk me to work?” She asked, her hand on my arm again. It took everything in me not to look back at Belle, who I walked to work with every Wednesday and a lot of other days. But we’d started dating, and I’m sure she understood that our friendship things wouldn’t always be the same.
“Of course,” I said, grabbing my coffee cup from the table. I didn’t remember buying it, but I’m sure that was because of how tired I was.
“See you all later!” Tiffany waved to the group before looping her arm in mine and leading me out the door of Grumpy Coffee. I didn’t look back to my friend group, feeling slightly uncomfortable that I was leaving my group of friends to walk with Tiffany.
It was only a couple of blocks to work, and I was fairly certain that Tiffany’s was only a few further. Despite having driven my car here, I walked with her instead of inviting her to drive. We’d be able to talk more that way, and there was more than enough time for me to walk her all the way to her building and then come back to mine.
“Are we still on for Friday night?” Tiffany asked, walking extremely close to me. Every time that I took a step to the right just to give myself a little more walking room, she mimicked the action. I was a broad man, and I enjoyed having enough space to walk, but I tried not to let it affect me. Tiffany had always been a little too comfortable being touchy and close with people, so I knew it was just her personality.
“Absolutely,” I responded shortly, not understanding why she would ask such a thing.
“I was just checking.” She grinned at me and looped an arm through mine. Again, personal space issues. But I also guessed that the fact that I’d just confirmed our date made her even more comfortable. “You aren’t seeing anyone else, though?”
“No, why?” I asked, laughing at the idea. I wouldn’t even count the two dates I’d been on the past two weeks because they were blind and went absolutely nowhere.
“Just wondering,” She said, but I could tell there was more that she wanted to say. If I stayed silent long enough, I figured she would just say it. And I was right. “Do you still have feelings for Isabella?”
I scoffed immediately, probably too quickly. “Of course not, Tiffany. And I never had feelings for her in the first place. We’ve always just been great friends.”
“You sure? Everyone in school definitely thought you were in love with her,” She countered, and I stopped walking, turning to her.
I hadn’t been aware that I was always so transparent and readable. I thought I’d been more covert about how I felt about Belle, especially back then. Apparently not.
“I’ve never had feelings for her, Tiffany. We’ve never even dated. So no, I don’t have feelings for her.” I sounded as confident in my statement as I could, especially knowing that there would never be anything between me and Belle. I had resolved myself to that fate long ago, and the feelings I most definitely did have for her were tucked away neatly, along with all of the other foolish dreams I’d had for myself. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
And she didn’t. Because I needed to move on, and Tiffany was the perfect way to do so. If she was anything like the girl she used to be, I knew we would be able to have fun together and actually have a great relationship.
“I was just making sure. To be upfront with you, I had a massive crush on you in college, but knew that we were going in separate directions. And with how Belle was always with you, I figured you two would eventually be together. So I just wanted to make sure that you two weren’t…” She laughed nervously, and I reached out and grabbed her hand from where it was looped through my arms. I gave it a quick squeeze, but she held tight when I went to let go.
“We’re not,” I assured her again, watching her lips turn up.
