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My stomach drops, but it’s more with excitement than fear—which is a nice change. “A few? How many dicks do you have?”
“Four. I hope that’s not a dealbreaker.”
I shake my head, sighing once I’m done laughing as I rinse out my toothbrush. I expected Javi would be smart and funny from the few interactions we’ve had, but I think he’s even better than I thought he’d be.
I’m light as a cloud as I float downstairs. Smiling is so easy, I can’t really stop.
It would be nice if Mom were in the kitchen when I get there so she could witness me being so happy, but she must still be upstairs getting ready. I am downstairs a little earlier than usual since I woke up before my alarm and I was extra energized from texting Javi.
Speaking of…
Since I’m the only one in the kitchen, I sit down at the island counter and drop my backpack on the floor by my feet. I pull out my phone and open my text with Javi, smiling fondly at the text on the screen. I start to type out another message, but before I can finish it, Landon appears so close behind me, I can feel the heat rolling off his chest when he leans in to whisper, “Who are you texting?”
Fear jumpstarts my heart. I drop the phone, startled, then fumble to pick it back up and darken the screen before he can see. “What? No one. Nothing. Hannah. Mind your business,” I blurt, feeling heat explode beneath my skin.
Landon looks at me oddly, his dark brows pulled together as he drops onto the seat beside me. “Yeah, that sounded like the truth.”
I glare at him and shove my phone into my backpack. “It’s none of your business who I’m texting. Nothing I do is any of your business.”
He shrugs. “Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.”
I roll my eyes, utterly uninterested in his bullshit. I’m not going to sit here at the counter with him, though, so I get up and start making myself a smoothie.
“Arden says he ran into you at the club.”
Fucking Arden.
“Yep. Hannah and I played tennis and had lunch with my mom.”
“You run into Aladdin while you were there?”
I turn around to meet his gaze. “You know Javi is Hispanic, right?”
“You know he’s also a poor asshole in a vest trying to trick some sheltered rich girl into liking him, right?”
My cheeks flush with heat. “I am not rich. I’m middle class at best. You’re the one with money.”
“Which you have access to now. You live in my house. You met him at acountry club, Parker. You think he looks at you and sees middle class?”
I sigh at him, then shake my head and focus on putting fruit in the blender. “Whatever. He wasn’t even working, so no, we didn’t see him. Again, not that it isanyof your business.”
Landon nods at the fruit bowl. “Get me an apple.”
“Get it yourself.”
I spoke without thought because I’m so annoyed at him, but when he actually gets up and saunters over toward me, my heartbeat accelerates like it’s auditioning forThe Fast and the Furious,and I find myself wishing I’d have just handed him the damn apple.
I swallow, trying my very best to ignore him as he comes up behind me. He looms deliberately, caging me in from behind, placing his hands on the counter on either side of me. I gasp as his heat hits my back, stiffen when he lets go of the counter to reach for the apple.
His breath tickles my ear as he murmurs, “Guess I didn’t ask very nicely, huh?”
My heart ticks erratically and suddenly I can’t breathe. It’s not fear, though. His words aren’t mean, they’re almost teasing. Lighthearted despite his threatening position behind me. It feels… different. Almost intimate.
Snatching his apple, he steps back, and in a split second, the moment has passed. He isn’t so close, and I can breathe again.
I brace my hands on the counter and try to steady my breathing and my racing heart so he doesn’t notice when he sits down, but he doesn’t sit down. When I look over, he’s gone, already on his way out the door.
I should feel relieved. I do, but some strange part of me feels bereft, too.
