by A. L. Martin
“Good. Is he going to stay for a while?” she asked, letting go to wash her glass out in the sink.
“I think he’s going to leave when Gavin has to run Sam home in a little bit.”
“You know her parents really need to cut the strings and let her have some freedom. She’s going to go crazy once she goes off to college,” Mom said, shaking her head.
I couldn’t disagree with Mom because Gavin and I had said it numerous times amongst ourselves. And neither one of us was going to be around to keep her out of trouble when that happened. I often thought about trying to talk her into going to the same college together. That way, I could be around to keep her from going too crazy with her new-found freedom. Then again, I had no idea where I wanted to go to college now. How could I talk one of my best friends into going somewhere, when I didn’t know where somewhere was going to be?
I went back out into the living room to join everyone else. Jules and Asher were still on the loveseat. Gavin stretched out on the floor. Sam and Wyatt were sitting on each end of the couch, leaving the middle for me. I sat down nestled up next to Wyatt, leaning my head back against his shoulder.
“Everything okay?” he whispered into my ear.
“Never better.” I smiled, then turned my head to the right, sliding my hand across the couch, tapping Sam’s hand. She glanced over at me, smiling. She reached down and tapped Gavin on the shoulder. He leaned his head back, smiling up at both of us. Mom joined us a few minutes later. I sat there looking around at everyone. A calming sensation fell over me that everything was going to fall into place. What I didn’t realize was the feeling wasn’t a reassurance that everything was going to be fine, but a warning that everything was about to fall apart in front of my eyes.
Chapter 18
The next morning, I woke up to the aroma of blueberries, which could only mean one thing…Mom’s blueberry pancakes. I looked in my vanity mirror, brushing, my hair, and noticed the involuntary smile on my face. It felt good to be smiling without having to force it. I slipped on a pair of fuzzy socks and dug a sweatshirt out of my bottom dresser drawer. It was a little chilly in the house this morning. Mom was walking up to the stairs when I came out of my bedroom.
“Good morning.” She smiled, wiping her hands on a faded blue kitchen towel. “Are you hungry? I made blueberry pancakes.”
“I know. The smell woke me up,” I said, walking down the stairs. “Do you need me to go back up and wake up Jules?” I asked, pointing my thumb over my shoulder.
“No. She has been up for a while and wanted to help me make breakfast this morning.” She smiled, turning to go back to the kitchen.
I followed her to the kitchen where Jules was in front of the stove, flipping the pancakes over on the griddle. “Morning, Londyn.”
“Morning. Do you need any help?” I asked, watching her flip the last one.
“Nope.”
I walked around and grabbed glasses for juice, placing them on the counter for when breakfast was ready. I stood there, leaning against the counter, watching Jules cook.
“So, what are you going to do today?” I asked Jules.
“I might see Asher later. We haven’t made any definite plans. What are you going to do?” she asked, looking over her shoulder back at me.
“I think Gavin’s coming over later. You know Sam will have to spend time at home with her family today.”
“What about Wyatt?” she said, turning back around to face the stove.
“I don’t know if he’s coming over today or not. I didn’t even check my phone before coming downstairs, now that I think about it.” I turned to head upstairs to get my phone. I took a couple steps inside my room, grabbing my phone and unplugging it from the charger. No texts from anybody yet. They were all doing the smart thing, sleeping in this morning. I would still be asleep if it wasn’t for the smell of Mom’s cooking. She knew I could never resist homemade blueberry pancakes.
Right as I turned to walk out of my room, Mom hollered that breakfast was ready. I made my way back to the kitchen and poured juice for everyone, while Jules got everyone’s plates. I loved Sundays at Mom’s house. I wished it could be like this all the time.
I let Jules take her shower first since she was more than likely going to be seeing Asher in a little while. I didn’t know what I was going to be doing later, so I wasn’t in any hurry to get ready. Mom had gone up to her room to get ready before anyone stopped by the house. That was one of her pet peeves. She had to be dressed with her hair done in case one of our friends came by the house. She didn’t care if her makeup was on or not. I cleaned up the kitchen a little more while they were both upstairs. I wiped down the counters and stove, and put the dishes away in the cabinets. I kept a glass out to get me some juice, then checked my phone to see if anyone had texted me yet. There were couple from Gavin, none from Sam, and one from Wyatt. Gavin said he would be over close to lunch, and asked if I would want to go with him to get something to eat. I wanted to check the text from Wyatt before I texted Gavin back. If Wyatt wanted to see me, then I was going to suggest that all of us go get something.
I had a great time last night. I was hoping maybe you’d want to see me today.
I sent Wyatt a quick text back, saying I would love to see him today but Gavin asked me to have lunch with him. I told him I would text him back after I texted Gavin real quick. We did that back and forth for about ten minutes. Eventually, we all agreed to meet at the house, then go to lunch between one and two this afternoon.
I got so busy texting back and forth between Gavin and Wyatt, that I forgot to pour my glass of juice. I walked over to get some juice when Jules walked into the kitchen, her hair still wet.
“I’m out of the shower if you want to get yours now,” she said, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet. “I was going to dry my hair in my room.”
“Thanks. I need to hurry up and get ready, in fact. Gavin and Wyatt are coming over later, then we are going out to get something to eat.” I smiled.
“Londyn, let me curl your hair? Please.”
“What about your hair?” I asked, pouring myself some juice.
“I’m probably going to throw it up in a bun for today. Besides, Asher likes it up. I’m going to go dry my hair. Go get ready.” She headed out of the kitchen.
I grabbed my glass of juice and went up to my room before heading to get a shower.
I realized I had left my phone down in the kitchen, so I ran down there real quick to grab it. There was another text from Wyatt, saying he couldn’t wait to see me in a little bit. I saw the time on my phone and ran upstairs to the bathroom. Amazingly enough, I was in and out of the shower within 15 minutes, which was a world record for me.
I towel dried my hair in the bedroom before getting dressed into the outfit I had laid out on my bed earlier. I decided to go ahead and do my makeup so I wouldn’t mess up my hair once Jules got it fixed. I decided to play up my eyes a little bit more than normal. I went with a couple of different shades of warm mauve to make my green eyes stand out. I hurried up and dried my hair because I knew Jules would be coming in any minute.
“Londyn, are you ready for me to do your hair?” Jules asked, standing in the doorway of my room. She had her makeup done and her hair up in a messy bun.
“Yeah. Sorry it took me so long,” I said, turning around on my bench.
“I love your makeup. Your eyes look fantastic!” She walked over closer to me.
“You don’t think it’s too much?” I turned back around to look in the mirror.
She walked up behind me, leaning down. “No. You look amazing.” She smiled.
She plugged in my curling wand and started to section off my hair while it warmed up. She asked me if I wanted it curled mid-length down, or just at the ends. I told her she could make that decision for me. She smiled at me, then started curling my hair.
“What do you think?” she asked, bending down to look at me in the mirror.
“It looks great. Thanks, Jules.” I
smiled, lightly touching my hair.
“Jules!” Mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
She walked out of the bedroom and was back within a few minutes. “Asher’s here. You look so pretty, Londyn. Wyatt’s going to be blown away.” She gave a quick smile and wave.
I looked down at my phone to check the time and to see if I had any messages. There were none, but Gavin and Wyatt would be here soon. I got up and walked over to the closet to see what kind of shoes I wanted to wear today with my outfit. I didn’t know where all we were going, so I didn’t want to wear high heels in case there was going to be a lot of walking. After a few minutes of looking over my shoes, I finally decided on a pair of black ballet flats. I slipped them on, then grabbed my empty glass and phone from my vanity table. I headed downstairs to get some more juice before they arrived.
“Wow.” Mom smiled.
“Do you think it’s too much?” I asked, looking down at my clothes.
“I think you look amazing. I take it Wyatt is coming over later?” She winked.
“Well, him and Gavin. We are going to go get something to eat in a little bit. Is that okay?” I looked up briefly from pouring some juice.
“Yeah. Sorry about last night. I over-reacted.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I told him you weren’t yourself at dinner.” I took a sip of my drink, when the doorbell rang, causing me to jump. The juice went down the wrong hole. I sat the glass down with a hard thud, covering my mouth to keep from spitting all over the counter from coughing.
“Londyn, Gavin and Wyatt are here.” Jules walked into the kitchen.
“Tell them she will be out in a few minutes,” Mom said, rubbing my back.
“She okay?” Jules asked, moving closer.
“Yes. She choked on her drink.”
I managed to get myself under control enough to try and take another drink.
“Are you okay?” Mom asked, fixing the messed pieces of hair.
“Yeah. Did I mess up my hair?”
“No.” She dabbed the corner of my eyes to get the smudge marks from me coughing. “There. Perfect.” She smiled.
I straightened up my shirt and took a quick glance down at my jeans before heading out of the kitchen. I didn’t see them standing by the front door when I made my way through the dining room. I could see Jules and Asher sitting on the couch kissing, and coughed to get their attention.
“Mom is about to come in here. Do you want her to catch you two kissing?” I whispered.
“No. Thanks, Londyn,” Jules said, wiping the sides of her mouth.
I turned around and saw Wyatt sitting on the couch, but Gavin was nowhere in sight. I spun around to find him in Mom’s chair. “When did you get here?” I asked, looking around.
He shook his head, laughing. “I’ve been here the whole time. You walked right past me to get onto Jules and Asher for kissing.”
“Sorry.” I giggled.
“It’s okay. Are you ready to go get something to eat?” He looked down at his watch.
“What time is it?” I asked, looking down at Gavin.
“It’s almost one-thirty,” he said, standing up. “By the way, you look great.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. I went to turn around to see if Wyatt was ready, and bumped right into him, stumbling backwards a few steps.
“You okay?” Wyatt asked, pulling me closer to him.
“Yes.” I could feel warmth flood across my cheeks. “I didn’t realize you had gotten up.
Wyatt wrapped his arm around me, leaning his head down close to my ear, his breath warm on my neck. “You look beautiful today.” He raised his head slowly, gazing into my eyes. He took my hand and led me over to the door. I was about to walk out when I remembered I didn’t have my phone or purse with me. I slid my hand out of Wyatt’s, excusing myself to go get my purse from upstairs and my phone from the kitchen. I let Mom know we were leaving when I ran into the kitchen to get my phone. She told me to have fun.
When I made it back to the entry way, Gavin wasn’t there, so I assumed he had gone outside. Wyatt was standing next to the door, looking down at his phone.
“Gavin go outside?” I asked, looking in the living room.
“He’s on the porch, waiting for us. I’m going to drive us. Where do you want to go?” he asked, opening the glass storm door for me.
“I don’t know what sounds good right now. We can all decide in the car.”
“I thought you tow were right behind me,” Gavin said, leaning against the light grey stone column.
“Sorry. I had to go back upstairs to grab my purse, then get my phone out of the kitchen.”
He looked over at me, shaking his head. “It’s a wonder you can make it out of the house and to school on time. You’re always forgetting something.”
Gavin got in the backseat behind me so he would have plenty of leg room. Wyatt opened the passenger door for me, and I could hear him inhale when I stepped past him to get in the car. I could feel the corners of my mouth curl up into a smile. Once I was in the car, he closed the door behind me and walked around the front of the car. The jeans he had on hugged his ass perfectly. I found myself staring at it, and my head must have been following in the direction of my eyes.
“Do you need a bib?” Gavin laughed.
“What?” I snapped, trying to sound annoyed.
“You know what? I was staring myself.” He patted me on the shoulder, laughing.
“I wasn’t staring.” I huffed.
“Yeah, and I’m straight.”
I leaned over towards the driver seat and glanced back at Gavin. “Funny.” Annoyance exuded out of my mouth.
Wyatt opened the door and I quickly moved back over in my seat, while Gavin chuckled in the backseat.
“Everything okay?” Wyatt asked, looking at me and Gavin.
“Londyn was admiring your jeans,” Gavin said, smiling.
“Gavin!” I yelled.
Wyatt sat there with a huge grin on his face. “Well, I’m glad you like them.” He winked.
He backed out of the drive and headed down the road, still smiling from ear to ear. I kept my eyes on the road, afraid to look over at Wyatt and die right here in his car from embarrassment. I couldn’t believe Gavin blurted that the minute Wyatt got in the car. Then, it hit me like a brick wall that I didn’t deny it either. I rolled my eyes, leaning my head back against the seat. I felt Wyatt’s hand slide across mine, but I couldn’t look at him.
“Londyn, it’s okay.” His voice was sincere.
I lowered my head, moving my hand over to interlock my fingers with his. Wyatt asked where we wanted to eat. Gavin wanted a good club sandwich, and to be honest, that sounded really good. Wyatt agreed too, since we didn’t eat that healthy yesterday. Since Gavin and I chose the menu, let Wyatt choose the place. He told us of a place that had the best sandwiches, but he didn’t tell us the name. I didn’t care where he took us. He could drive us three states away. I just wanted to be with him. Part of me did feel guilty for being with him, and not waiting for Hunter. At this point, I didn’t know if Hunter was ever going to talk to me again, and I wasn’t going to wait around anymore for him to make up his mind. Wyatt was gorgeous, and he didn’t seem like the type of guy that would just up and stop talking to me without an explanation.
We got back to Mom’s house around four to find her SUV gone. They must have gone to go do something or eat. I had Wyatt pull in behind Gavin’s car. I didn’t know if they had just left or if they were on their way back, and I didn’t want to listen to her complain later about my friends parking in her spot. She was anal like Dad about her parking place in the drive. I would never tell her that though. Besides, she would just deny it if I did say something like that to her.
Gavin hopped out of the car first, while Wyatt got out and walked around to open the door for me. He took my hand once I was out and he closed the door behind me. Gavin was already up on the porch, waiting for me to get up there and unlock the door for us.
&nbs
p; “Londyn, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want anything?” Gavin said, walking through the door once I got it unlocked.
“I’ll take some tea.”
“Wyatt, you want anything to drink?” Gavin yelled from the kitchen doorway.
“Surprise me,” he yelled back.
He turned to face me, leaning down, staring into my eyes. “I want to kiss you,” he whispered, inches away from my mouth. He let go of me and walked into the living room. I stood there, staring down at the floor, then toward the kitchen, thinking he heard Gavin getting ready to walk out with drinks. I followed him into the living room.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked, looking behind me to make sure Gavin wasn’t walking out yet.
“No. Remember, I told you not too long ago that I should be around you.”
“I remember, but you still come around me. So, you being around me must not be that dangerous.” I smiled, walking closer to him.
“You have no idea the danger I am putting you in each time I come around. But, I can’t stay away either.”
“Where did you both go?” Gavin yelled from the other room.
“We are in the living room,” I said, peeking my head around the corner.
Gavin brought us our glasses of tea, then disappeared around the corner again. He was back within a few minutes, asking what we were going to do. We talked about leaving again but didn’t know where to go or what we wanted to do after we left. Then, we decided to rent a movie off one of the digital streaming programs.
Now, we just had to decide on what kind of movie we wanted to watch. I knew no matter what I picked, I was going to be outnumbered. They were gracious enough to let me choose the movie, and didn’t groan too much when I picked somewhat of a chick flick. Gavin stretched out on the couch, leaving the loveseat for me and Wyatt. I asked if they wanted popcorn before we got too far into the movie. The both declined, stating they were full from lunch.
Mom, Jules, and Asher got back when we were right in the middle of the movie, so they went to the kitchen. I paused the movie real quick to go talk to Mom. She was pouring drinks for all of them, while Jules and Asher were sitting on the other side of the table by the big bay window.
