Landon & Shay - Part Two: (The L&S Duet Book 2)

by Brittainy Cherry

  Oh, sweet Caroline, he was eye-fucking me. I felt the pool of heat in my stomach starting to build and the trembling of my thighs as Landon proceeded to eye-fuck me right there in Greyson’s hallway, underneath the mistletoe.

  I took a step back, trying to interrupt the awkward yet delicious interaction between us. I guessed he could see how he made me feel, based on the redness of my cheeks.

  His smile deepened, pleased by how flustered he left me.

  He took a step back, and I took another two.

  “Merry Christmas, Shay,” he whispered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a banana Laffy Taffy.

  I huffed and puffed and blew my nerves down as I snatched the candy from his grip. “Whatever, Landon. Merry Christmas.”

  I hurried back into the kitchen to help Eleanor prepare food. She raised an eyebrow my way. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Everything’s peachy,” I grumbled to myself, thinking about how odd Landon was acting. “You know what, I’m not peachy. You know what I hate most in this world?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Landon Harrison.” She laughed as if she didn’t believe me, because of course it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t get the unease out of my chest, so I kept going on. “I mean, can you believe that? When I showed up today, he had the nerve to say, ‘Merry Christmas,’ to me. Can you believe that asshole?” I spat out.

  By asshole I meant I loved him.

  She laughed. “How rude.”

  “Exactly! It’s like he’s trying to play some mind games.”

  “Or, he just meant Merry Christmas.”

  I huffed and puffed. Maybe I was overthinking everything.

  At least that was what I thought until he popped his head into the kitchen. “Need any help in here, ladies?” he asked.

  “You cook?” I countered.

  “Yeah, sometimes.”

  “Why do I find that hard to believe?”

  “I don’t know, but if you give me a few minutes, I’m sure I can bring some nice sausage into your life.” He winked my way.

  He.

  Winked.

  My stomach rolled from his words. It was so out of character for him, and I hadn’t a clue what was going on. He was reminding me of the old Landon that I used to hate so much.

  “You’re disgusting,” I bellowed, freaking confused by the person speaking to me. That wasn’t the man I loved. Not at all.

  “I’m just saying, it will probably be the best meat you’ll had in a while. And if memory serves me right, which it does, you kind of already told me how much you loved my sausage.”

  “Shut up, Landon,” I hissed as my cheeks heated up. “You’re so cocky.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Oh, fuck off, Landon,” I breathed out, completely flustered and embarrassed by the way he was talking.

  The rest of the morning continued with the crude remarks, and odd looks from Landon, leaving me feeling completely uneased. It felt as if I stepped into the Twilight Zone and had no way of getting out.

  When it was time for brunch, Eleanor asked me to go gather everyone up. “The guys are in Grey’s office. Just go on in and tell them to come.”

  I agreed and hurried in their direction. As I went to open the closed door, I paused as I heard voices talking. “All I’m saying is, I could get Shay to fall in love with me all over again if I wanted to, but I don’t. I have better things to do with my time,” Landon remarked, sending a dagger straight through my heart.

  “I doubt it, man. I bet you couldn’t do it. She’s over you,” Hank added to the conversation.

  “I’m with Hank,” Greyson remarked. “She’s not going to come back to you.”

  “Let’s put money on it,” Landon said. “Two thousand dollars says I can make Shay fall in love with me again in the next three months.”

  “Whoa, whoa. Not everyone has a whiskey company or is a famous actor. Some of us are poor. I’ll bet fifty bucks. Nothing higher,” Hank added in, and I was beyond pissed off now.

  They were truly betting on me as if we were back in high school. There was no way I was going to have any part of this again.

  I barged into the room, ready to snap on the guys for their childish behavior, but I paused my steps when I walked inside and saw papers scattered all across the office space. Pieces of papers hung from the ceiling like stars filling the sky. Papers covered the floors and the bookshelves. Hundreds and hundreds of pages across the room.

  I looked up at the three guys, who were cheesing too hard.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, looking at them with their cheeky smiles.

  “I think we’ll leave that for Landon to answer,” Greyson said as he and Hank hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

  My heart was pounding in my chest as if it was seconds away from leaping out of my body. “What is all of this?”

  “It’s us,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He walked toward me and nodded toward the ceiling. “Well, at least it’s me speaking to you. There’s over three thousand pieces of paper. Three thousand letters that I’d written to you. Three thousand pages of my love for you.”

  I picked up a piece of paper from the ground, completely confused by what he was talking about. My eyes skated across the words as tears began to form in my eyes.

  January 8th, 2007

  Chick,

  Tonight is a hard one. I haven’t been able to sleep. I wanted to call you, but I doubt you still have my number. I wanted to hold you, but I knew I no longer had that right. My mind’s been heavy lately, and the only way I’d been able to slow it down is when I think of you.

  I think of your smile. Your laugh. Your dimple. Your kindness.

  Every time I’m overwhelmed, I think of your heartbeats.

  It always calms the war inside my soul.

  I miss you.

  I think I always will.

  Raine told me you’re happy lately. In turn, so am I.

  -Satan

  I picked up more letters, my eyes shooting across the pages as if I were an addict in need of my next fix.

  February 3rd, 2010

  Happy birthday, Chick. I hope it’s one in a million.

  -Satan

  And another.

  July 12th, 2014

  Chick,

  I know it’s stupid that I still write these letters, but after all this time, it’s become a routine. It keeps my head clear, and my therapist says anything that keeps my mind on track is something worth keeping around. So, I keep crafting my words for you. Only ever for you.

  Last night I wanted to dream of your eyes.

  I hate that they are fading from my memory.

  -Satan

  And another…

  August 23rd, 2018,

  Chick,

  Last night you told me you hated me at the whiskey party.

  I hated that I wanted to tell you that I still loved you. That you still felt like home to me. That the happiest time of my life, was when I was in your arms. I can’t blame you for hating me. I’d hate me too for what I’ve done.

  But my love for you is still there sitting strong within my chest.

  I love you times two. I don’t think that will ever change.

  -Satan

  “You…you wrote me every day for the past decade?” I choked out, shock racing through my system as I stood in the middle of Landon’s mind. Words he created solely for me.

  “Yes. I knew there came a point when I should’ve stopped, but I couldn’t. I felt as if I stopped writing my letters, I’d officially lose you, and I never wanted that. I never wanted to let you go.”

  I walked over to him, treading through his stories, and took his hands into mine. I placed them against my chest and shook my head. “My heart doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. I’m afraid of loving you, because that means I can lose you again, Landon, and that terrifies me.”

  “I know. I know how much it scares you, because it scares me, too. I’m te
rrified that I’m going to mess this up. I’m terrified that I’m going to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me due to my slips into depression, or my struggles with sometimes making mistakes. The idea of losing you all over again is too much for me, though. We can be scared, but still stay. We can be afraid, and still honor our love. Still fight for this, because this is it, Shay. There’s never going to be anything or anyone else for you. You’re my story. You’re my final page. You’re my final word.”

  I took a deep inhalation and released it slowly. “What if I take too long to figure out how to stop being afraid?”

  “Remember what you said to me when we were younger? How you told me to take my time and to go slow? I need you to do that for yourself, but I’ll be right here waiting, ready to pick you up if you start to fall. I promise to go slow with you, to take the time to relish in our love, to not speed through it and miss the beautiful moments—your laugh, your smile, your heartbeats. I promise to move quietly though our love story, taking in every breath with care and passion. I promise you all over this, all of me. I promise you that I’ll sé valiente, sé fuerte, sé amable, y quédate.” The moment those words fell from his tongue, the tears began rolling down my cheeks.

  I kissed him.

  It was so gentle and small that I wasn’t even sure that it qualified as a kiss, but my lips brushed against his as time stood still.

  “This time’s forever?” I whispered against his lips.

  “This time’s forever. I couldn’t imagine spending another day without you by my side. I love you, Shay. More than words, I love you, and I am going to spend the rest of my life making up for all the memories we missed out on creating. This,” he said, pulling me in closer to his chest. “You, me, and us. This is only the beginning of our beautiful story, and I cannot wait to see what else we write against our pages.”

  “This is going to be the best story I’ve ever written.”

  He rested his forehead against mine, holding me as if he had no plans of ever letting me go. “I love you times two,” he said, kissing me gently.

  “I love you times two,” I echoed.

  And times three, times four, times infinity.

  Epilogue

  Shay

  Two years later

  “How are you holding up?” Mom asked as she peeked her head into my fitting room.

  My heart raced as I stared into the mirror. The dress that lie against my body was everything I’d ever dreamed of. It was the first wedding gown I’d tried on, and I knew instantly it was the dress for me. Still, Raine and Eleanor pushed for me to try on a few more options.

  “You never go with your first option, because there’s always something better around the corner,” Raine explained. “Plus, this is the first day I’ve had away from Jameson in the past two years, so I need you to take longer so I can get drunk on the free champagne.”

  After the seventh dress, and Raine had found herself a nice champagne buzz, I’d returned to the original dress that I’d instantly fell in love with.

  Sometimes in life, the first option was always the best one.

  That went for the dress, and for the man I would be marrying in a few months.

  Over the past two years, Landon and I put in the work to make our love story grow. We’d learned more about each other’s highs and lows. Even though I didn’t personally suffer from depression like Landon, I did have days, weeks, and months where I’d feel completely off. I’d go through waves of self-doubt and whenever those days came, Landon stood by my side. It took a long time to build up my trust in our relationship. I suffered from so many old beliefs that polluted my mind, and fear sometimes leaked into my heart making me believe that things were too good to true. That someday, Landon would realize that he was better off without me. That I wasn’t enough.

  On those days, weeks, and months, Landon moved in closer to me. His love became a weapon toward my self-doubts, and he slayed them by reminding me of our truths. That our love was strong. That our love was real. That no matter the storms, the sun would always shine on our story.

  When he asked me to marry him, it was the easiest yes of my life.

  “I think this is it.” I turned to my mother with tears in my eyes. “This is the dress I want to marry Landon in.”

  Her eyes beamed. “It’s perfect. Simply perfect.”

  Over the past years, I’d never seen my mother happier. David did as he promised and went above and beyond to show the amount of love he had for Mom. They’d been happily married for over a year now, and never in my life did I know love could be so whole.

  It turned out not all men were evil—some wanted nothing but happiness for the loves of their lives. That was one of the best truths I’d ever learned.

  Mima popped her head into the fitting room and her eyes swelled up with tears as she looked my way. “My gosh, that’s it, isn’t it? I knew it the first time I saw you in it.”

  “Yes. This is the one.” I nodded as I ran my fingers against the beautiful cream fabric. It was a princess gown, covered in lace and crystals throughout the dress.

  Mima walked toward me with a large envelope in her hands and held it out to me. “I was instructed to give this to you once you’ve made your final choice. Come on, Camila. Let’s give her some time alone with the package.”

  The two left the fitting room, and I ripped the package open.

  Inside was a notebook with a few pieces of candy in the bottom of the package.

  Banana Laffy Taffys.

  My lips curved into a grin as I opened the notebook and began reading the words against the page.

  Chick,

  Today is the day the woman of my dreams has found the dress of hers dreams. You’ve discovered the dress you’ll wear when you walk down the aisle to give me my happily ever after. I never believed in love stories before you entered my life. I didn’t believe in romance or happy endings, or anything with an ounce of life.

  You changed all of that for me. You brought me into a new realm of beliefs. You’ve made me a believer in true love, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

  I wanted to share a few words with you about how you’ve changed my life for the better, how without you, there is no home.

  You’re the definition of strength and love. Not only love for others, but for yourself. It’s been an honor to watch how you’ve grown into the strong woman that you are today. You fight for your happiness in all aspects of your life, and you inspire me to be better. You push me to chase my dreams without concerns of the opinions of others. You calm the storm inside my head. When I am in the depths of a warzone, you still my mind.

  You are my soulmate, my heartbeats, my fairy tale love, and I cannot say enough how much you’ve shaped me into a better person.

  When you walk down the aisle toward me in that beautiful gown, know that I am promising you my forever. I am promising you my ups and downs. I am promising you I’ll put in the work to make you happy. To make myself happy. To make us happy.

  There was a point in my life where I never thought I’d make it to my thirties. I’d lived with a cloud of darkness hovering over me that I thought would never clear, then you came into my life and shone your life on me. You brought me to a place where I’d learned to make peace with my demons, not by enabling me, but by pushing me to want more for myself. To give myself the best chance at life.

  You’ve saved me.

  Day in and day out, you save my life.

  I love you times two. From now until forever. I cannot wait for you to be my wife.

  Here’s to our story. Our struggles, our light.

  Thank you for the beautiful words you’ve given me throughout the years.

  I am the man I am today, because of your love.

  -Satan

  P.S. You look so beautiful today. Don’t worry, I’m not around the corner sneaking a peek. I just know that no matter what’s on your body, you always glow. I hope you can feel my love today from a distance. I’m sending it in waves. />
  My lips curved up into the biggest smile as my heart pounded against my chest. Once upon a time, I fell in love with a boy. A beautiful, broken boy who had his own world of struggles. He fought his demons. He went to battle each day and came back stronger than before, and he was mine.

  All his bumps, all his bruises, and all his battle scars were mine, and I loved every single one.

  Landon

  Six years later

  “And the winner for best screenplay goes to”—the announcer took his time opening the envelope as my hand stayed wrapped tightly in Shay’s grip—“Steven Kane for Beyond.”

  The room cheered loudly for Steven as he walked up the steps of the stage to accept his Oscar for the night. Shay and I applauded for him as he delivered his speech. The guy even cried, which was expected. He’d been up for ten Oscars in the past and had never won one in his life.

  Still, I felt as if my wife had been robbed from the award.

  Shay had been nominated for her first ever Oscar, and she’d taken the loss the way she’d taken every moment in her life: with grace and humility. She clapped for Steven with a true genuine smile against her lips, and that was the reason I loved her the most: because she knew how to be happy for others. She understood that Steven’s success didn’t deem her as a failure. She knew that no matter what, she was good enough—with or without others telling her so.

  She never took me up on my offer to pass on her name in order to get her work seen to the world, though, oddly enough, Sarah Sims helped her out on that front. All those years ago after Sarah blasted Shay’s story on Good Morning America, a few agents reached out to Shay, asking her if she was in need of representation. It was funny how the universe worked—what seemed like the end of Shay’s dreams coming true was truly just the beginning.