by Mya Wood
You shouldn’t go near this one, his brain told him. She’s not very stable, seems to be a bit of a flake. And apparently, she drinks.
Landry’s sweeter side spoke up in Bianca’s defense. She’s on holiday, she’s alone and she had some wine. That doesn’t necessarily make her a candidate for AA.
And she gives off some pretty hot vibes, added his libido.
And, said a tiny corner of his brain that paid very close attention to these things, she doesn’t know who you are.
Chapter 4
Bianca didn’t sleep well. In the dead quiet of night, the sound of the water hovered at the edge of her brain. She got up twice to try and do something about the trickle. The second time, she draped a towel over the tap, so that the water would go quietly into it and then down the drain.
She fell asleep shortly thereafter but then came suddenly awake, afraid that the towel would block the drain and the tub would overflow by morning. Her fears were unfounded, however, and she climbed back into bed.
That’s what you get for drinking early in the evening, said her conscience. You made a fool of yourself, and now you've sobered up to the point where you can’t sleep, and you have a headache.
Two Extra-Strength Tylenol had done little to alleviate that situation.
Well it wasn’t my fault the tap came off, Bianca argued back.
But she knew she hadn’t acquitted herself well in any way, shape, or form. And honestly, she wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much. Landry – she mentally rolled her eyes at the name – was a cute guy, with muscles on his muscles, but he seemed a bit...dim.
And you didn’t come here for romance, her conscience reminded her, you came here to decide your future.
Bianca punched the pillow and rolled over again, trying to get comfortable and go to sleep. Eventually, she succeeded, but her dreams were chaotic, and she tossed and turned a lot.
Then, just as dawn was breaking, Bianca came out of a very erotic dream about someone with stunning blue eyes and golden skin.
Aw, the hell with it, she told herself. Go watch the sun come up over the ocean. There can’t be a better start to the day.
Especially in August.
Meanwhile, Landry awoke the next morning early. He had made a note the night before about what had happened and that a plumber needed to be called. Then he took it up to the office, and letting himself in with the master key, placed it prominently where Rose would see it first thing in the morning.
On the way back to his apartment, Landry had passed Room fifteen and noticed that the lights were all out.
Probably passed out, he thought, and then he chastised himself for being uncharitable. The girl hadn’t been that drunk. Maybe she hadn’t drunk the whole bottle. Maybe it already had some out of it when she started.
Maybe you should stop thinking about her, he scolded. You’re not here for romance – you’re here to fix the damn plumbing.
Landry went to bed, but he didn’t sleep well either, half listening for another knock on the door. He made himself some coffee and looked out the window at the ocean.
Man, you couldn’t beat this view. He loved the ocean and every time he came here, he thought about giving up his place in Kissimmee and moving to the beach. His friends had suggested that maybe he could have both, but that seemed a little extravagant to the frugal Landry.
A movement on the beach caught Landry’s eye. It was Bianca. She was standing at the edge of the water and talking to someone. She waved her hands as she spoke. Landry couldn’t see anyone else there. They must be back against the hedge, he mused.
Suddenly, Bianca stopped and shook her head. She stretched her arms up over her head and bent from the waist, reaching down to touch her toes.
Oh, God! thought Landry, the woman was just so sexy and had such a nice ass. Still, he didn’t want to get caught watching her again, so he backed up out of her view. Then he deliberately walked back to the window and cranked it open, knowing that it squeaked something awful.
Bianca turned and looked up. Landry pretended to see her for the first time.
“Morning,” he called. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yes, thanks,” Bianca called back. “But I kept dreaming about Niagara Falls, for some reason.”
Landry laughed and said he was sure the shower would be fixed this morning.
“Good,” said Bianca, “because this ocean is calling my name, and I will need to shower the salt off when I come out.”
“You can always shower up here,” offered Landry. He realized that it sounded like a pickup line. “I mean…”
Bianca just smiled and nodded. “Thanks for the offer. When’s breakfast again?”
“Eight ‘til ten,” replied Landry, looking at his watch. It was only 7:15. “You’ve still got 45 minutes. Want some coffee?”
Bianca wanted to say ‘yes’ very much, but instead she said, “I don’t drink coffee.” She was happy to see the disappointed look on Landry’s face, and added, “But if I make a cup of tea in my room, would you like to walk on the beach a bit?”
“Sounds good,” he said, surprised by the pleasant feeling that moved through him.
Well, all right! Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad here, after all.
Landry watched Bianca walk up the beach to the break in the hedge and then head for her room. No one else stood up to follow her. Who had she been talking to? Oh, dear Lord, please say she doesn’t talk to herself.
Landry’s hopes faded. He knew the number one rule. Never get involved with a nut!
Landry smiled to himself. She didn’t know who he was. He could tell that almost immediately. He was pretty skilled at figuring that out. They all were.
There were people, especially women, who liked to pretend they didn’t recognize the players and would then do this whole ‘oh my, I’m so embarrassed’ act as if that would gain them points for not being screaming ‘oh, my God’ groupies.
It didn’t. Phony was phony, and it didn’t impress any of them.
But Bianca had no idea who he was. And Landry wasn’t going to tell her, either. Instead he was going to walk on the beach with her and try and find out if she was a nutcase or a drunk or what.
No harm could come at 7:00 in the morning. He still had a few good days to put in here, and she was here until Friday. Plus, he was pretty overdue for some lovin’.
Landry refilled his coffee cup and made his way to the beach. Bianca arrived a few minutes later carrying her cup of tea.
“Good morning,” she said. “Again.”
Bianca had been having the same kind of discussion with herself that Landry had and had come to the same conclusion…that a morning walk on the beach would be very illuminating, but not at all committing…that it would give her a chance to learn a little more about his character.
‘Sweet but dim’ was her opinion so far, and she decided that she wanted to spice up her stay at the Hampton Inn by adding a little physical action to the mix. Of course, she reminded herself, you had better be a more together person this morning than you were last night, ‘cause dim or not, he won’t be interested.
“Good morning,” replied Landry, and he nodded up the beach. “This direction?”
Bianca nodded back and fell into step beside him. They walked for awhile, saying nothing, just enjoying the beautiful morning, the sun turning the sky bright pink and then fading to blue, the waves lapping the shore.
Neither wanted to be the first to speak, and each was trying desperately to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound like a pickup line or just flat out stupid.
“Thanks…” began Bianca.
“I hope…” started Landry at the same time. They both laughed and shook their heads.
“Let’s start again,” said Bianca. “Hi, I’m Bianca.”
She extended her hand, and Landry shook it.
“Pleased to meet you, Bianca. I’m Landry, the owners’ nephew. I’m here helping them
out for the week.”
“That’s very sweet of you. I’m here for my vacation and to try and figure out the rest of my life.”
“That’s a pretty big job,” said Landry. “How’s it going so far?”
The specter of the empty wine bottle loomed up in front of them both.
“Well, I got the feeling-sorry-for-myself part done with, so now I can go on to rational thought,” stated Bianca, looking at Landry closely to see if this would come close to explaining her behavior from yesterday.
“It’s always good to get that out of the way first,” agreed Landry. “And are you getting good advice from…?”
He didn’t know how to finish this without letting on that he had been watching her on the beach.
“From whom?” asked Bianca.
“When I was making coffee this morning, I saw you on the beach, talking…with your hands…but I couldn’t see who you were talking to. I wondered if you had a friend along…”
Landry’s voice trailed off, but his ears listened very carefully for the answer.
If she’s here with someone else, that’s it, then, whispered his libido.
Shut up, said his brain, I want to hear this.
“Umm…” Bianca was embarrassed. “You’re going to think I’m such a nut. Oh well, you pretty much think that anyway. I was talking to...him.”
She pointed down at the ground, where a sandpiper ran back and forth, chasing the waves.
“You were talking to the birds?” asked Landry.
“Well, only one of them,” stammered Bianca. “He’s a good listener,” she finished, rolling her eyes.
“Really?” said Landry, squatting down on his haunches. The sight of his thighs tightening caused Bianca to bite her lip. “Are you a good listener?” he asked the bird.
The bird stopped what he was doing and cocked his head in Landry’s direction. Then it went back to its life of running after the outgoing wave, pecking whatever it could out of the wet sand and then running back up the shore to escape the incoming wave.
Landry stood up again and looked at Bianca. He smiled at her and said, “Just shows you how much I know. I’ve been talking to the shells. They don’t listen well at all.”
Bianca grinned back at him. Maybe it would be okay.
Landry looked at his watch. “Let’s head back. It’s almost time for breakfast. I’m hungry.”
“Me too,” said Bianca, who had had nothing but Cheetos for nourishment since early yesterday.
They walked back in silence, each digesting their thoughts. Bianca’s brain tried to talk sense into her – she was here to make decisions about life, not to get laid. Meanwhile, other body parts suggested that maybe they could accomplish both. And her nerve endings screamed at everyone to shut up, that they were still trying to absorb the vibes.
Landry’s body parts were in similar conflict. His brain was relaxing somewhat about the state of Bianca’s mental health, but he still had some concerns…I mean, talking to birds… His libido, however, was kicking into high gear…oh boy, oh boy, oh boy… His conscience was trying to override the whole thing…telling them all to calm down, that maybe it wouldn’t be the best thing for her…and his hand just wanted to touch her.
It came up of its own accord and was about to settle on her shoulder when he heard, “Good morning, Landry!!”
Landry’s hand froze in mid-air and then dropped back down to his side, disappointed.
“Good morning, Mrs. Dandridge,” replied Landry to a rather large lady who had waddled out onto the beach. She was wearing a brightly-patterned muumuu and a lot of makeup. It made Bianca think of a circus tent with a clown’s head on top.
“How are we all doing this morning?” Mrs. Dandridge continued, with a leer and a sly wink at Bianca. Good catch, Honey.
“Fine, Mrs. Dandridge, just fine. Um…this is Bianca…”
Bianca reached forward and shook Mrs. Dandridge’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You’re in fifteen, aren’t you?” beamed the lady, letting Bianca know that she had zero expectations of privacy for the rest of her stay.
Bianca nodded. “That’s right.” She turned to Landry. “I’m going to rinse out my mug and go get some breakfast. Thanks for the walk.” She disappeared through the hedge.
Landry watched her walk away, enjoying the swing of her hips. He turned back to Mrs. Dandridge, who looked like the proverbial cat with canary feathers hanging out of its mouth.
“She seems nice, Landry dear,” said the older lady, “and you deserve a little fun. It must be so boring here for you. Nobody but old folks and families with little kids. You’re such a sweet boy to be helping out, but…” a nudge and a wink, “…you’re not a monk.”
Landry blushed. Is this what the old folks did when they were sitting around the pool? Did they talk about poor, sweet Landry and his lack of action? He was going to have to be very careful now with Bianca, if he had fifty spies tracking his every move.
Bianca dumped her mug in her room and headed for the breakfast room at the front of the Inn. It wasn’t really a room, just a patio with awning over it. It was very pretty, too – with white tables and chairs with green striped cushions that matched the awning.
Once again, Bianca stopped to say hello to the birds.
Rose was explaining them to the little French girl. “The one with the yellow head is Nicky.”
“Neekee,” repeated the little girl.
“And the green one,” Rose pointed to the one on the upper branch, “his name is Toni.”
“Toni,” echoed the little girl. Then she pointed to the third one. “Bru…no?”
“That’s right,” said Rose.
Bianca moved out of earshot and into the office where the breakfast buffet was set up at one end. She chose some fruit and toasted a bagel for herself. She grabbed a glass of orange juice and headed out to the patio.
There was an empty table at the end. Bianca sat there, wishing she had brought a book with her. She hated sitting alone in restaurants. She carefully peeled back the foil on the serving of cream cheese and was spreading it on her bagel when she saw Landry come out with a tray.
He looked around and was about to head for Bianca when one of the male seniors said, “Sit here, Son,” and motioned to an empty chair at the table.
“Thanks,” said Landry. He was just about to sit down when the man’s wife spoke abruptly.
“No, that seat’s taken.”
Her husband looked at her questioningly, and she gave him a look that fifty years of marriage allowed him to interpret immediately.
“Oh, that’s right, um…sorry.”
“That’s okay,” said Landry, feeling the blush starting again, “I’ll just sit over here then.”
Then he turned to Bianca. “Mind if I join you?”
Chapter 5
Bianca and Landry ate in silence for a few minutes, both aware that they were the object of much attention in the room even though the seniors were trying to be discreet about their nudges, winks, and stares.
Landry sat with his back to them, but Bianca was facing them and got the whole scene. The men paid no attention at all but the women gave her looks that said they wished they were forty years younger. They would make the most of this.
Eventually, the seniors left to get started on their day of bickering with their spouses. The French family gathered up their things and headed out, the little girl stopping to say, “Au revoir, Nicky. Au revoir, Toni. Au revoir, Bruno.”
She looked for the fourth bird but couldn’t see it. She wanted to wait for it to come out into the open, but her mother pulled her by the hand and dragged her off.
Landry’s face had gone quite pale, Bianca noticed. She looked down at what he was eating. Was he feeling unwell? He had the same stuff she did, she thought, so it couldn’t be food poisoning.
“So what do you do when you’re not babysitting hotels?” she asked. “Do you have a regu
lar job?”
Landry hesitated.
“I’m an athlete,” he said, finally
“Really?” said Bianca. “Cool. Like professionally?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” He shrugged. Bianca pictured him as a high school football coach or the captain of a local fantasy football chapter. Landry continued, “Do you like football?”
“Sure,” she said, “What warm blooded American doesn’t? But I don’t watch it or anything. I mostly just wait for my coworkers to tell me who won.”
