by Mya Wood
Landry sighed. “Don’t tell me you’re going to start in on this too. She’s just a girl I met…”
“Yeah, I know…in August. That’s cool. Hey, I get it. Love ‘em and leave ‘em. All I’m saying is it must have been fiery hot. I’m totally down with it. I’m not looking to get serious either. That’ll happen in its own good time. Cheers.” Nick raised his glass.
“Cheers,” replied Landry. “But it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t…she wasn’t…she wasn’t just…it wasn’t just about the sex. She was a nice person. I didn’t mean to give the impression that she was…”
“No, no, you didn’t… That’s cool. She was nice. I get it.” Nick sighed. “It's hard to find someone like that these days – you know, not just someone trying to get a little piece of the fame.”
Landry laughed. “Oh, she certainly wasn’t that. She didn’t even know who I was.”
Nick stared at him. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for that!”
Landry nodded. Nick had been burned so many times by girls who were just interested in what he could do for them that he was afraid to get involved with anyone. When he had been named the Sexiest Guy in sports by Cosmo magazine, many people had been impressed that he had received over ten million votes. To Nick, it was just ten million more girls he didn’t trust to get close to him.
“She was great. She was funny.” Landry shook his head and became lost in thought for a moment. “And she did this thing with her hair…” His voice trailed off.
“Well,” said Nick, getting to his feet, “I gotta go. This meeting of Bachelors Anonymous is now adjourned.” He laughed. “And hey, what’s wrong with being a bachelor – I’m young, I’ve got lots of time. Anyway, I'll catch you later.”
Landry drained his glass. “Yeah, I gotta go too.”
They walked out to the parking lot and got into their separate cars. Nick kept a perfectly straight face until he had said goodbye to Landry and watched him drive out of the lot. Then he broke into a huge grin.
Reverse psychology, he said to himself. Who knew I was so good at it!?
A good hundred miles away, Valerie found herself in a similar position with Bianca.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Bianca. She and Valerie were having it out over the phone.
“Look,” said Valerie, “you don’t fool me for a second. I know that you are pining away for the luscious Mr. Hampton.”
“I am not,” said Bianca. “How can you say that? Have I mentioned him once?”
No, thought Valerie, you haven’t said his name out loud. But your eyes tell a different story.
“Bianca, you haven’t been out on a date since you started teaching. I know you’re tired and all, but surely you could do something on Saturdays.”
“I went out last Saturday – with you, if you remember.”
“Yes, with me. Just me. For lunch. You haven’t been out with a guy since…him.”
Him.
Bianca closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them and gave her head a decisive little shake. “I haven’t been out on a date because no one has asked me. Ok, Val? Does that work for you? No one has asked me, and I think I’m getting a little beyond trolling singles bars looking for men.”
Valerie was relentless. “Well, what if one asked you out, would you go then?”
“It would depend on who it was. Look, I’m not averse to dating. I’ve just been busy and tired and apparently, not sought after. So can we give the whole ‘Landry’ thing a rest? Because you’re dead wrong about it.”
“Rob has a friend…”
“Oh God, Val, don’t try and set me up. What have you been doing, begging Rob to find a date for your poor, pathetic friend?”
“No, it’s not like that at all. Rob likes you, and he has this friend, Barry. He thinks the two of you would be great together. He wants us all to go out together this Saturday.”
It was Thursday. Bianca was exhausted. She didn’t want to have this discussion, and she didn’t want to go out on a date.
Why not? asked her brain. Valerie’s not wrong. You haven’t been out since…him.
Bianca sighed, “Where would we go?”
“I don’t know,” said Valerie. “Maybe we could go dancing at Mortimer’s. Have a few drinks, have a few laughs.”
“I’m not drinking,” said Bianca.
Valerie made a sound.
“You got a problem with that?” said Bianca, indignantly. “It’s a bad thing if someone’s not drinking? I thought you told me I was drinking too much in the summer. And now that I’m not drinking at all, you have a problem with that too?”
“I don’t have a problem with you not drinking,” said Valerie, with just as much indignation in her voice. “I just have a problem with why.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Bianca.
Valerie’s patience was at an end.
“Are you enjoying torturing yourself?” she asked. “You say that it was nothing, just four days of great sex, but you can’t let it go. You won’t let me put on any football games when you’re here, and you won’t let me tell you any of the news about the team. Let it go, Bianca. Go out, get drunk, get laid, whatever…but let him go.”
“That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it Valerie? Get drunk and get laid. Well, maybe I should start hanging out in karaoke bars.”
It was a mean thing to say, and Bianca regretted it instantly, but she couldn’t take it back.
Valerie sighed and said, “Whatever.”
Then she hung up.
Meanwhile, Landry was still in deep denial.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
He had arrived home to find his brother John waiting for him with a sheet of paper in his hand.
“Oh really? Because so far I’ve got her name, address, phone number, email address, and her Skype name.”
“Whose?” asked Landry.
“Oh, for God’s sakes,” said John. “Whose do you think? Bianca, maybe? The girl you’ve been eating your heart out over for the last two months.”
“Not you too,” said Landry with a groan of frustration. He’d had just about enough of this for one day. He marched past John, headed for his room. “And I’m not eating my heart out over her.”
“Where are you going then?” asked John, sarcastically. “Going to Facebook stalk her some more?”
Landry froze. He turned slowly back to his brother.
“Look,” said John, “all I’m saying is that you haven’t hooked up with anyone since her. Hell, you don’t even seem interested in hooking up. And my brother, that is just not like you. So if this girl got under your skin, admit it and go get her. It’s not like she lives in Alaska.”
“I know where she lives. But we knew from the beginning that it was just a…a thing. We only had a week…”
“It doesn’t have to be only a week if you don’t want it to.”
“But we agreed. We both knew…She’s probably forgotten all about me anyway.”
John quoted the words back to him. “’How will I ever live without the taste of you?’ I don’t think so, Landry.”
Landry shrugged and turned away.
“So I can drink the bottle of wine you have stashed in the back of the fridge? So I can say the word ‘salad’ without you flinching? So I can throw this away then?” John asked, crumpling up the piece of paper.
“I…I don’t even know what her Skype name is,” said Landry, turning back. He took the paper from John’s hands and smoothed it out.
It was now or never.
Chapter 16
Bianca sat down at her computer. Man, this had been one shitty day. Fridays often were. Kids who were going home to terrible living conditions didn’t look forward to Friday. School was their safe place, their salvation, and sometimes it was hard for them to face two days of abuse or neglect or hunger with a smiling face and total self-cont
rol.
Yes, on Fridays, everyone’s emotions were right at the surface. And Bianca had not had as much patience as she should have.
Bianca was still upset over her argument with Valerie the night before. She knew she had some fences to mend there. Valerie only had her best interests at heart, after all.
And Valerie was right. That was what irked Bianca the most. She knew that Valerie was right. She couldn’t waste a lifetime reliving a four-day dream over and over. And Bianca knew that was why she wasn’t drinking. Because she was afraid that if she altered her mind even the slightest bit, she would lose him.
She checked her email and thought about doing some schoolwork. Maybe she could even get a head start on the weekend – especially if she was going out tomorrow night.
Bianca sighed. Because she was going out tomorrow night.
A noise signaled that Valerie had come on line. Bianca looked at her watch. It was 7:45. Rob was probably picking her up at 8:00 and she was just doing a final check of email before then.
Bianca messaged Valerie because she wanted to tell her that she was sorry and that she would go out with Rob’s friend. She started off by apologizing, but Valerie told her not to worry about it and that she was used to her psychotic behavior by now.
They chatted for a while longer about this and that, and Bianca was just about to tell her she was ready to give in on the Saturday thing when another Skype message popped up.
Gator76: Bianca? It's Landry.
Bianca shook her head and then moved her hands to respond after informing Valerie of what was up. Honestly, she didn’t even know where to begin.
Prove it.
She hit the return key and then asked herself what she was doing.
Gator76: What do you mean – prove it?
Well, Bianca wrote back, you could always be Mrs. Dandridge trying to play a trick on me. How would I know?
What the hell are you doing, Bianca? There wasn’t one part of her body that wasn’t furious with her fingers for typing this nonsense instead of what they really wanted, which was – Come here now!
Landry leaned back in his chair and smiled. He turned to John. “It’s her,” he said. Then he bent his head back over the keyboard and got to typing again.
Gator76: True. Um…I should tell you I’ve never done this before. My brother is helping me.
I see...
Gator76: So I'll have to be careful what I say…
Landry included a smiley face that was winking just for extra measure.
Bianca smiled to herself. She could picture Landry focusing on the screen, eagerly asking what everything was.
Yes, you will.
Gator76: Okay, here goes the proof – there’s this spot on the side of your neck...
Bianca moaned out loud. She raised her right hand to the screen and touched his words. Oh, Landry! Her stomach started doing flip flops.
And where is your spot? she typed back.
Landry didn't say anything for a moment, but then…
Gator76: Did I mention that my brother was helping me with this?
Bianca laughed to herself. He had discovered how to change the text color and now it was bright red.
Yes, you did. Sorry about that. How are you?
Gator76: I'm good. how are you?
Good…
There were long pauses between the sentences. Bianca wondered if Landry was taking a lot of time to think about what he wanted to say or if he was just a slow typist.
Gator76: how’s teaching?
Tiring, but great, she responded, I love it.
Gator76: I knew you’d dig it. I bet you’re really good at it.
Thanks :)
Bianca wanted to kiss the monitor. She wanted to rip off the back and pull him out of her computer. She wanted him.
Instead she asked him, Have you started the season yet? Even though she already knew full well that he had.
Gator76: Yeah, but hey, John says I have to go. There's a storm moving in.
Okay, Bianca typed back, but inside she was screaming, ‘Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go’.
Gator76: I want to see you though. Can we set something up for tomorrow?
Bianca’s hope renewed, she typed back a hasty, Yes, please.
Gator76: Great. I still have your bottle of wine. Should I bring it?
That depends. Are you planning on touching me? Bianca wanted to ask. Luckily, her brain snatched her hands off the keyboard before she could type out the words.
Suddenly, Landry signed off. Bianca didn’t know if his computer had malfunctioned, if he was sprinting to his car to drive to her, or if he was running for the hills. All she knew for sure was that her heart was beating fast and that her palms were sweaty.
Bianca pushed back her chair and walked around her apartment. She went to the kitchen for a bottle of water, then came back and looked at the screen.
Her message log with Landry was still there. She hadn’t imagined it.
The ringing phone startled Bianca. It was Valerie. “Can you talk? Is he still there?”
“No, he signed off. There’s a storm in Kissimmee.”
“Well I bet there’s a storm in Fort Lauderdale too…in your stomach, maybe.”
“Oh, Val. He wants to see me. He wants to come here.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“When tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. We got cut off before he could say.” Bianca could hear a knocking in the background at Valerie’s.
“Rob’s here. Look, I’ll call you tomorrow morning. Eight o’clock all right?”
“You’re not going to be up at eight.”
“Yes I will. Rob has to work tomorrow. I’ll call you at eight. And Bianca…”
“Yes?” Bianca braced herself for a richly-deserved ‘I told you so’, but instead she got a quiet…
“I’m really happy for you.”
That night, Bianca tossed and turned in bed. She couldn’t get to sleep, and when she finally did drop off she had weird dreams – all mixed-up reality dreams that were totally bizarre but close enough to the truth that she couldn’t tell if she was awake or not.
Bianca kept dreaming that she heard a knock at the door. It was so real that she got up twice to answer it, but alas, no one was there.
And thank goodness for that, Bianca thought as she saw her face in the bathroom mirror after the second time. This would scare the hell out of anyone. Now get into bed and go to sleep.
But the more she told herself to go to sleep, the more difficult it was, and the weirder the dreams became. She had one of those dreams like she used to get in college right before an exam, where she would dream that she was running all over campus but couldn’t find the right room to write the exam in.
Only this time, Bianca was trying to get home to Landry. She was out grocery shopping and knew she had to get home because he was coming, but stuff kept getting in her way. People got in front of her in line, and then she didn’t have the right stuff, and then the cashier called for a price check, and then she couldn’t find her car in the parking lot.
Bianca forced herself awake and took deep breaths, but when she went back to sleep, she fell right back into the same dream.
Hours later, she woke up again sweating. The sheets were twisted and the pillows were on the floor. She looked at the clock. 4:30. She remembered the last time she had awoke at 4:30 – the night at the Inn when Landry had made love to her.
Bianca smiled to herself thinking of that. Now there was a recurring dream she’d be happy to fall into.
Surprisingly, Valerie had been very good about not asking for details of the intimate episodes, although Bianca could tell she was dying to know. Thus, Bianca had merely given her the highlights of the stay and passed over the fade-to-blacks with a secretive smile.
That is until Valerie could take it no more.
“So, on a scale of one-to-ten, y
ou’re saying he was a ‘ten’?” she probed.
Bianca sighed in reflection. “Oh no, he was so far beyond ten. There's really no scale for it. Every place he touched me…he knew all the right spots…his hands…his…”
Bianca trailed off without finishing her sentence. All this did was make Valerie even more curious, but she left the topic alone, sensing that Bianca had settled back into ‘I refuse to talk about it because it’s over’ mode.
