by Mya Wood
Bianca finally fell into a deep sleep at 6:00. When the phone rang at eight, she thought at first that it was just another dream, but her hand reached out automatically for it.
“Hello,” she said in a groggy voice.
“Morning,” greeted Valerie. “What’s the matter with you? Are you getting a cold or something?”
Bianca sat up. “No. Oh shit, what time is it? I couldn’t sleep, and then I just zonked out.”
“It’s eight o’clock. On Prince Charming Day, no less.”
Bianca’s stomach turned over. “Oh God, Val. He’s coming.”
“More than once, I’d be willing to bet,” said Valerie, laughing. “Now, get out of bed and go put the kettle on. You’re useless until you have a cup of tea in your hand.”
Bianca made her way to the kitchen, and she and Valerie planned the day like two four-star generals doing reconnaissance calculations. For starters, when would Landry arrive? It was almost a three-hour drive from Kissimmee.
“Does he drive fast?”
Bianca thought about it. “Yes, but not crazy-fast.”
“Okay, so say, three hours minimum,” said Valerie. “Now, does he like to sleep in?”
Bianca smiled to herself. “It…kinda depends what he was doing the night before.”
“Well,” said Valerie, “let’s say he’s on the road by ten. In that case, the earliest he’d get here would be one.”
“But why would he leave that early? Why would he want to arrive at one? Why doesn’t he just call? What if he’s changed his mind? What if he’s not coming?”
“That’s right, Bianca. Let’s overthink this to the point of hysteria. Geez, girl. Calm down!”
“Okay, okay. I’m taking deep breaths.”
“Good, now, I assume you have no food in your house?” asked Valerie, who knew that Bianca usually did her weekly shopping on Saturday mornings.
“I was going to shop this morning,” said Bianca. Then she shivered, remembering her dream from the night before. “But I don’t want to go out. What if I can’t get back? I mean, in time for him.”
“It's cool. I’ll do the shopping. You just make yourself beautiful.”
Together, they worked out the plan. Valerie would pick up the groceries and bring them by before eleven. Meanwhile, Bianca would tidy up the apartment and get ready.
The women then spent ten minutes discussing what Bianca should wear, with suggestions ranging from a simple rose in her teeth to furs and a tiara.
“Anyway, I'll see you later,” Valerie said once she stopped laughing, wanting to get a jumpstart on things.
“Okay,” said Bianca. “And Val…thanks. Just…thanks.”
“Anytime,” said Valerie.
And then she disconnected.
Bianca looked around her apartment and tried to calm herself down, but all her body parts started arguing with each other.
Don’t get too excited, she scolded herself. This may not mean as much to him as it does to you. It wouldn’t be good to jump the guy when he comes through the door.
Oh, we’re jumping the guy, make no mistake about that, said her libido.
No, no, have some patience, said her conscience. After all, he didn’t call for two months.
Well maybe he didn’t have the number, Bianca reasoned back.
Except that he had the email address, her brain reminded her. And the Inn had all the other information. He could have found it if he wanted to.
Bianca sighed and headed for the shower. Regardless of her doubts, he was coming now.
That was all that mattered.
Epilogue
The buzzer rang just as Bianca was finishing painting her toenails. She looked at the clock. 11:02. Perfect. Walking on her heels, she headed over to the door.
“Come on up, Val,” she said into the intercom. “The door’s open.”
Bianca pushed the button for the downstairs door and then opened her apartment door. Slowly, she went back into the bathroom to put the nail polish away.
“I still haven’t decided what to wear,” she called out when she heard Valerie come in. “I want it to be per…”
Bianca came around the corner and stopped dead in her tracks.
Sure enough, Landry stood inside the front door holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a little box in the other.
Bianca looked down at herself. She was wearing men’s boxer shorts with a smiley face on the crotch and a baggy t-shirt that said ‘I have PMS and a handgun. Any questions?’. She also had wadded up toilet paper jammed between her toes. She looked up at Landry, standing there in expensive jeans and a t-shirt that clung to his frame and showed off his muscles to perfection.
Bianca bit her lip. Way to go, she scolded.
Landry set down the wine and the box and stepped toward her.
“I wanted to be beautiful for you,” Bianca whispered half to herself and half to him.
“You are,” said Landry, taking her face in his hands. “You are.”
He lowered his mouth to hers.
They kissed for a long time then, each of them savoring each other. When Landry finally pulled back from her, he held her bottom lip in his teeth for a moment.
Don’t faint, don’t faint, urged her brain. Breathe! And don’t say anything stupid!
“Okay, here are the groceries,” said Valerie.
She came through the doorway carrying two large paper bags so full she could barely see over the top of them. She didn’t even look in their direction. Instead she turned into the kitchen, none the wiser.
“Valerie?” mouthed Landry.
Bianca nodded.
“I got everything on the list, plus a bunch of stuff to make salad. You don’t want him thinking you only eat prepared junk. Which you do, by the way. Still, it probably won’t matter. If he’s as hot for you as you are for him, you’ll probably just fall into b…”
Valerie stopped as she stepped into the living room. She saw Bianca first, standing there in that god-awful t-shirt. Behind her, with his arms around her, stood…well, it appeared to be Landry from where Valerie was standing.
They were both grinning at her.
Valerie nodded and pursed her lips. “I guess you’d be the emergency repair man,” she greeted.
Bianca laughed and made the introductions. Valerie shook Landry’s hand and silently vowed never to wash her own. God, he looked yummy!
“Um…maybe you two could get acquainted while I put on some real clothes,” suggested Bianca.
“Sure,” said Valerie, and then she nodded down at Bianca’s feet. Don’t forget those either, her eyes screamed. She turned to Landry. “Would you like some coffee or something?”
Landry shook his head and sat down on the sofa. Valerie took the armchair across from it. There was an awkward silence. Valerie the Fan wanted an autograph, a hug, whatever. She wanted to ask a million questions about the team. But it was Valerie the Friend who spoke. “So… what took you so long?”
Landry looked at the closed bedroom door. “I was afraid she was too good to be true.”
“She’s not…I mean, she’s real.”
Landry nodded. “I know. And I understand I have you to thank for her.” Valerie looked confused. “I mean, you’re the one that sent her to the Inn. So thank you.”
Valerie wanted to ask Landry to return the favor by sending her one of the other players on his team, but she didn’t. Bianca came out of the bedroom then. She was wearing a black t-shirt dress that clung to her body in all the right places. Landry’s eyes lit up.
“Well, I guess I’ll be going,” said Valerie, standing up.
Landry stood up too and shook her hand again. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Yes, you too. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.” There was a hint of challenge in her voice that screamed, ‘Don’t mess with my friend.’
“Yes, we will,” said Landry. “We surely will.”
&nbs
p; Valerie hugged Bianca and whispered in her ear, “Wow!” Then she left, closing the door behind her.
Bianca and Landry looked at each other. Each one’s brain was sternly telling their hands to stay put. They needed to feel out the situation before they started up with the grabbing.
Bianca picked up the bottle of wine. “I’ll just put this in the fridge,” she said.
She went into the kitchen and leaned her forehead against the fridge door, willing herself to be calm. Her heart was pounding so loudly that she was surprised that Landry couldn’t hear it. She slipped the wine into the fridge and took a deep breath.
Bianca returned to the living room and saw that Landry had moved to her stereo. He had opened the box and was holding an iPod in his hand. Slowly, he slipped an aux cord into the slot and pressed ‘play’. Then he walked toward her.
The first notes of a song filled the air as he took her face in his hands. “In case you thought I forgot you…or that I never thought about you…”
Then Landry slipped his arms around her and held her face against his chest as the music filled the entire room.
When the song ended, Bianca couldn’t move. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
“There’s more,” whispered Landry.
The second song talked about perfect love, and when Bianca heard her name, she started to shake. Landry held her close and rubbed her back. “One more,” he said into her hair.
When the last strains of the final song faded to silence, Landry let her go and turned to the stereo. He switched off the iPod and turned back to her.
“I had them written for you,” he said, then he quoted the song. “So tell me… Will you be my forever?”
Bianca nodded. She was beyond speech. Standing, breathing, not crying. That was all she was capable of right now. Slowly, Landry stepped toward her, drawing her into a passionate kiss.
And then, it all faded to black.
The End.
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