A few weeks passed and still no word from Lilith.
Beth had confirmed that she received the book but that her daughter wasn’t ready to open it yet. She promised to let me know when Lilith had read it and to let me know if and when Lilith wanted to see me again.
Not being able to see her each week really hurt. I had gotten so used to having that time with her and was suffering from serious withdrawals. But I knew this time apart was necessary and prayed every night that it wasn’t permanent.
Landon had been working really hard in the truck and hadn’t taken a break since it launched. His only day off was Sunday.
We were having dinner one night when he announced, “I think we need to get away. This has been a really stressful few weeks.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking of a staycation, actually. We’ll just take a couple of days to unwind here, well not technically here, but someplace nearby. You know, we won’t go too far, in case, by some chance, Lilith chooses those two days to come around.”
“That sounds great, but where would we go?”
“I have a place in mind.”
“Really? You already made plans?”
He winked. “I’ve got it covered. But you need to call in sick to work for a couple of nights. Can you do that?”
“Sure, yeah. I never call out, haven’t been absent since California. So, it’s about time I played that card, I suppose.”
“Or you could tell them the truth, that you’ll be playing with your boyfriend’s snake instead of theirs for a couple of days.”
I cackled. “I like the sound of that.”
Landon wouldn’t tell me where we were going, even though I knew wherever it was, it wasn’t far.
Needless to say, when we pulled up to his parents’ house on Eastern Drive, I was utterly perplexed. This was supposed to be a vacation. I loved Marjorie and Jim but had no desire to spend our little staycation with them.
“Okay. Um…I’m definitely confused.”
“I know.” He snickered as he put his truck into park in the driveway.
Looking down at my tits popping out of my dress, I said, “If I knew we were seeing your parents today, I would’ve worn something less slutty.”
“You’re dressed to be fucked. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen in there. Trust me.”
What? Okay, that’s just disturbing.
Rather than ring the doorbell, Landon used his key to enter the house.
“Are they not home?”
He smiled at me. “They’re not home. I didn’t immediately admit that because I was enjoying your little freakout.”
“Thanks a lot. Where are they?”
“Florida.”
Suddenly, it made sense. We were crashing at his parents’ place while they were away. Relief poured over me. We would, in fact, be alone the entire time.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been inside this house when your parents weren’t home. Why does it feel like we’re being sneaky? Back in the day, we mainly hung out in the garage apartment or outside. The main house always seemed off-limits. Aside from the last time we visited your parents, I think I’ve been in this actual house only a handful of times.”
“Want to see what my parents did to my old room?” He nudged his head. “Come on.” As we entered the space, he laughed and said, “Nothing. They did absolutely nothing. Can you believe it?”
The room looked like a typical teenage boy’s room. There was a poster of an exotic car on the wall, along with a ton of sports trophies and banners. We hadn’t gone into his old room the one night we came here for dinner when he first visited Michigan. So, this was my first glimpse at it.
“Oh, my God, Landon. They haven’t even touched it.”
“Scary, right? After I left for Cali, my mother was devastated. It was as if preserving this room was the only thing keeping me alive, keeping me as her son. It actually makes me sad.”
“It shows how much they really love you.”
I wandered over to a picture collage on the wall that featured, among other things, wallet-sized photos of high school friends and a couple of prom pictures. I leaned in closer to examine one of them. Landon looked so clean-cut in his vest and bowtie. My…how things had changed.
I ran my finger along one of the photos. “You and Kelsie.”
“I forgot about these. I should’ve taken them down.”
“It’s okay. I’m not the jealous monster I was when we first met. At least, I’m trying not to be. But I do envy her for getting to go to the prom with you. I never went to prom at all, let alone with Landon Roderick.”
He stood behind me, placing his hand on my shoulders as I continued gazing at his high school memories. “You wouldn’t have wanted me then. I was on the cusp of a self-destructive implosion. I look at that na?ve kid now, and it’s like looking at a stranger. He had a lot to learn and a lot of fucking up to do before he became me. The man I am today is who you belong with.”
I turned around to face him. “I’m so lucky that I found you when I did. I suppose maybe if I hadn’t moved, something might have happened between us or worse, I would’ve had to watch you with Kelsie. Either way, I would’ve lost you to California. That was inevitable.”
“It’s funny how the things that we once looked at as tragic are exactly what needed to happen, in retrospect.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that we wouldn’t be together right now if I hadn’t left, if my father hadn’t made that rash decision to pack up and move.”
“Crazy, right?” His hands slid down my back as he squeezed my ass and grunted. “I can’t wait to fuck you in my old bed later.”
“There’s something really naughty about that.”
“I will tell you this…the boy in that picture would’ve died of a heart attack if he’d ever known then that he would be bringing a girl with tits and ass as obscenely gorgeous as yours back to this room someday.”
“And he certainly would’ve had a heart attack if he knew those tits and ass belonged to Rana Banana.”
“Without a freaking doubt.”
He lowered his face to my breasts and licked through the fabric of my dress, circling his tongue over my nipple and leaving a wet spot that made me yearn for more.
After Landon reluctantly stopped, he said, “Alright…I can’t get too carried away yet. We haven’t finished the tour.” He put his hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go look around a little more.”
On our way into the living room, I accidentally bumped into a small end table, causing a vase to fall and shatter to the ground.
“Shit, Landon! Your mother’s going to kill me.”
“Nah. She won’t care. She doesn’t even live here anymore.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Landon’s face turned red. “Welcome home, Rana.”
“Huh?”
“This is our house now. I bought it from them.”
My eyes practically bugged out of my head. “You…what?”
“My parents had been thinking about retiring down in Florida for a while. They finally decided to go for it.”