Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
A year later…
Landon tossed an empty beer can into the recycling bin and reached into the tub of ice for another.
“Take it easy, cowboy. I’m pretty sure that liquor-to-beer thing only applies if you aren’t alternating the two. And you’ve already done three tequila shots.”
He turned and chuckled at Sunnie in her Jasmine costume. She and her cousin Fiona had decided to throw a party on April Fools, giving it an Anything Goes theme. It had come at a time when Landon really needed a distraction. And an excuse to get drunk.
“I’ll take my chances.”
Sunnie gave him a funny look, tilting her head. “You never take chances. You reason everything out to the nth degree and then do the smart, grown-up thing. It’s a very annoying habit of yours. Some might call it a character flaw.”
“Well, hold on to your veil, Jasmine, because tonight, I’m all in.”
Her eyes lit up. “What’s the special occasion?”
“I’ve been a single man for a whole year.”
“Oh, shit. Yeah.” Sunnie’s gaze softened.
He and Audrey had split up one year ago tonight. Her original plan had been to move to New York in March, but the lease on her first apartment fell through, which left her scrambling to find something else. It also gave her an extra thirty-one days to try to convince him to change his mind and come with her.
It hadn’t worked, and since then, Landon had spent countless sleepless nights wondering if he’d made the right decision.
It had been a very long, very heartbroken year, one he was certain he wouldn’t have survived without Finn and Sunnie, bolstering him, forcing him to go out and have fun and laugh.
It was funny that all through school, his best friend had been Finn, but since graduation, another name had been given that descriptor as well.
Sunnie, his best friend’s little sister. He and Finn had spent the better part of their early school years trying to shake her, the tenacious thing constantly begging to hang out with them.
Shortly after high school, he and Finn both realized how much they liked having her around, and she’d become a part of them, always up for a good time. Sunnie was the epitome of “live in the moment,” and she was a lot like her brother—lively, funny, a great storyteller. She was as true a friend as any person could ask for—there to laugh, cry or fight beside you, according to whatever the situation required.
“Is this a drown-your-sorrows night or a turn-the-corner night?” Sunnie asked.
It was a fair question. For twelve months, he’d been as much fun as the proverbial wet blanket. This morning, when he woke up and realized the date, it occurred to him his heart didn’t ache anymore. That it hadn’t in months, really.
“Turn the corner. We’re celebrating.”
Sunnie’s smile was infectious. “Oh, I can totally get behind that.”
And she did. In addition to the bacon feast she’d laid out as their party snacks, she guided them through every drinking game in her repertoire. Then they’d turned on music, alternating between talking and dancing.
Landon hadn’t lied about taking his chances. He wasn’t a big drinker by nature, but he’d thrown caution to the wind tonight, playing all the games, dancing like a lunatic, his volume matching that of the Collins cousins, which was a feat to be sure.
After getting Flo-Rida “Low,” he and Sunnie collapsed on the couch, laughing.
“We should play charades again,” Sunnie yelled out to the crowd still dancing in the middle of the living room floor. No one listened. Everyone was too into their own space, enjoying the night.
It had been a wild one, probably one of the best parties he’d ever been to.
“Hey, Sunnie,” Landon said, slurring his words slightly, as something just occurred to him. “Where’s stunt man?”
“Dumped him a month ago.”
“Did I know that?”
Sunnie shrugged. “I dunno. Did it need an announcement?” She was weaving even though they were sitting down, but he wasn’t sure if it was her moving or him.
“I guess not.”
“You and Finn were right. Couldn’t date a guy who dressed like that. I mean what the fuck was up with that jacket?”
“Made him look like a stunt man.”
“Made him look like a tool,” she countered.
Her Jasmine hairstyle was falling out, the turquoise headband crooked. He reached out to fix it, but wound up making it an even bigger mess until she finally pushed his hand away.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sunnie asked.
Landon frowned. “No. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a hangover from hell tomorrow.”
She looked at him impatiently. “Not that. I mean about Aub—Audrey.” Sunnie stumbled over the name, which Landon found hilarious.
“Of course I am.”
“But you’re not dating anybody else.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“You want me to fix you up?”
“No,” he said with more passion than he’d intended. “No Sunnie setups. God only knows?—”
“I happen to know a lot of nice nurses from my classes. I think you’d like a couple of ’em. They’re just like you. Boring. Looking for love.”
He snorted. “That’s not a character flaw, Sunshine.”
Her face told him she considered it one. The way she crinkled her nose—noses—was adorable. Why did she have two noses?
“I’ve got this one friend,” she continued.
Landon really didn’t want to go out on a blind date. Audrey had been a blind date and look how that had turned out.
He leaned toward her, capturing her gaze. “You’re not listening to me.”
Sunnie stopped talking, studying his face. “Yes, I am. I just think that it’s time for you to start dating again.”
“And you think you know what I want in a woman?”
“Of course I do.” She said it with such confidence, such assurance, it annoyed Landon. She always acted like he was an open book—a boring one at that. Landon was the predictable guy, the steady and sure friend who never did anything remotely unusual or interesting.
“You’re wrong. You don’t have a clue.”
His assertion took her aback. For about two seconds.
Then she laughed.
On any other day, at any other time, when Landon was sober, he wouldn’t have thought twice about her comments, wouldn’t have let them get under his skin.
This wasn’t that time.
“I mean it, Sunnie.”
His suddenly angry tone seemed to penetrate through the haze of her tequila-fogged brain.
“Landon, listen?—”
She was going to argue about it. Of course she was. It was what Sunnie did. For a young woman, she was a dangerous blend of opinionated and confident. It meant winning fights with her took tenacity.
“You don’t know a thing about me when it comes to my tastes in women,” he assured her.
She started to speak, but he cut her off again when he added, “Or what I like in bed.”
That caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed briefly, in shock, then she tilted her head, and he knew he’d piqued her interest.
“Like what?”
He grinned, and the words—freed by tequila and beer and too many nights alone with his hand—came easily.
“I like being in charge in the bedroom, directing everything that happens.”
“Like what?” she repeated, stressing the words, wanting more details. She was clearly fascinated.
“I like playing with a woman’s breasts, sucking on her nipples until they’re hard, bending her over my lap and spanking her ass, tying her up and going down on her, throwing her legs over my shoulders and fucking her like there’s no tomorrow…and then flipping her to her stomach and taking her ass the same way.”
Sunnie’s mouth fell open, and Landon tried to figure out if it was absolute shock or utter horror driving the response.
“Holy shit,” she whispered, then she leaned closer, scrutinizing his face. “You’re drunk.”
He nodded. “So are you.”
Their faces were mere inches apart—and that was when it hit Landon.
Hit him like a ton of bricks.
He wanted to kiss her.
He wanted to kiss Sunnie Young.
He’d never in a million years felt that desire, never even considered it.
She was Finn’s kid sister, a pain in the ass. To quote her and Snoop, too wild, too young, too free. She was the opposite of what he looked for in a woman.
Maybe that explained a lot about his single state.
Jesus. He really was drunk.
Time to retreat and revisit this tomorrow without the tequila flowing through his veins.
And he would have done that.
If Sunnie hadn’t licked her lips and moved closer.
“Is that really what you like?” she whispered.
He nodded, then Landon met her halfway, his lips touching hers, their tastes identical—the perfect blend of bacon and tequila.
Sunnie kissed like she did everything else in life, with exuberant enthusiasm. Her tongue was in his mouth, her arms wrapping around his neck. He reached for her, his fingers touching her bare midriff, the temptation to move higher to her breasts taunting him.
He was vaguely aware of his surroundings and?—
“Sunnie? Landon? What the fuck, man?”
Landon jerked back at the sound of Finn’s voice. It took him a second to clear his vision. Sunnie seemed to be struggling to do the same.
Then she moved back, looking adorably confused and…dammit…regretful. Oops , she mouthed.
Landon tried to shake off the remnants of the kiss, not wanting to move lest it draw attention to exactly what kind of impact it’d had on him. The fact he was this fucking hard given the level of alcohol in his system was impressive.
Finn was standing next to the couch, glaring down at them. “What the hell was that?”
Sunnie, never one to back down from anything, stood up, flipping her messy hair over her shoulders. “A kiss.”
“You two don’t kiss.”
Sunnie squared her shoulders. “Says who?”
Finn opened his mouth, then shut it. Landon recognized the second his best friend realized he was talking to the wrong person. Finn sat down on the edge of the coffee table.
“Drunk?” he asked Landon, with a surprisingly affable grin.
“As a skunk.”
Finn loved the response, as Landon knew he would. With just a few words, he’d assured his friend the kiss wasn’t intentional.
It was a mistake.
Or…
Fuck.
It wasn’t a mistake.
“Damn, man,” Finn said, slapping a hand on Landon’s knee. “Not sure I’ve ever seen you this wasted. Hope you remember this in the morning, because I’m going to have a good time with this story.”
Landon rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you will, but for the record…” He decided to prove he could push back just as hard. “I just kissed your sister.”
Finn laughed loudly as he stood back up. “Jesus. You’re right. The joke’s on me. Might have to scratch my own eyes out. That is something I cannot un-see.”
Sunnie punched Finn on the arm, calling him an idiot as her brother headed back to the bacon feast.
Landon glanced up at Sunnie, who wasn’t very steady on her feet. Part of him considered apologizing to her, but he wasn’t sorry. Truth was, he was sorrier Finn had stopped them.
He stood as well.
“That was…interesting,” she said, grinning widely, completely unruffled by what had just happened.
Meanwhile, Landon was struggling to keep himself from kissing her again.
She lifted her pinky out to him. “I pinky swear never to ever kiss you again. That was just too freaking weird.”
Landon wrapped his pinky with hers, though he made no such vow aloud.
There was nothing weird about that kiss.
Nothing at all.