Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Get in.”
Sunnie recognized the voice, surprised when she looked over and saw her cousin Yvonne pulled up to the curb outside the hospital, passenger window rolled down to get her attention. She was coming off a ten-hour shift, her feet hurt, her eyes were scratchy from crying, and the idea of going home and possibly seeing Landon had her stomach in knots.
She’d hoped a day of hard work would shake out some of her confusion, but it hadn’t touched it. Hell, she was in worse shape now, the initial panic turning to cold-blooded terror.
She was a hot mess.
“What are you doing here?” Sunnie asked.
Kelli, whom she hadn’t noticed until that point, peeked her head over the back seat. “We’re kidnapping you. Taking you out for margaritas. Get your ass in the car.”
“What about my car?” she stupidly asked, even though she was already reaching for the door handle.
“I’ll drive you back for it in the morning.” Yvonne had clearly thought through this kidnapping.
She was quiet as Yvonne pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. “Why the kidnapping?” she asked at last.
Yvonne glanced over and winked. “Because I saw you this morning, running out of the Collins Dorm like you were being chased by a serial killer. It was obvious you’d just pulled a Sunnie, especially considering the way Landon’s been holding up the bar ever since. So, Kelli and I decided you needed an intervention. And we needed margaritas.”
“Pulled a Sunnie?” she asked.
“AKA, dumped the dude and ran for the hills,” Kelli chimed in from the back.
“It’s Sunday night,” Sunnie said to Kelli. “School night.”
“And it’s June,” Kelli reminded her. “I’m one week into my summer vacay bender. Fucking free. And it feels great!”
Kelli was a kindergarten teacher and Padraig’s best friend. She’d also been around as long as Landon, which meant—like him—she was practically family.
Family.
Sunnie’s stomach clenched again, and she debated telling Yvonne to pull over in case she got sick.
Sunnie rubbed her eyes wearily. “Listen. I don’t want you all to think I don’t appreciate this, but?—”
“Save it. This is happening.” Yvonne turned on her blinker and pulled into the parking lot of their favorite Mexican restaurant. While the food was just okay, they made killer margaritas. “Come on.”
Kelli and Yvonne both got out, leaving Sunnie no choice but to follow.
Once they’d claimed a booth, ordered chips and salsas, and three frozen margaritas, Yvonne lifted her hand and said, “Let’s have it. What happened?”
Sunnie knew her cousin and Kelli. Knew she’d never leave this restaurant until she spilled her guts. But now that she was here, she realized talking about it with them was probably exactly what she needed. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. “How far back do I need to go?”
Yvonne shot her a dirty look. “Given the dark circles under my eyes, I think you can go ahead and assume I’m up to speed through three a.m. That’s when I put the earplugs in.”
Sunnie winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but there was a fair amount of mattress squeaking and headboard banging. Gotta hand it to Landon—sounds like he’s got stamina.”
Sunnie laughed and the tightness in her chest eased a little. “It was amazing sex. You couldn’t believe?—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Kelli said. “I’m going to need a lot more details. I missed the sound effects last night.”
The waitress brought their drinks and Sunnie lifted hers, clinking it against Kelli and Yvonne’s glasses. “Can I just say it was the best sex of my life?”
Kelli sighed. “Damn. Where can I sign up for some of that?”
“Of course it was,” Yvonne said. “It’s that old friends-to-lovers thing. It always survives the test of time.”
Sunnie winced when Yvonne said the word lovers, prompting her cousin to roll her eyes.
“So if the sex was so great, what happened this morning to send you running?” Kelli asked.
Sunnie sighed. “I freaked out.”
Kelli shook her head, as if disappointed in her, while Yvonne said, “Of course you did.”
Sunnie had too much pride for her own good, so Yvonne’s response put her on the defensive. “He lied to me, Vonnie. Said we were just going to,” she finger-quoted, “‘pretend date.’ He wasn’t pretending.”
“Don’t be that girl, Sun,” Yvonne said.
“What girl?”
Yvonne looked at Kelli, who lifted a hand, gesturing for her to continue.
“The stupid one. You knew it wasn’t pretend.”
Sunnie swallowed heavily, not ready to admit that. “Finn will never accept this. Landon is his best friend. I’m his sister.”
“Oh my God,” Kelli said. “ That girl is worse.”
Sunnie leaned back, exasperated. “Which girl is that?”
“The one who uses other people as excuses for her own stupidity. Go back to just being thick.” Kelli picked up her margarita and took a drink.
The weight that had been pressing down on her chest since she woke up this morning lifted a bit more, and Sunnie grinned, even as she said, “I hate both of you.”
Kelli laughed and kept drinking.
Yvonne smiled, unoffended. “No, you don’t. I’m your best friend/cousin. You’re crazy about me.”
Sunnie shrugged. “I think I’ve changed my mind about that. Might pick Caitlyn or Ailis for that role.”
“They have each other.”
“Fiona,” Sunnie said.
“She lives too far away. Besides, she’s got two gay best friends. She’ll never have time for you.”
Sunnie laughed, then the three of them fell silent for a few moments, eating chips, drinking margaritas, giving her a chance to let their words sink in.
Finally, she said the thing that had caused her stupid freak-out to begin with. “Landon thinks I’m in love with him.”
“You are.”
The more Yvonne kept pointing out the obvious, the more Sunnie wished she could rewind her morning freak-out. “Well, obviously I love him. I’ve always loved him. It’s just…”
“You’ve never been in love, Sunnie. You’ve never really set yourself up for that emotion because your taste in men was pretty shallow. Pretty faces and big muscles.” Kelli leaned closer and winked. “Not that I fault you for that. Some of those boys were very, very easy to look at.”
Sunnie laughed again, figuring Kelli probably understood her the best. Like Sunnie, Kelli wasn’t looking to settle down, and her track record with men wasn’t much better.
Then Sunnie said, “Those guys were easy to be with. No expectations. No commitment. This is…”
“Hard,” Yvonne finished for her.
Sunnie nodded, then spoke her real fear. “What if it doesn’t work out, Vonnie? If I screw this up, or he figures out it was a mistake…it’ll kill me. I hate feeling so scared.”
Yvonne reached over the table and grasped her hand, squeezing it. “That’s what I mean by hard. But you’re not going to mess anything up. And no part of this is a mistake— Landon knows that. Love is one big-ass risk. But believe me, you and Landon are a pretty safe bet. I’d put all my money on you.”
Kelli lifted her glass and toasted her. “Me too.”
Sunnie smiled, still not completely convinced.
Yvonne recognized her doubtful expression. “You saw the video, Sun. You saw how Landon looked at you after that kiss. How can you doubt his feelings aren’t completely genuine?”
Sunnie closed her eyes and sighed. “I only watched it once. And I wasn’t looking at him. I was kind of looking at my hair. There was this one piece—” she continued, reaching up.
“One time?” Kelli interrupted in disbelief. “I’ve probably seen it fifty times.”
“You watched it one time?” Yvonne repeated, equally shocked.
Sunnie nodded. “Yeah. You should know. You were there.”
“That’s the only time you saw the video? Jesus! No wonder you’re acting like an idiot. The second we get home, you’re going to go upstairs, alone, pull out your phone, turn off the stupid canned music in the background and watch the damn thing. Look at Landon . Screw your hair!”
“Pop Pop told me to do the same thing.” Sunnie didn’t point out that advice had come a few weeks earlier.
“And as always, Pop Pop was right. I can’t believe you didn’t listen to him.”
“I was scared,” Sunnie confessed. “I’m still scared.”
“Which is why we’re here,” Yvonne said, lifting her margarita. “We’re going to fortify you with a couple of these, then you can go home and watch the video.”
“Then you can find Landon and tell him you love him,” Kelli added.
“Just do me a favor?” Yvonne added.
“Anything,” Sunnie said, grateful for her cousin and Kelli. They had made everything so much better.
“Sleep at his place tonight.”
Sunnie laughed as she picked up a chip, dipping it into the salsa. Now that she had a plan, the appetite that had eluded her all day returned with a vengeance. “You got it.”
“Another round?” Kelli suggested.
Sunnie nodded. “And fajitas. I’m starving.”